Gifted for Leadership

Comments

I agree with the stand that Life and doctrine were never intended to be separated and any attempt to teach about the day to day Christian life without Christian doctrine provides for a limited or empty experience.I found this post very useful and quite informative in nature.

Posted By: vitamin b12 | October 31, 2009 1:14 AM

Sarah,
I agree with you completely that there is an "interdependence between life and doctrine" and women (like every believer) need to be learning doctrine. Belief is the basis for action, even unexamined belief.

Yet something has happened that stops women short when it comes to doctrine. You mention one aspect, that women often want and need practical information, and doctrine can look purely theoretical. I also think that women have been told that they can't really understand doctrine, that it's too difficult or complicated, or only for scholars. So some are afraid even to try. With busy lives and demands on our time, we just look for the bottom line: what do I need to do?

How can those of us who work with women begin to bring change? It seems to me we need to do at least two things. One, we need to show that doctrine IS practical, that what we do comes straight out of what we believe. Second, we need to remove the “fear factor.” Perhaps one way to do this is to communicate doctrine in understandable, everyday language with stories and examples that connect with women. I’d love to hear from more readers about ways to integrate doctrine into women’s lives.

Posted By: leanne | November 3, 2009 7:52 AM

I wish we could have a cup of coffee and go around the block on this topic. If you come from the evanglical and/or fundamentalist background, the emphasis was on correct theology often at the expense of a right heart or actions. The charismatic churches-often the opposite. Good theology does not mean maturity or love. a kind heart does not mean your actions are necessarily right theologically.
There is no easy formula. What is involved here includes an individual's desire to know and committ to study and make theololgy her own, how available are those resources, and how gifted is she in this pursuit? At times in my life-I could devote large block of hours to study-now that I am working full time with a family-not so much. Another issue is how do we help new believers in the basics of bible study especially in the areas of context and history. Some of Jesus' most liberating doctrines mean so much more in the context of history and time. How much does the church encourage study or do we really just encourage service? I can't remember a really good encouraging sermon on making room for study or even how to really study the Bible on your own. On the other side is some people are really baby Chrisitans and need some help in the most basic of "hows". And of course the goal is mature believers-both in thought and deed. A good church community can straddle thisparadox but not without some thought.

Posted By: trisha | November 3, 2009 1:32 PM

Leanne and Trisha, thanks so much for your insightful reflections! Leanne, I"m not entirely convinced women are afraid of theology, though I'm sure there is some element of that present. Primarily, I believe women have been sold a bill of goods, that good women leave the heavy lifting to the men and as a result, we should be so focused on nurturing we don't have time for those things that should be left to the professionals anyway. Trisha, my response to you is directly related to my response to Leanne. We don't teach women to study the Bible because many in women's ministry today are either doing it for us, modeling it poorly, or just "facilitating." Now I realize I'm going to take a great deal of flack for this, but ladies....c'mon. We can actually teach the Bible, we don't need a video series to attempt to do it for us every time. We need to be more than facilitators, we need to be modeling and teaching how to handle scripture so that we are fully equipping each women in her understanding and service to the Lord. I can't count the times I've seen bible studies "facilitated" when in the room there are fully competent and equipped women able to teach.

So yes, life and doctrine are interdependent, and it all starts with scripture. But if we aren't teaching the women how to handle scripture, and if we aren't modeling how its done, what are we left with?

Posted By: Sarah Flashing | November 3, 2009 3:46 PM

Sarah, you certainly aren't going to get any flak from me! I cringe every time I hear about another women's video series. And I completely agree about women being sold a bill of goods. It does extend to things intellectual, and that includes theology. Your own alma mater just granted its first doctorate in Systematic Theology to a woman fairly recently. :-)

Maybe I'm seeing a distinction that you aren't making, though. I've taught a lot of women how to study the Bible over the years. And though some find it challenging, most learn it and enjoy it and go on to teach others.

But teaching theology as theology? I don't know what would happen if I offered a class on Trinitarianism, for example. Who would come? Yet there are some ideas being published on trinitarianism right now that have significant bearing on women and women's lives.

