Return

At the end of 2021 yet another pastor, a perceived ally, a gifted teacher, had allegations brought against him. It leveled many. I wasn’t closely connected with this particular pastor but I had been blessed by his teaching. I saw my friends grieve, many of which continue to grieve, as the allegations proved true and we all attempted to wrestle with and make sense of how this happened. It was and is devastating. My heart-ached as I heard story after story, much like my own, of women oppressed, abused, exploited, and used across complementarian and egalitarian spaces. Abuse and oppression of women is rampant throughout the Bride of Christ, where patriarchy continues to be the prevailing force of culture and systems of leadership.

For far too long in Christian culture women have been treated as a commodities, an expansive labor force, and the ones who will get the job done when no one else will. This is not God’s sole purpose for women, this is not what Paul intended, this is not what heaven will be like. Whether it is fear, pride, or a sincere not knowing It is time for us to lay down what we think we know. It is time to lay down our fear. It is time to repent of our pride. It is time for us to take a closer look at God’s original intent in the Garden of Eden.

As we all know, Jesus taught us to pray “thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. The only place in all of history that we have seen God’s original plan for his kingdom is in the Garden of Eden where he gave Adam and Eve co-dominion over the earth. There was no delegation of duties or tasks, merely together as God’s agents, they were to subdue and rule the earth. So when we pray as Jesus taught us and do not seek to return to his original intent for how we are to work together, we actively live in resistance to God’s will. We are called to join with God as co-creators, through the redemption of Jesus, to bear forth God’s kingdom here on earth. So here is my song of lament and hope. Here is the song I offer as a cry for hope for the church, for us as brother and sisters called according to His purpose.