Cheryl Schatz

Thank you Pastor Dave for your encouragement!

We indeed do have a marvelous, awesome God who gifts people in ministry. For a very long time I downplayed the gift that He had given me feeling that admitting one had a gift seemed rather prideful. But I have come to the place where enough people have told me that I am gifted that I realize that if I do not accept what God has given me as a gift and if I do not give Him the praise for the gifts instead of downplaying these gifts because they are in me, then I am failing to acknowledge God in His rightful place as the Giver.

The bottom line is that I now recognize that what I have to offer is unique and that many people can benefit from my insight and I am challenged to keep on doing what I do by God’s grace until I see unity in the body of Christ in this issue.

I have so enjoyed debating with Peter on your blog. It isn’t often that I even get a complementarian willing to engage some of my arguments. Once they see the way I systematically and logically dismantle the traditional interpretation, they usually just run for the hills. At least Peter didn’t run right away. His comments about my argument as being like the emperor that had no clothes really made me chuckle. It is easy to charge such a thing without actually engaging the argument itself. It is a deflection in order to side-step the fact that he has no answers. But I know that God is a loving God who is gently able to remove the blinders so that Peter can see that his accusation actually describes the complementarian position. There are no clothes on THAT emperor!

My game plan has always been to fight a strong battle with my brothers in Christ remembering how I would want to be talked to if I was the one in the wrong. As much as I am able to, I try for gentleness and respect because it is these things that softens my own heart and makes me love the one who shows me my error in a way that allows me to hear without being defensive. These are characteristics that I see in Jesus and I desire to be like Him.