So, keep pushing us. You're absolutely right: we need to be teaching the Word itself.

Posted By: leanne | November 4, 2009 8:14 AM

Leanne, I think you see my point. In order to teach a theological topic like the Trinity proper, we need to be working with it in scripture and allowing scripture to interpret scripture...that's how we develop our theological positions. If the ladies are restricted to one passage because of the fill-in-the-blanks, seldom will they build a theological anything because they don't know how to have scripture interpret scripture. Likewise, thinking theologically is about having the ability to naturally assemble all of your scriptural knowledge and apply it to your life today, to matters scripture may never necessarily address. But both of my examples require scripture to be the starting point. So yes, when we do start teaching theology proper, we're doing so with women who have a general grasp of biblical interpretation. Saying all that, I'm quite sure you and I are on the same page, I just wanted to offer clarification for anyone else reading. :)

As far as I know, Sarah Sumner was the first female PHD (Systematic Theology) to graduate from there several years ago, and recently another very strong woman graduated and is teaching there now I believe. Woo hoo!

Posted By: Sarah Flashing | November 4, 2009 8:52 AM

This article is an answer to prayer for me. My prayer is that there would be a return to teaching sound Biblical doctrine and Theology all throughout the church. A. W. Tozer once said, "The view we have of God affects what we believe in all areas of our faith (doctrine) and how we live out what we believe." He went on to say, "It is impossible to keep our moral practices sound and our inward attitudes right while our idea of God is erroneous or inadequate. If we would bring back spiritual power to our lives, we must begin to think of God more nearly as He is." (A.W. Tozer. The Knowledge of the Holy).

To those who are concerned about theology being too difficult or too deep, let me assure you that you already have a view about God, but it may be based subjectively or more of a "fill in the blank" how do you feel about this view rather than what God reveals to us in Scripture. The problem with most Women's Bible Studies is as Sarah states...very emotive and grab a Scripture and stuff it into your felt need.

As a woman, perhaps you are not ready to teach a class on "Things that are True About God" but you can ask for it! We don't need videos...we need truth. We need to have our own presuppositions adjusted to what God says about Himself not how we feel about God in a relativistic way. How I pray that those who read this article might start a fire in our churches that sets the world ablaze!

Posted By: Jan Brown | November 4, 2009 12:01 PM

I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate this article and the responses. When our Women's Ministry Committee meets, it is to discuss whether we should arrange a "Fancy Hat Tea" or a "Spa Day". Sarah, your article has given me encouragement to keep trying. In this day and age of educated women, there is no reason to hold back teaching on everything from Bible study to current issues of concern like Replacement Theology and the significance of Middle East Situations in the light of scripture. Any thoughts bringing women to the point of openness and eagerness for the Word would be appreciated (please no videos).

Posted By: Joan Henwood | November 4, 2009 1:05 PM

Jan, to the women who may not be prepare to teach but certainly desire to, I recommend book discussion groups on theological themes or contemporary issues that can be read critical and in the light of scripture. Reading and study makes for an equipped teacher, and doing it as a group is a wonderful place to begin!

Joan, despite what people say, you are correct that women's ministry is still oriented toward the social and therapeutic events. One suggestion I have is to look at "women's issues" through the lens of scripture and the insight of Christian researchers and scholars. For example, infertility is such a heart-wrenching issue, and it touches the lives of so many women in the church in some way. How do we think theologically about procreation? Do we think theologically about it at all? Areas that touch women's lives are ways to draw them into conversations about God, man, sin, etc. Another approach is in reminding them of the influence they have on so many others lives and the importance in our world today to be fully equipped to engage not just needs, but ideas. I'm currently evaluating a book called The Portable Seminary to see if this will be a good resource for our women's leadership team. Preparing the team to go out and make disciples is a first-order concern.

Posted By: SarahFlashing | November 4, 2009 3:48 PM

Praise God Sarah! It was a joy reading your post. It really bothers me how lax the church is concerning Doctrine, which is EVERYTHING!

