I wanted to point out an intriguing post Rose Madrid-Swetman put up recently. As part of a reception Off the Map hosted related to the Seeds of Compassion event, she interviewed Rob Bell on the subject of women in ministry. She summarized the interview on her blog – here. But there were a couple of parts that really stood out to me.
First I liked the response from Rob (as summarized by Rose) about how he has come to view the whole women in ministry issue – He said that he used to hear the old argument that there are two sides to this theological position but now he says there are not two sides, if you hold to the position that oppresses (probably my word) women you are just wrong. I think this gets at the heart of the issue for many women. This isn’t about theology or esoteric debates, this is about oppression. And oppression is wrong. End of story. But most people really don’t get that.
The other part of the interview that stood out to me was Rob’s reaction to the question of how he uses his influence to help give voice to women. He apparently didn’t understand the question or why such a thing would be necessary. A small handful of “celebrity christian” speakers (like Brian McLaren) have made a point of not speaking at events that don’t give women a voice. They use the little power they have to help equalize the playing field and provide opportunities for those that are often overlooked. This isn’t about getting second rate speakers up there (as is often assumed), but making people aware of an issue that usually doesn’t cross the radar of conference planners. But Rob’s response was the more typical one – why is that needed?
I was interested in the comments around the web to Rose’s posing of this question. Some really didn’t get why having the voice of women present mattered at all (and of course others directly opposed such a thing altogether). Others wondered why important men like Rob should be forced to waste their time on the women’s issue. Others proposed that there are far greater issues in the world to pay attention to than than equality for women. Generally the same of excuses the church have given for years to avoid the issue. Sure they might think women should be in ministry and treated fairly, but why bother actually doing anything about it?
So I’m am grateful to women like Rose who are asking the hard questions (to prominent leaders at that) and who aren’t afraid to keep pushing for so-called beliefs to be actualized as reality.