Cheryl Schatz

Dave,
I could never mind your rambling on my blog! I like what you write.

I too agree that the issue of women in ministry is not one worthy of breaking fellowship over. We can be passionate and we can argue in a careful, biblical way, but I do not believe that we have the right to attack a brother in Christ as an unbeliever over this issue. It is not a salvation issue and must not be treated that way or we can cause harm to the body of Christ.

My biggest issue is getting Complementarians to think outside the box – to help them with questions and a reasoning that they may never have thought through before. In the end they may still agree to disagree but I am confident that if they actual engage the argument and are exposed to the careful reasoning that has gone into the egalitarian side, the fruit of that effort will grow in time with those who truly love the Lord and want to stay true to God’s word. I do want them to see that they must not ignore some of God’s inspired words to hold onto a male-only form of service. I believe that men are hurt when they are not allowed to listen to women teach God’s word. We have a perspective on scripture that can cause men to be more well-rounded in their view.

You may not see your conference and your denomination as touched as much by the egalitarian position as you would like, but know for sure that you are planting seeds that God can cause to grow in time. We plant. We water. And then we wait. Ah for the gift of more patience, eh?