Lucha Libre with Biblical Submission.
So if you haven't gathered I'm not a particularly good blogger. I started this blog to help people keep up with my adventures....how can people keep up with my life if I don't post anything? But it's summer again so maybe this is a good sign because I generally have more time in the summer than in the school year. (I mean in two days I finished a 300 page book so yeah more time in summer.)
The book I have already finished is call A Year Of Biblical Womanhood by Rachel Held Evans. It sounds a bit weird doesn't it. Well good because it is. It's a book about how a woman tries to follow what the bible says about women to a T, right down to separating herself during her "lady time" from her husband. Each month she takes a different virtue like silence, submission, modesty, etc. and does something to honor it. I think every lady in the church fundamentalist, baptist, methodist, catholic or whatever you are needs to read this book. Even if you don't agree with things she says it's good to see all kinds of sides. But be prepared...
It's a faith changer.
Here is a fun story about Janessa. So I come from a Methodist background. Both my parents grew up in a Methodist church. I grew up in a Methodist church. I was baptized, sunday schooled, VBSed, confirmed, youth grouped and now interning at the church I have attended my entire life. My senior year of high school I was in a program that taught me the history of Pan-Methodism. I also interned for that program my freshman year of college. When I got to college I became actively involve in the Wesley Student Center, where I am on leadership, I intern at a small rural church (meaning I go and lead worship including preparing a message pretty much once a month), and by the grace of God got to go to Haiti. So yeah I'm a born and raised Methodist. If you wanna know some random John Wesley or Methodist heritage facts I am your girl. I'm pretty grateful to come from a Methodist background, I love my faith tradition.
Being a born and raised Methodist I didn't really experience a lot of different faith traditions until I got to college. It's not that they weren't in Kearney but I pretty much just stayed in my Methodist bubble. A bubble which promptly burst when I got to college. I am bound and determined to find a faith community when I got to college. So I joined Gamma Alpha Lambda, a non-denom christian sorority on campus. It was here that I got smacked in the face with different theology, so much so that I thought I needed to quit because my faith was so different than theirs.
Now I had been to church my entire life, though I didn't really begin walking with the Lord until I was a sophomore in high school. It was in a GAL meeting I was first faced with a message on how women are supposed to 1) be silent in church which meant no preaching or teaching anyone other than children. 2) be submissive. At this point I was REALLY REALLY grateful that I grew up in a Methodist background, a faith tradition that honors women to the point that we have women behind the pulpit and ordained elders and deacons. I was a junior in high school when I felt called to ministry. One of my pastors even called me to his office and told me HE felt like I was called to ministry. And here was a group of women telling me that I couldn't be a youth pastor because it wasn't my place as a woman.
It drove me insane.
I poured hours into the bible trying to find scriptures that justified my calling and to prove them wrong (because I am strong willed and have a tendency to always want to be right.) I have struggled with this particular issue for my entire college career, three years to be exact. While I have stood before the burning bush (metaphorically of course) and heard God's calling for my life, hearing this words countless times discouraged me. It made me feel defeated. For a while I even said no I'm not going to ministry I'm just going to do counseling because that's what the bible says.
Enter in A Year in Biblical Womanhood. A book that I hoped would give me some answers. As any good christian book should it gave me answers but also left me with so many questions. (Maybe that's why I'm blogging all these thoughts to get them all out.) But the biggest thing I took anyway was something the author said at the end not in the chapter on being quiet in church or being submissive. The author was reflecting on her year living with all these rules and stipulations. One of the reflections was this
For those who count the Bible as sacred, the question when interpreting and applying the Bible to our lives is not, will we pick and choose? But rather how will we pick and choose? We are all selective in our reading of Scripture, and so the question we have to ask ourselves is this: Are we reading with the prejudice of love or are we reading with the prejudices of judgment and power, self-interest and greed?
Everyone whether they like it or not will pick and chose the bible. I try to dress modestly but I don't cover my head when I pray. If anything my biggest take away from this book is to respect everyone's opinions. Which seems like such a basic lesson and that I should already be practicing. but I think it's a lesson that is harder in action that in word. Who is to say that my way of interpreting the bible is more right than the lady across the hall from me.
I am still not sure where I stand on the issue of submission or silence. I know that I'm gonna be a youth pastor one day. But other than that I'm still lost and it's still an area of exploration. I once heard a sermon talking about wrestling with this kind of thing. Where we stand in our current society vs a traditional biblical society. It was about all kinds of things not just woman things. The pastor then proceed to say that all Christians need to aspire to be luchadors, you know mexican wrestlers with scripture. So that picture is what fills my mind when I think about wrestling with scripture. So I guess it's time to put on my luchador mask and step into the wring with submission and silence.
Well maybe not for a while, I have had my fill of "biblical womanhood" for a while. Maybe now I can work on When Christians Get It Wrong.
Ok those are my thoughts at 12:30 on a Thursday night after reading a faith changing book. Imma go watch Harry Potter now.
G'night
