Who knew that a little, yellow book could get my heart racing and my face smiling so big? Sarah Bessey has given words to the thoughts in my head and the hope I've longed for. I've been wandering through questions of my role as a woman and my place in ministry. To say the least, it has been a long road. And I don't think I've arrived quite yet, but I am so much closer to clarity. I am encouraged and enlivened after reading this book.
Jesus Feminist is not about female domination or man-bashing. It's not even angry. After reading this book, I've learned that this word "feminist" simply stands for redemption. Jesus was concerned with redeeming this world, and women are a part of this movement. That is where I want to start. I want to look at the injustice and discouragement I see and see room for redemption. I don't want to criticize the Church with anger or bitterness. As I walk towards redemption of God's people, I've been learning so much from this book.
There are too many notes in my book to highlight every lesson I've learned from Sarah. She writes with bucket-loads of grace. Instead of addressing this topic with cynicism and anger, she speaks with respect for all people. She doesn't put people down or elevate women unfairly. Still, there is boldness in her statements. Her love for Jesus made her a feminist. Her desire to be a part of God's Kingdom drove her to dig into these topics of equality and Biblical views. And her consideration of God's Church moved her to speak up with truth and grace.
"I pray for unity beyond conformity," Sarah says, "because loving-kindness preaches the gospel more beautifully and truthfully than any satirical blog post or point-by-point dismantling of another disciple's reputation and teaching."
Yes. Let us, men and women alike, seek redemption through loving-kindness. Let us be unified, even if we disagree. And I'm realizing, many will disagree. The topic of gender roles and women in ministry has been a long-discussed and debated conversation in the Evangelical world. I've heard so many egalitarian and complementarian arguments in my life as a pastor's kid. And I've been on a Christian college campus for most of the last eight years, so again, this is a hot topic. I've often been hurt and frustrated by what I've perceived as stifling efforts. Again, Sarah speaks to these parts of my questioning.
"Stay there in the questions, in the doubts, in the wonderings and loneliness, the tension of living in the Now and the Not Yet of the Kingdom of God, your wounds and hurts and aches, until you are satisfied that Abba is there too. You will not find your answers by ignoring the cry of your heart or by living a life of intellectual and spiritual dishonesty."
As many questions as I've had, and still have, I am at the point that I trust God's desire for people is wholeness. He wants us to be wholly his and wholly who he's created us to be. We can't just be "ourselves" without knowing him. And we can't be fully alive in Christ without working in the giftedness he's given us. Our part in the Kingdom is about giftedness and glorifying God, not gender.
I realize gender is a weighty topic, and I don't have the education or knowledge to speak much to the complexity of our differences. I do know, though, that I desire to serve God in a way that truly amplifies his love and Truth. If that means preaching or teaching, I want to do those things. If that means raising a family and staying at home, I want to do those things.
As a Jesus Feminist, I desire to be more like Jesus. I'm working through what that looks like for me and how I can encourage other men and women to do the same. Again, Sarah does not write solely to women, rallying them together for an army of bra-burning, pant-suit-wearing she-beasts. She writes to men and women, urging them to revisit God's movement of restoration and redemption. I want to be a part of what God is doing. I want to stand tall for women who are treated unfairly or forced into a box.
Let us be men and women of hope and redemption.
