Do Women Not Hold up Half the Kingdom?
25 Feb
In the past few weeks I’ve noticed two church and culture conferences powered mainly by testosterone. In fact, one of the conferences presented over 20 speakers—and as I scrolled through the photos of the speakers, it’s like my smile stretched into a frown, because not one single voice on that speaking platform was female. My enthusiasm for a movement that the Spirit of God seems to be shaping, fizzled.
Fifty percent of the Kingdom voice was missing. What did this omission communicate to that conference’s sold-out crowd of 2,000?
Do women not hold up half the Kingdom? Apparently women may hold up half the sky, but when it comes to church, women have to stay in their seats. I honestly thought we were further along the Way already.
Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s bestseller Women Hold up Half the Sky confirms that this is a kairos time for women. It’s not about a fight over power. It’s simple: when the women are not on the platform—part of shaping the Message for our time—everyone misses out on the wholeness of the Kingdom message.
Is it a simple oversight on the part of the organizers? Blatant discrimination? Or is this part of a return to a dusty old theology, where women are to be seen, but not heard? If that’s where we’re going, friends, it’s way backwards.
I think the shock/sadness of noticing this oversight was bigger because I’m part of a church where there’s no hierarchical distinction based on gender. Male and female serve together, reflecting the whole image of God. I’d actually forgotten how different it could be in other places.
Confession: I’ve kept this post on ice for a while, just testing my heart. My desire is not to divide, but I look forward to a future where male and female serve together. Yesterday when friends showed me this video, featuring Rose Madrid-Swetman speaking candidly on women in the church, I knew it was time to hit “publish.”
I couldn’t agree more with what Rose, co-pastor of Vineyard Community Church in Shoreline, WA says: When only one gender holds all the power, we’re really “missing half of what God has to say.”
Check out this video, featuring Rose:
Missing Half of What God Has to Say from Recycle Your Faith on Vimeo.
Tags: Church, female pastors, gender equality, Kristof, leadership, women, Women Hold Up Half the Sky, WuDunn
Half? On a slow day maybe.
We are indeed missing half of what God has to say. More to the point we’re missing half of what women have to say, and we’re the worse for that omission.
I agree, we are missing half of what god has to say, definately we are missing half of what women have to say, women are important and yet we are treated as a lower class…. I also believe that we are missing what people with disabilities have to say, after all they are people too and yet do we really ever take the time to stop and listen to what they want and need.
Check out my blog, http://www.disabilityadvocates.wordpress.com
Tell me what you think
Keep up the good work and i love your blog
We must continue to point this out. I simply don’t believe that when you get 20 speakers that the 20 best voices will all be male. Everything points against this. If that is true then the criterion for how a speaker should participate, what may be said or something else seem to be more important than getting the best voices on the table. And now we haven’t even started talking about different criterion for “important voices”.
This is so true.
Its like our recent SAMS conference. Apart from the fact that there was no women speakers, there was also two women at the conference plus one who was the administrator. Its such a clear sign that something is amiss. Of course, there is a history behind it..apart from the actual exclusion, its also the way we interpreted the Biblical texts. The Bible then becomes a powerful partner ( like the videoclip-we can live with a missionary) But, Idelette dont you think there should be a stronger push ? I meant with the tweet that this situation will not change by itself or by men ( in power) suddenly opening up space and share power. Because men wants control because its linked to status and money and we dotn want to give that up, in fact we want more, allways more.
Thank you for your responses.
Mike, you made me smile, bro’. You’re just a radical all around, aren’t ya.
Yes, Cobus, so it depends on who makes the decisions too.
I agree, Reggie. Why would anyone willingly lay down power? There’s been lots of work done in North America by great organizations like CBE (Christians for Biblical Equality), etc, but obviously not enough. Time for this to reach tipping point on a much broader scale. I’m brewing on another post called “Letter to the Rich Young Ruler” which asks for the laying down of power. I think it goes hand in hand with the empowering of women in the church.
But then, I do say, when we are building with the likes of you guys, I am definitely hopeful.
Great post.
Keep at it, kairos is here.
As an Irish prophet boldly sang:
“Women of the future hold all the big revelations”
Definitely one of my favorite prophets and one of my favorite lines from one of my favorite songs. Got my boots on! Thank you, Dave!
I am with you. Great post. Kairos, indeed!
You know who gets on these speaking gigs? Authors and people leading big communities etc. I have organised these types of events and I desperately wanted 50% from each gender ….
Truth was I searched and searched and there was no way to get 50/50 without including females for the sake of the ratio and not on merit alone.
So its simple. I agree with the ideal, but women need to write, publish and lead because it should be 50/50 on merit alone.
