JAC #50 Online

The Officer Women Leader - A Husband's Perspective
from JAC Issue #16
by
Captain Richard Munn
THE SALVATION ARMY USA Eastern Territory Territorial Task Force for Leadership Development of Women Officers

Introduction

 

One of the truly distinctive features of The Salvation Army is the role of women in leadership. The boldness and freshness of this singular feature is as relevant, if not more so, as it was 130 years ago.

 

For the dynamic to be fully implemented takes forthright thinking from both men and women. It is the liberty of thought specific to husbands that I will address. It is the freedom of thought characterized by William and Bramwell Booth and other pioneers of our movement. Here were husbands who were not only comfortable with their wives in leadership, but actively encouraged them.

 

Scriptural basis

 

The creation story depicts man and woman together as overseers of the land and all animal life. They tilled the soil and guarded the garden together. The word 'helper' (NIV) or 'helpmeet' (KJV) consists of two ideas - 'help' meaning 'share the same tasks' and 'meet' meaning 'do it as equals.' It is only in the curse following the fall that the original order is distorted to the husband 'ruling over' the wife.

 

The order established at the dawn of creation still exists as valid. The task following the fall is for husbands and wives to honestly examine the sharing model at the same time incorporating and utilizing individual God-given talents and gifts. It is the recapturing of the original biblical working relationship between husbands and wives that makes The Salvation Army use of shared ministry so magnetic.

 

The Ephesians 5 classification of relationships is an important New Testament principal that can set the tone for shared ministry. The principal is clear - "Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ" - with the particulars immediately following for husbands and wives.

 

For the husband to love his wife "just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her" involves the 'self-emptying' described by Paul in Philippians 2. The Officer husband who loves his wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for it takes upon himself the form of a servant, humbles himself, and dies to self by living for the best interests of his family and ministry.

 

The Revelation image of Christ as the Bridegroom in relationship with the church as his bride is also important. Christ washed the feet of his bride, equipped and prepared her for ministry and then promised she would do greater works than him.

 

Marriage Model

 

The title of 'headship' given to the husband reflects the idea of 'source' rather than 'domination.' In other words the husband takes the leadership in love. It is in this sense that the husband of the woman officer leader takes the initiative in establishing the marriage model and consequently the tone for shared ministry. The marriage is not a battle for supremacy - a rivalry between strong opponents - but rather, a co-operative symbiotic venture where what is done for one is seen as done for the whole.

 

Headship does not mean domination. Rather, it means accepting responsibility for whatever we believe the call and the expectation of God upon our lives together."

 

Masculinity

 

The caricatured fear for some husbands is that 'if I go in for this sharing stuff I will lose my masculinity.' Anthony Campolo addresses the issue with characteristic bluntness. He lists the fears men (we can substitute with 'husbands') have about women leaders as twofold. One: Loss of status in the eyes of other men. Two: Loss of sexual potency.

 

William David Spencer, husband of Aida Besancon Spencer - both ordained ministers of the gospel - speaks eloquently to these misconceptions. "Far better for males to serve our wives as Christ did the church.... enabling her to become that lovely shaped and polished jewel glorious with lustrous good works in the human bracelet that adorns the hand of God. And women.... will turn back a great appreciation on their husbands who will live a life a sultan would envy. That certainly has been my experience."

 

The crucial difference between being 'macho' and being 'masculine' is what distinguishes the husband officer who is secure enough to liberate his wife for shared leadership. The beautiful thing is that in doing so he becomes more masculine and his own ministry is enhanced and complimented. At the same time his wife is fully emancipated to minister in freedom and power according to her own giftedness.

 

By sharing in leadership the artificial pressure to manipulate and control the success of wives, children and ministry is eliminated.

 

Femininity

 

Female leadership should not deny femininity, just as it should not deny masculinity for male leaders. Men need to accept women leaders without a reduction in femininity. For a woman to function as a leader must not mean that she become 'like a man.'

 

This is also an issue for the husband and wife leadership team. The woman leader should not take the caricatured male role and transfer it over to herself. The genius of shared leadership is in the complimentary nature of the two genders. That is why it is so important to have a male presence and a female presence on committees and boards. The rational masculine tendency is beautifully complimented by feminine intuition. One bereft of the other leaves an imbalanced committee.

 

Marriage types

 

Canada's "Faith Alive' magazine found in a 1985 survey that 'shared leadership' marriages ranked higher on the satisfaction scale than 'husband-led' marriages and significantly higher than 'wife-led' marriages. Sadly, pastors' wives were rated as the group whose marriages were least satisfying. The conclusion of the survey is important with regard to husband and wife officer leaders: "Those who claim a shared spiritual leadership or mission seem to be happiest and most fulfilled in life."

 

Conclusion

 

Husbands and wives are both 'heirs of the gracious gift of life' says Peter. On this basis he warns husbands rather somberly to 'treat your wives with respect so that nothing will hinder your prayers.' One has to wonder how many male officer prayers over the years have been hindered through lack of consideration and respect for their wives.

 

Husband officers can have the unique privilege of encouraging their wives towards the noble task of christian leadership secure in the knowledge that such a role is both scripturally sound and psychologically healthy. In building up their wives for leadership husbands tap into a recognized principal: "Treat a person the way you want that person to be and he or she will become that." When husbands relate to their officer wives as genuine, god-gifted, god-ordained leaders they will become that, to the good of all concerned.

 

In practical terms this can mean shared preaching, shared days of recreation, shared titles, and shared decision making. When one has a guest, the other serves. When one has preached, the other prepares the meal. When one has a project of significance, the other assists. This is common sense and common courtesy. It is 'one flesh.' It is the 'body of Christ.'

 

The exceptional opportunity for shared leadership in The Salvation Army means that for husband and wife officers it is not you or me, but you and me. The home becomes an oasis and fortress, not a desert or battleground. The heart of the matter is that when officer husbands assume their Godgiven responsibility and empower their wives to reach full leadership potential for Salvation Army ministry they will be helped to reach theirs also.

 

This is the beauty of shared leadership.

 

 

 

   

 

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