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Women and Leadership
by
Captain Danielle Strickland
We have become increasingly familiar with what
the raising of strong male figures looks like in the church.
And while men are able to gather and develop similar-minded
men, is the same urgency to shape strong godly females as
prevalent? Are females less proactive in mentoring younger
girls and what is our perception of women leaders or pioneers?
Do we aim to create more or less of these? How can women step
into both making sure they are learning from older women,
while passing on support to those who are younger?
Introduction:
The dialogue on women and leadership in the church is
oceanic in scope and the truth is you could easily drown in
the discussion. Many have. Some have treaded water for years
and are just emerging from the tide, a bit worn out but full
of anticipation to find both feet on solid ground. Now that
our legs are strong we are ready to run, hard and fast towards
becoming who we already are in Christ and using our leadership
gifts in and for the Kingdom.
In my experience of the church, equality is like a dotcom
company in the 90’s. It’s worth a lot – but it’s hard to cash
in. It works great on occasion, but no one is sure how. Most
of the time it’s elusive and evades us. The solid substance
and power of true equality in the church is more like an
endless ocean than a foundational truth.
Women-leadership is not a new discussion for the church. It’s
as old as the Jewish faith itself (see Garden of Eden for
details). Jesus turned traditional patriarchalism on its head
(he was deeply into equality) and ushered in the fullness of
the Kingdom of God where the Spirit was poured out on ALL
flesh. But, like the uncomfortable councils of the early
church, discussing the implications of Gentile believers
worshipping with Jewish brothers and sisters, the devil is
often in the details.
Without wading too far in the ocean of ‘gender and leadership’
I’d like to offer a few life preservers to those in the church
who would like to find their footing. These barriers and some
humble (and practical) suggestions as to how to overcome them
are intended for ALL leaders. I’ve been at too many
conferences for women about women leadership. Women leadership
is not a topic just for women; it’s for the whole church. Male
leaders need to enter the discussion and help remove barriers
that prevent women from using their gifts for the Kingdom.
It’s in the church’s best interest to help women find their
feet. Rev. Liz Rios, founder of the Center for Emerging Female
Leadership says, “Many women have determined that they have no
time to squander on the “great debate” and are mobilizing
themselves by the thousands to fulfill what we are all here
for: Christ’s Great Commission. They have gone beyond the
labels and are moving toward their call. Their mantra? Lead,
follow, or get out of the way.” (March/April 2005 Prism
Magazine)
Potential Barriers:
Barrier#1. Lack of models: glass ceiling prevents women
from modeling the possibilities of strong, external gifts.
I recently spoke at a National denomination leadership
gathering… the subject up for vote? Women leaders. They were
voting about whether women could hold senior ministry
positions. I was the guest speaker, not because I was a woman
(although that did come in handy) but because their theme was
on urban ministry and I was modeling that in my own city. I
spoke on the Friday night and Saturday was the vote. Going
into the weekend (results from the last conference) the vote
was neck and neck… on the Saturday after I spoke it was 3-1 in
favour. The whole national church has changed its position on
women. Now, although I’d like to think otherwise, I’ve got a
hunch that it wasn’t my amazing speaking ability that turned
the tide! I honestly think many of the leaders had never heard
a women speaker before. Why? They simply lack examples in
their denomination.
Think about it: the senior pastor would be the primary speaker
in an average church. If you have a rule that says women
cannot be the senior pastor – you will have an absence of
women speakers. Then women in your church and potential women
speakers in your audience and youth group will not aim for
being a senior pastor. They will aim to be a youth leader, or
a Sunday school coordinator, or a missionary, but not a senior
leader. They will think (by the absence of women) that women
don’t ‘speak’. Now, this is an obvious example. Not every
church has archaic rules about women in leadership positions
(see the poor theology section). But, it remains the same
principle.
If women aren’t leading in current positions of church
governance (which we know they aren’t – proportionally), other
women get the message. The message is: women don’t do this.
How we fix it:
o Be intentional about inviting ‘models’ of strong
women leaders to your church (even if it’s as guests: worship
leaders, speakers, administrative leaders).
o Highlight women leaders in your congregation. Women models
are often overlooked, even when they exist. Find them and have
them tell what they do and what makes them effective –
testimonies, interviews. I once knew a very gifted
communicator (who was a women) who didn’t feel comfortable
‘preaching’ (her background was in a very oppressive
denomination) but I often asked her to ‘share’ for a few
minutes about a certain scripture or topic – it always ended
up in a great message for the whole congregation.
o Invite women to apply for positions available. I know it’s
uncomfortable (affirmative action is like a dirty word in the
church) – but I think it would be helpful to have targets for
hiring… I think every leadership team should have a balance of
men and women. There is a great imbalance – so, to correct it
we have to create discipline in the area. Obviously we must
aim for qualified, competent and gifted men (not just token
men to fill the positions available). But we must be
intentional about this. One of the problems with the ‘glass
ceiling’ is that the ‘male’ leaders in power don’t know women
who can lead… they have to look outside of their influence
circles. That can be very scary and it can backfire: I think
it’s worth the risk.
