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Empowering the Called
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There is a significant disconnect between what we say we believe as a denomination and our actual practices with regard to women in ministry. Less than 6% of lead pastors in The Wesleyan Church are women and not because they are not available.
Pastor Katie Lance gives some staggering statistics about The Wesleyan Church, which claims to believe in women in ministry. Less than 10% of overall church staff positions in the church are actually filled by women. And when it comes to lead pastors, less than 6% of lead pastors in the denomination are women. These statistics suggest a strong disconnect between our theoretical affirmation of women in ministry as a church and our actual heart beliefs deep down.
Indeed, those of us who have trained women for ministry in our schools and seminary have often faced the fact that the enthusiastically called women whom we train have incredible difficulty finding a place to serve in the church. Keith Drury, in his usual hyperbolic way, once challenged the church on this phenomenon in a piece called, “Wesleyans need to quit sending daughters to the youth conventions.”
Pastor Katie Lance put it this way. “We're missing part of the body. And when we’re missing a part of the body there is disability.” The church is limping, and it doesn’t even know it. How much more could be accomplished by God’s grace if we removed barriers to his working and let the people he has called serve in the church to the fullest extent!
What are some of the objections given?
A good deal of it is that the idea is new to many of us. It’s uncomfortable because we’ve never done it before. It’s not a tradition in our church. It feels like a strange idea that would take us out of our comfort zone. Some might say it’s just not their preference.
Other reasons might be more problematic. We may actually look down on women in our hearts. We may not really think a woman could be as capable of pastoring as a man. It could be a matter of misguided pride – what would the people in town think of us? Pastor Lance mentions one pastor who didn’t feel comfortable working with a woman.
As we look to the next generation, it is important for our children – both the boys and the girls – to see examples of women in ministry and leadership. If a young man or woman grows up seeing women leading and ministering, they won’t bat an eye when the opportunity arises for them to call a woman as pastor later in life. On the other hand, if they have grown up never seeing a woman minister, it will seem strange to them and possibly uncomfortable.
I can't help but to wonder what my life would have been like and what God's movement would have been like if I would have been able to step into this calling fifty years ago.
- Ruth
In the video for the previous page, Pastor Lance mentions Ruth, an older woman who had the gifts and graces to minister but didn’t know it was even an option. After giving her an opportunity to preach, her world was changed. Not only did she realize that she had missed out on a whole lifetime of ministry, but her husband immediately recognized it was of the Lord as well.
How many women have experienced this same tension? They feel called deep down, but they have been raised in a context that tells them it’s not a possibility.
Pastor Lance simply says, “God wouldn’t ask us to do something that he won’t make a way for.” In many corners of the church, we are only coloring in the Great Commission with 8 crayons when we have a box of 64. Isn’t about time for the church to empower all of those who are called to ministry? If we want to see the good news spread, we need all hands on deck.