Alisa Hope Wagner

The Bible influences me in every way imaginable. This fact has become more apparent because of this class.  I am learning how to allow the Bible to speak into my life, and I have come to understand that the Bible is an absolute necessity in my life if I want to live in the light of God’s power.  Specifically, the Bible has changed my opinion on how I view women’s role in ministry.

This class has helped me to understand the fundamental truth that we all have the ability to serve God’s ministry in any way that God sees fit. We all have the ability to share the Gospel. We all have the ability to share God’s love.  We all have the ability to have authority in speaking God’s Word.  This all-for-one, equal opportunity standard has never been clearer than when Jesus walked this earth.  Jesus went beyond the erroneous system of humans to the perfect system of God. What precisely is the system of God? I do not know, but it sure is fun to explore the possibilities.

Christian history was one of the principal factors that helped cultivate my view of women in ministry.  Throughout history, I can see where this erroneous system has constantly tried to rob women of their right to be in God’s service.  Many women – Debra (the Judge), Priscilla (teaches about the Holy Spirit), Blandina (a slave and martyr), Paula (studied and taught God’s Word) and Teresa of Avila (a spiritual writer) – were able to serve God’s perfect intent for their lives even through the constraints of this imperfect system. Although these women were able to fulfill their divine role, how many women did not even try? Although I believe that women are accountable to God alone, I wonder if we are made concessions, since this man-made system is not in our favor.

What really caused me to reexamine my opinion of women in the ministry was the legalization of Christianity by Emperor Constantine. Many aspects of ministry that are seen as God’s truths today are merely just consequences of the external elements of the time. Constantine simply organized the Church in the fashion that which he was most comfortable. But who could really blame him? He was trying to make sense of something that many times makes no sense. The main downfall of his system is that humans cling onto it, and we try to declare it as God’s perfect system. We keep trying to mold God’s Word into our flawed system; instead, we should be amending our system to better mold into God’s Word.

My view of women’s ministry today is that as long as it bears godly fruits, we cannot judge it.  I am really trying not to judge ministries or people at all because I fear I might be judging God’s will in the process.  People are so diverse and so complicated, maybe God needs a lot of different ministries and individuals to reach the diverse lost.  I probably would have trouble leading a tattooed rapist to Christ, just as someone else would have trouble leading a mini-van driving stay-at-home-mom to Christ. It takes all kinds of people to show God’s love in a way that it will be received.  God’s children are lost, and we need to be willing to obey our individual life-plan to bring them home.

This nonjudgmental attitude definitely needs to be dispensed into women’s ministry today. There are so many churches in Corpus Christi filled with so many different women.  I would be hard-pressed to say that there is only on system that would work for all.  In our church, we have created a system in our women’s ministry that really works for a large church that is growing rapidly with unchurched people. Our church caters to people who do not like the old system of doing church. Many of our members have been burned by church, but most of them just have never experienced old church traditions.  Our women’s ministry’s main goal is to provide connectiviness for the women of our church. Our church is very big, and women need to be plugged into a service that provides them support and leadership.

                I used to judge small, traditional churches. I always wondered how they could stand by their traditions as a multitude of lost people wandered past their church doors.  I also used to judge the role of women in these churches. I remember as a youth looking around my Baptist church and seeing no women in any leadership roles.  Women did not even pass the offering buckets or hand out church flyers. But, I have come to realize there is a place for these churches, as well.

 My brother and his family go to a small church.  My brother and his wife believe that women must be silent in church. If women do have a leadership role, it is only in authority over youth or other women.  I wondered if my sister-in-law, who has Christ-like compassion, would ever be able to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. She has found a way. She started an apartment ministry that ministers to low-income children. She is making a difference in a powerful way that suits her beliefs. If she is able to serve God in a way that she is most comfortable, who am I to judge? There are a multitude of different kinds of people out there. God’s perfect will can be achieved even through our flawed sytem.