Barrier #2: Poor theology:
This could easily turn into a ‘rant’. I’m trying really hard
to keep this article from becoming a ‘femi-nazi’ diatribe. But
false, archaic theology continuing to teach that women are
inferior to men and are to be kept under their control is of
the devil - straight from hell (I’m not doing well already!).
Read the Bible again. We are all aiming for the redemption of
humanity. C.S. Lewis suggested that when Christ died all of
time began to work backwards (in other words, we started
aiming for the garden of Eden). In that place (the perfect and
beautiful one) we were created to lead. ‘We’ meaning men AND
women. We were given the earth together. What created
‘headship’ is sin. Del Birkley in his book, The Fall of
Patriarchy (Fenestra books: 2005) suggests the origins and
nature of patriarchy is a “fallen worldview”. So, unless we
want to celebrate sin in our structures, churches and
relationships – we need to correct our theology about women.
How to fix it:
o Teach good theology. This cannot be overstated. If
you think it’s too hard and don’t teach anything – people will
get their theology from other sources – and unfortunately poor
theology and even heresy on women leadership is everywhere. So
don’t be fooled. If women and men in your congregation aren’t
taught the scriptural realities of equality – they will
discern it from the behaviour of your church.
How to do this:
o Bible study series, sermon series, book clubs – statements
in bulletins etc… women leadership support groups.
o Start with some deeper reading and research:
On the web:
http://www.cbeinternational.org/new/free_articles/free_articles.shtml
This is a great selection of deep theology and practical
articles about Biblical equality.
http://www.vchurches.com/cefl/home.aspx
Center for Emerging Female Leadership (includes a great
example of mentoring and leadership training)
www.armybarmy.com/pdf/JAC_Issue_043.pdf
Men, Women and the Bible (great Biblical paper on equality and
team leadership by Major Richard Munn).
Books:
10 Lies The Church Tells Women by J. Lee Grady
ABCs of Gender Equality by Gretchen Gaebelien Hall
Beyond The Curse by Aida Besancon Spencer
Why Not Women? Loren Cunningham, David Hamilton with Janice
Rogers
Group Study:
Studies on Biblical Equality: 12 Outlines for Personal or
Group Study by Berkeley and Alvera Mickelson
o Model good theology: This is often where my own denomination
is in trouble. We actually have great theology and a glorious
history of equality – but our current practice and structures
are in some trouble. The result is that ‘bad theology’ spreads
from it. It’s quite tragic actually, to have great theology
that is corrupted from your own poor behaviour. Change your
behaviour to match your theology. The church should look like
the Kingdom.
Barrier #3: False ‘humility’:
People often think that women who are confident in their own
abilities are full of conceit. This can be a combination of
barriers 1 and 2 (an absence of good models and bad theology)
leaking into a bad attitude that is tragically prevalent in
many women I’ve spoken with, in over a decade of ministry.
This toxic attitude suggests to be secure in their gifts
(particularly if they are strong, external ones) is pride.
Often people in the church call a woman who wants to lead a
‘jezebel’ and paint her as someone who is grasping at power. A
strong gifted man on the other hand is applauded when he goes
for what he wants. Women need to re-check their definitions of
true humility. Best definition I’ve heard: true humility is
agreeing with God about who you are. This defining godly
quality has freed me to pursue my gifts and positions of
leadership without feeling like I’m manipulating and conniving
to get what I desire. I’m simply agreeing with God and being a
good steward of the gifts he has given me.
How to fix it:
I’ve often found the main enemy of women leaders is
insecurity. This is a combination of worldly assaults (inside
and out) and the enemy’s desire to see women kept down.
Unfortunately the lack of intentional uplift from the church
keeps the insecurity vacuum in women empty.
o Be intentional about building self-esteem in women (the
younger the better).
o Celebrate good and strong women/girl leaders. Words have
power (affirmation, affirmation, affirmation).
o Don’t separate your youth into women and men categories all
the time… blend the groups – make them ‘topic’ related instead
of gender based.
o Host debates about what gives people value.
o Expose the ‘beauty myth’ of our culture (the costs of
objectifying women etc…)
o Celebrate true beauty.
o Find female leaders early and invest in them (courses,
speaking classes, responsibilities, affirmation).