Hopefully it will be soonish. It should be.
Hi David,
Thank you for your response. Just to be clear, I am not talking about a specific number on a stage. The reference to half is merely to the fact that women are half of the population, so when there is no representation on a stage, we definitely miss out on the full expression of God.
I totally hear what you are saying. However, I can think of several women who are leaders, are published and would do great on that scale, and have done so.
But you definitely did make me think about the criteria you mentioned. If you truly could not find a female voice, perhaps we need to look at those criteria and see where the gaps are. Why do those gaps exist? Is it possible we need some “affirmative action” in raising up more leaders/authors/speakers?
I just would love to see God’s people lead the way when it comes to empowering women, just like Jesus did.
And thank you, Jenelle. Those words “I am with you” are sacred. Thank you.
Sometimes it seems like a vicious cycle. The leaders we see in the church with the most influence tend to be men, and who do you think they are mentoring? Other men. While I can understand the reasons for this, it makes it difficult for women to be built up and developed as leaders. While there are certainly strong women leaders in the church today, there simply aren’t enough women around with a depth of experience to pour into other women.
I believe the girls and women in our churches have so much in them to offer the body of Christ; they simply need someone to draw it out of them, to help them grow and develop their gifts and their voice. That’s why those of us who are women leaders in the church have such a huge responsibility to invest in other women, to see the hidden potential and raise up more women leaders.
It does kinda seem like a Catch-22, Lindsay. I agree. But I also think there are a lot of strong women leaders. My main concern here is calling the question. As long as we are actively thinking about a better representation when we are planning big events and encouraging women to step out and bring a message …
We also need to understand that the audience is as much a part of this movement as the organizers and the speakers. We are not merely consumers. It’s crucial for men and women to ask, “Where are the women?” when we don’t see a female representation on the roster. A friend recently attended a large conference in Toronto where there were no female speakers. The saddest thing, she said, was that the girls in the audience didn’t notice, or didn’t think there was something wrong with the picture.
Let’s keep calling the question.
I almost agree… I think it would be nice to have women teachers that truly mentor young ladies in the church as the scripture dictates – and that is not done fully.
But as for large group events such as the conference you mentioned, the one thing you said that really caught my attention was that becuase it was only men in the line up then we were missing out on the “full expression of God”. And I simply disagree.
God sent one Man, Jesus, to teach us. He was the absolute full expression of God even though He never got to things from a womans point of view. He didn’t get to things from a mans point of view either.
He came at things from Gods point of view.
And that was all the expression of God the world needed.
If the speakers are annointed, and chosen with prayer and discernment then I believe regardless of gender I’ll receive exactly what God intends for me.
I understand your point concerning women, but with this comment I hope to simply encourage you concerning the fullness of God. He’s able to give you exactly what you need to hear/learn.
No offence to men or women in general but if God can teach through a donkey… well, lets just say He could even teach through little old me.
Dear flyawaynet
My apologies, I’ve been away on a trip for a while, so getting back to life and the blog again. I like your perspective on how Jesus was a man and God deemed Him enough to be the full expression of God to us. It does make me think, yes. Thank you. The trouble is, for me, Jesus is also perfect. And we are not. When we account for our humanity by making the group larger, eg. several voices at a conference, I would like to see the expression of God also represented through a female voice since we, too, were created in His image and we bring something unique.
I have no trouble only hearing from a man or men. For me, it’s always about the heart of something or someone. I just noticed something–a pattern maybe, especially in the one conference–where there were no women in repeat conferences and, in that case, I begin to wonder if it’s intentional. And if it is intentional, I don’t think it’s right and I’d like to call the question. Hopefully I can do so in a gentle, but thought-provoking way.
Idlette,
I cannot express how much I agree with you. The inequality that still exists in the Church is both shocking and sad. This is such a Holy discontent for me because equality is at the heart of the gospel. The redeemed people of God are to live as one (Gal 3:28). I was at a conference a few years ago listening to an important message calling Christians to stand against injustice in the world. The speaker defined injustice as, “the use of power to with hold from others the good things that God has intended for them.” In that moment it hit me that the reason this is such a Holy discontent for me is because it is in fact an injustice. When women, gifted and called by the Spirit of God, are shut out of leadership and teaching ministries they are being held back from expressing their gifts and living out their calling….the good things that God intends for them. I noticed the same thing you did about those conferences. Thanks for having the courage to speak out about it. You have done so with grace and truth.
I love what you said, Jeannette. What a great definition. Power comes into play in so many relationships whether male/female, division of wealth, education, etc. It’s so important that we are aware of this and how we either contribute to injustice or lay down our lives for the sake of the other, isn’t it? Great to hear from you.