Cheryl Schatz

Mike #44,

I am just getting back to finishing your comments.  You said:

but I still point to the fact that God set it up this way – so we would depend on each other for completeness – not just in marriage…

I agree with you.  I believe that women’s input and women’s teaching complement the man.  This makes us rather necessary not just optional.

I’ve seen women start a thing, but more often than not its a male – but once the thing is up and running, again IMHO, all bets are off – everybody is needed and has a place.

Is it possible that males are the one’s starting things because we shut the door in a woman’s face or perhaps because we give the message that this isn’t a woman’s place?

In 1988 I started a support group to help former Jehovah’s Witnesses find freedom in Christ.  While I was the one who had the vision and do the “leg work”, I let the Christian men who were coming alongside me, run the first meeting because I was a complementarian woman who knew my place.  That meeting went south pretty fast.  The Christian men had a great time debating scriptures on the Trinity and the shell-shocked JW’s hated the meeting and didn’t want to ever come back.  So I took over the next meeting and it became very clear that God had gifted me to support these people coming out of the Jehovah’s Witnesses so that they opened up to me and allowed me to teach them the truth about God and his word.  My leadership carried on for sixteen years and the only time we had trouble was when I tried to get a man into the position.  Many men are not patient enough to be a support group leader.

I would encourage us all to allow the various differences that we bring to the table (not just the gender ones) – we need all that expression within the church – again, in my mind the question still has not been answered – what is the best way to do this on a practical level?  I’ve seen so many variations – but not too many of them were very effective…

I think that on a practical level we should just let people be people.  Let them operate in their girts without judging them on their gender, their nationality or their social standing.  If we have trouble doing this, then we need to learn how to change.

I like this blog site by the way Cheryl et al. I’ve been reading a lot of your stuff – you may be on to something – I’m just trying to understand it all and figure out in my small little brain, how we can take this learning and apply it on a practical level within the church?  How can we overcome the barriers? There may be a vein of gold here that the church needs – I wanted you to know that I recognize that…  😉  MM

Thank you!  I do not claim to have all the answers.  This is why I really like this community.  There are special people who visit that give freely of their wisdom and knowledge.  I am in awe of the wonderful godly people who regularly stop by.  I think we need to be humble enough to listen to one another.  If we are willing to learn even if it is from someone who is not like us, who does not look like us or speak like us, then I think God will grant us the ability to learn.