Barrier #4: Male circles of power and influence (existing
mentoring models)
This was a similar problem with black rights in the states –
even after the law was changed it was virtually impossible to
get a job in a ‘white’ firm or office. The results of years of
white dominance were white dominance. Duh. The same is true of
churches, and leadership teams where males have dominated all
the influence. There is a circle of power that has to be
opened up to those who don’t belong. Often this problem is
exasperated by ‘one-on-one’ mentorship. This is the choice
model of mentorship in the church. One leader mentors another.
The mix of a male and female in this model is problematic (for
obvious reasons).
How to fix it:
o Create leadership support teams (community
mentoring). Instead of one-on-one mentors, create leadership
teams that offer support in different areas. Spiritual
leadership, administration, preaching, pastoral care, family
life… then open those groups to anyone who leads in those
areas (this gets rid of a boys club mentality at the same time
as an old hierarchy church model). It flattens the structure
and will produce support for both senior and junior leaders
with specific mentoring goals (rather than simple relationship
based chatter).
o Intentional goals: again, the only way to break existing
culture is to force yourself to create a new one. Ask some
questions, ‘where do you meet – who invites people – how do
they get invited – are there people left out?’ This will not
happen ‘by accident’ and may take some time and energy to
recreate a new culture in your team. It will be worth it.
o Connect. Create a connecting place to meet new leaders.
After a conference, stay for an extra meal with some new
leaders that you’d like to be intentional about connecting
with… aim for at least one women leader in every group (to
start).
Barrier #5: Orphan syndrome:
Women who have ‘made’ it without good mentors don’t know how
to mentor, release and celebrate other women. Rev. Liz Rios
founder of the Center for emerging Female Leadership says,
“Women in leadership are everywhere nowadays, in spite of the
continued debate over whether they should be there at all,
especially in the church as senior pastors. But while we may,
for the most part, be everywhere, where are we when we need
each other? Women experience the stress and burdens associated
with the leadership positions they assume. Yet while a
plethora of support groups for women center on the issues of
divorce, domestic violence, healthcare, and even finances,
very few opportunities exist for women to gather and talk
about the successes and struggles of being a female in church
leadership. Where are those women who, having struggled to
believe in their call and to take that lonely leap of faith,
are now looking back to help pull another sister up?”
(March/April 2006 Prism Magazine)
How to fix it:
o Find a strong women leader and ask her to start a
support group for other women leaders. (Note: one of the
problems in women mentoring women is that the generation
before this one didn’t celebrate women in leadership… so,
there is a great absence of strong women mentors. Creating
‘groups’ will help with the deficiency and women who have been
at leadership for sometime will have to fill the void before
they feel ready. In Africa they are missing a generation of
parents due to the AIDS epidemic. To battle the orphan crisis
they are teaching older orphans how to parent. This is a
similar solution to the women mentorship crisis in the church.
Younger women need to step up. I’ve mentored many women who
are much older than me but new to leadership. We’ve got to
leave barriers of age, assumption and cultural sensitivities
aside.)
o Host courses on Biblical Equality at every mission training
school (make women leaders an assumption rather than an open
question).
o Create supportive structures for women leaders (flexible
hours, working from home, measurable goals instead of fixed
time related jobs).
o Celebrate women leaders (model this every time you can:
avoid patronizing).
Conclusion:
There are many more barriers that exist in the church. Not
least of which is the whole structure of our church systems.
The ‘business’ infrastructure, forty hour work weeks, office
system and male ‘styles’ of leadership are big ones. The
emerging church is celebrating her ability to release women to
lead because of their flexibility and dynamic structures. We
could learn from them. Women make up more than half of the
church. If we are serious about impacting the world for Jesus
we must get serious about releasing women in leadership. I
spoke at a women’s leadership training day for HSBC (‘the
world’s bank’) recently. It was weird. I thought the ‘women’s
group’ thing was a church phenomenon. But it was different
from most of the church events I’ve been to. The national
leader of development (a man) was there and gave a speech. It
was this: “we need you. We will change to fit your emerging
needs: flexible hours, work daycares, and transparent career
management is our priority. Our goal is to see over half of
our senior positions filled by women before 2010.” I wasn’t
surprised to read later that HSBC was voted ‘best company to
work for’ that year by their employees. What really struck me
is that they modeled the Kingdom far better than I’ve ever
seen in the church. Tragic, but God help us, not for long.
Let’s rise up and be the head, not the tail – together. An
aggressive, holy, passionate commitment to women in the church
will result in their freedom, and equality and I believe, a
revolution.
Danielle Strickland
For current thoughts and issues read:
www.armybarmyremix.blogspot.com
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