Women in the Kingdom of God
Introduction
Welcome to the fourth in a series on God’s kingdom women. I hope your thinking has been stimulated by these posts. Perhaps these discussions are new to you. I encourage you to get out your Bible and read what God has to say about His kingdom daughters.
We are seeking to answer some serious questions. We have covered the first two:
1. If men are superior to women, then why doesn’t God say so in his word?
2. If men are in charge, then why have women gotten the blame historically?
3. If men desire to rule by privilege and domination, then why did Jesus become a servant?
4. If men are essentially equal to women, then why are women still forbidden to serve in leadership positions?
5. If men are effective leaders, then why is there still so much abuse in the church and the home?
In this post we answer the question: If men desire to rule by virtue of their position, then why did Jesus become a servant?
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Phil 2:5-7
Julie – Servanthood
Julie hurried up the stairs to the entrance of the church. She wanted to arrive early so she could meet with the pastor before the service started. Nearly out of breath, she came up short as she suddenly realized the doorway was blocked by Marvin. Pulling himself up to his full height he said, “I’ll take those,” referring to the papers that Julie was carrying. “As a woman you can’t be seen giving any financial statements to the pastor.”
“Oh, of course,” Julie replied. “I didn’t think anyone else was here. Here you are. It’s the balance sheet that the pastor requested.” The pastor had called Julie on Saturday afternoon and requested that she bring the most recent balance sheet to church the next day. As the only person in the church with accounting experience, Julie had been asked to do the bookkeeping for the church until a man could be found.
Marvin sauntered over to the pastor who was busy getting his notes ready on the podium. The pastor glanced at them and obviously pleased he thanked Marvin. Julie went to the kitchen to see if she could help the women get things ready before the start of Sunday School.
After the service, the offering was counted by the deacons and handed over to Marvin. Later in the week, Marvin would privately send a report to Julie so she could update the accounting records. Only Marvin, the pastor, Julie, and her husband knew that this was the arrangement. Not even the other elders or deacons let alone anyone in the congregation knew that Marvin wasn’t handling the accounting. They believed that only men could hold a church office. It never occurred to anyone that a woman was in the background doing the important work of keeping the financial records and filing any obligatory statements that the government required. It wouldn’t be right for a woman to be seen as fulfilling an official role. Of course, Marvin must get the credit in order to maintain proper biblical standards.
The church was in this situation since they had come together to form a fellowship several years prior to this. When they had reached over twenty families, they believed the Lord was calling them to form a church. An established congregation in a nearby city adopted them as a daughter church. With the help and advice of the larger congregation’s board, the newly formed church hired a recent seminary graduate to be their new pastor.
The fledgling church installed their pastor and elected elders and deacons. They formed a board and elected officers including the church treasurer. They elected elders and deacons. The pastor was the head elder, and the treasurer was the head deacon. As a patriarchal church they elected only males. But they had a problem. There were no men in the church who worked in accounting. One elder’s wife happened to be a CPA. It was decided that Julie could assist Marvin, the church treasurer, but as soon as they could find a man, of course she would be replaced.
In the meantime, the pastor and Marvin were glad that Julie knew how to set up the accounting for a new organization. She was the only member of the small congregation that had experience with accounting and tax returns. Julie filed for the 501(a)-exemption status for charitable organizations with the IRS. Using an excellent software program, Julie developed the spreadsheets, forms, and other documents needed to keep accurate records. She would be able to print out financial statements as the pastor needed them. She would be able to satisfy the annual government requirements. Working from home she could do it all privately.
Julie understood the importance of maintaining good records for the church. She considered it an honor and a privilege that the men placed their trust in her. She was thankful to God for giving her the gifts and ability to do a professional job productively and effectively. She was grateful that even though she was a woman, she could serve the church in this way. Because her husband was an elder, she was comforted with the knowledge that it could be said that she was working under his headship. She not only did not mind remaining in the background, but she would have been mortified if anyone found out. She never wanted to be seen as a woman who was usurping her place of submission to men.
Many months went by, and Julie stayed faithful to her task. One day a new family joined the church. The husband was a businessman and knew something about bookkeeping. After a few weeks, he was elected to the deacon board. He was approached by the pastor and Marty to take over the task of the accounting. Since he had only been a bookkeeper, he knew little about preparing financial statements. Marvin assured him that he could use a computer program that was already established for their church. They had a member who had set up everything he needed to maintain good books. All the man had to do was keep it up. He could learn as he went.
Marvin emailed Julie and directed her to turn over the church financial records. She was to submit her CD containing the accounting software, spreadsheets, forms, letters, and any other documents pertaining to the church accounting. She was to do it immediately so that the new church bookkeeper could have time to get up to speed before the next service.
Though stunned at the timing of the request, Julie immediately responded to Marvin’s email that she would comply. She had worked hard every week making sure she was always up to date. It would only take a couple of hours to make sure the latest figures had been entered. She would give the CD to her husband as the proper authority to take to the board meeting on Thursday night. Just like that, her service was no longer needed.
Julie hung her head over her desk and cried. Even though she had remained in the background, her service to the church meant something to her. The knowledge that she was doing a competent job at something necessary and important made her feel that she was contributing to the work of the kingdom of God. Though she knew the day would come when the task would rightfully be given to a man, she felt a sense of loss.
“Lord, please forgive me for being so selfish,” Julie prayed. “You know that I was chiefly doing this to serve you. It does not matter what others think. I have always tried to make sure my left hand did not pay attention to what my right hand was doing. I should not be looking for the praise of others. As a woman it is not my place to have a position of authority, nor do I need status before I will serve you. I was glad to serve you when I could. For me, it will be enough of a reward when I get to Heaven and hear you say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!’”
Further thoughts:
A faulty theology of leadership is responsible for limiting the work of women in the church. Patriarchal theologians do not recognize the giftedness of women for ministry, precisely because they have already determined the “roles” for men and women. Because it was assumed that women many not be leaders, Julie had her work taken away from her. A man who had no accounting experience was given the task based on his maleness as the chief qualification. The men at Julie’s church also seemed to forget what leadership is really supposed to look like. Jesus did not lord it over his disciples; he got down on his knees and washed their feet.
God has always called and gifted women for service in his kingdom. It is a shame that many churches do not take advantage of this and spread the workload out among their people. Why would God gift women as He does if He did not want them to serve?
