For quite a long time I have believed that women can use their gifts of leadership and teaching in whatever capacity God calls them to in the church. I realize we don't all see eye to eye on that and I respect the position of others who feel differently as long as it comes from an honest examination of Scriptures. However, when I was invited to step into the lead pastor role at the church we belonged to, I recall how immediate the resistance was that came rushing to the surface of my mind from way down deep inside of me somewhere. It sounded like this: "Can God do that? Call me, a woman, to lead a church? Is that really allowed? I can't possibly say 'yes'...what will people think of me?"
That's called a crisis of belief! What I had said I believed was suddenly being challenged by the resistance from within that came, in part, to ways that I had been conditioned by my upbringing, previous experiences and the messages that I had internalized more than I realized that said, "Women can't do that."
Sometimes the resistance we feel is a clue that there is more work to be done in terms of owning our beliefs, convictions, and sense of call. More work to be done recognizing the subtle and not so subtle ways we've been conditioned to think that then influence our decisions in life more than we realize. I believe this matters if we are to live out, the best we can, who God has made us to be and what God has for us to do.
The resistance I have had to work through won't look like the resistance you face. But my hope is that we can be a people who recognize the resistance, name it for what it is, face it and overcome it that we may live lives that are true to who God made us to be.
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