Actually, may I respectfully suggest that those who say there is a law that forbids women from teaching the bible to men or forbids women from being God-gifted as a pastor have already taken their scissors and cut out the context of the difficult passages of scripture. We need to read the verses in their context and not helicopter them out so that they stand alone.

There is much evidence that the context defines the passages quite differently than the hard verses taken just by themselves. There are six short excerpts from a DVD series on Youtube that will give a different perspective. You can find the clips here.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=%22cheryl+schatz%22&search_type=&aq=f

There is a logical, and natural way to read the passages in their context regarding the inspired words that God used and the inspired grammar that actually releases women to serve in their gifts for the common good.

Sometimes we have a view of women that is based on prejudice that we have carried through hundreds of years of misogyny because we haven’t worked hard enough to make the hard passages fit not only in their immediate context but also in the full view of scripture.

Worship Leaders bring the Scripture in the songs that they sing and in the lyrics they write. Correct? Therefore, in such songs, they are teaching the congregation truths about God, pastoring them in music, which, along with reading Scripture, is worship. They, at that moment, are pastoring and shepherding the congregation into the throne room. Are they, then, not pastors as well?

Personally, I am all for women as pastors, but I think that if we are going to draw lines, then we should be consistent.

Secondly, on the topic of Lifeway Christian stores, lets take the theological issues out of it. Is it not called Lifeway Christian store for a reason? If it only wanted to be representing the Southern Baptist Beliefs, then shouldn’t it be called LifeWay Southern Baptist bookstore? In your opinion, is it a misrepresentation to only include a handful of doctrinal issues but label them all as Christian? If, by pulling the magazine out, they are making the claim that what is out of their doctrine is not “christian” then we all need to do a re-examination of beliefs that we truly believe make us followers of Christ. Are there any issues, like women in ministry, traditional hymns vs, contemporary music, that define our belief in Christ, or are there a few of these issues that are up for debate? If so, then shouldn’t all Christians be allowed to know both sides and decide for themselves?

There are God ordained differences between men and women. Women are not inferior to men, just different. A man may sincerely want to give birth, but it is not going to happen. I guess Galatians 3:28 is refering to salvation for all.

If it bothers the conscience of Lifeway Stores, then why not let it be a Romans 14 thing?

love
bridget

About the magazines being taken down, hey we can’t fault others because they follow their conscience. I rather have ministries that are true to their beliefs than those who are willing to compromise them all just to follow the culture. Not displaying a magazine really shouldn’t be that big of a deal, it’s not like they started a TV campaign condemning women pastors.

I don’t understand why we put such a strong emphasis on whether women can be “pastors” or not… it’s not like they are living in sin. Sometimes we are much more willing to follow a pastor who is living in sin than a woman.. why?

We like picking and choosing which regulations we want to follow and which ones “were just cultural”. (i.e. women covering their heads, not speaking in public, etc)

We can’t make decisions based on our fears. Will the church attract more women? Who knows? Churches have been filled with women for centuries, so we couldn’t fault “women pastors” for it.