Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Church Fires Teacher for Being a Woman

My wife e-mailed me the link to this provacatively titled article. It's a short article with a really flamable title. Didn't they know she was a woman? Is it only because she is a woman that they fired her? Ugh... there go the churches again with barbaric exclusion of women who are capable of serving in every way that men are. The refrains are endless really.

The article goes on to point out that the "firing" of the Sunday school teacher, who had taught for 54 years, stemmed from the pastor's move "to a more literal interpretation of the Bible." Once again it seems the mean fundamentalists have subverted the freedom of women. One person commenting on the issue lamented that this kind of decision was appropriate 500 years ago but not for "this day and age."

I'm guessing that if you're reading this blog you are more than likely the same kind of backward, out-of-date, fundamentalist akin to the pastor at that church. You probably don't have much of a problem with believing the Bible means what it says when it records Paul's words: "I suffer a woman not to teach, nor to usurp authority over a man."

My question today has more to do with how one implements changes that stem from this passage. When you enter a church where women are teaching or preaching, exercising authority in the church, how do you proceed with reform and manage to stay out of the papers, or worse yet blow up the church? Any wisdom from experience out there?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's not an issue of being backward or out-of-date. It really is an issue of determining if 1 Tim 2:12 is God's word or not.
To answer your question, While not experienced in the solution mine would be to merely move her /them into different classes which would teach the younger women or the children in accordance with Titus 2.

On the other hand, true to most media storms, the papers have taken one aspect of the story and ignored it. There were reportedly other problems between this particular lady and the pastor. IMHO he chose to highlight the wrong issue in order to dispose of her.

FellowElder said...

"It's not an issue of being backward or out-of-date. It really is an issue of determining if 1 Tim 2:12 is God's word or not."

Just to be clear, I was being sarcastic with that line... especially since I fit that description in the minds of some.

Thanks for the helpful thought re: finding a Titus 2 kind of ministry for women in that situation.

Grace and peace,
Thabiti