Without biblical doctrine there is no understanding of biblical truth! Without truth there can be no understanding of biblical love with all its applications.

Jesus said that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life... but Scripture also says that God IS love.

If our view of God and Scripture is tainted with wordly and demonic concepts, then how can the church correctly portray Christ who lives in each one of us.

The New Testament is strewn with warnings about false teachers and teachings. The only way to combat lies are with Jesus... the Truth!

Posted By: Katelynn | November 6, 2009 10:33 PM

I am so thrilled to have read this article!!! I am studying for a Master of Art's degree in Leadership Studies through Luther Rice Seminary, and have been opened up to what my studies in the Scripture has revealed. I am so fed and passionate about serious study and just spoke with our ladies ministry, in which I am a leader, about getting deeper into study and discussion instead of just a shopping retreat or social gathering. I am joyful to see more women interested and passionate about theology and everything God has to reveal through His word. I also lead small groups and am considering opening a group for women, mainly mothers of small children (of which I am one), who want to read and study the bible in it's true form...and not with workbooks, videos, or supplements. Thank you for such an encouraging and enlightening article.

Posted By: Kim | November 10, 2009 12:47 PM

Sarah, thanks for this article. I have been leading the women's ministry side of a marketplace ministry for 7 years. Although I grew up in an evangelical, Reformed theological tradition and have a decent understanding of how to read Scripture (I have a J.D., so reading "law" is part of my training), I have no formal theological training.

I love teaching God's Word and believe that teaching is one of the spiritual gifts I've been given, without a systematic theology course under my belt, I sometimes wonder whether I'm theologically accurate in the emphases I select, in spite of hours spent reading commentaries. Do you recommend a particular avenue for laymen to pursue grounding ourselves in systematic theology?

I'm also struck by folks' comments about the video-driven studies women's ministries have come to rely upon. While they're great as part of a much larger course of study and have opened Bible study facilitation up to tons of women who wouldn't otherwise lead studies, their long-term use seems to be stifling the growth and raising up of new teachers. Although video studies teach women to apply Biblical principles to their own hearts (a very good thing), these studies rarely challenge women to ferret out the Biblical principles from Scripture and then teach/instruct themselves.

One thing I've considered for this spring is offering a 12-week women's series on Jesus' Parables, where I and my co-teacher would spend a week or two teaching the inductive Bible study method, then do a few weeks of teaching ourselves but then ask a different woman from the group to volunteer to teach several of the weeks. I'd provide each woman who volunteered to lead with some resources (commentaries, maps, dictionaries, etc.), talk through the Scripture with her, and be available during the study, but she would be the primary teacher. I hope that format would encourage some of the very sharp business women in our ministry to become more comfortable handling God's Word and potentially launch some of them into their own teaching ministries if they have the teaching gift.

Of course, all of this is subject to my earlier caveat that I'm still not sure I have my own theology straight.

Any thoughts?

Jennifer

Posted By: Jennifer | November 11, 2009 3:17 PM

Jennifer thanks so much for your very thoughtful reaction to my post. You've given me a lot to think about and so much more to respond to. I do think as a leader you should be studying scripture through the study of systematic theology, because the larger picture you have of the core doctrines as well as the woven tapestry of scripture, the better equipped you will be to speak to the fuller meaning of the text. Yesterday I taught on Ephesians 4:1-3 at a women's seminar at my church. In true women's ministry form, I would have just stayed in that verse and taught about the practical was evangelical women can honor God in their daily lives. Having a deeper theological understanding of "the call" necessitates we discuss the call. Seeing the rich teachings of God's sovereignty, our adoption, redemption, etc in Ephesians 1 shows the gravity of what it means to "live worthy." It's a HUGE calling and that is a fact that can be missed when we don't understand how to connect the dots in scripture and see the fuller implications. That is some of what it means to think theologically and something that the study of systematic theology will train women (or anyone) to do better.

We're all working on getting our theology "straight." Best wishes on that very worthy study!

Posted By: Sarah Flashing | November 15, 2009 12:23 PM

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