C'mon now, Stacy, what do you really think?

You go, girl.

Preach it!

I have always liked the story of Deborah.

People like RB or Brian or whomever "it" is do nothing more than continue to prove Billy Graham true when he said, "The greatest cause of atheism in the world today is Christians themselves who acknowledge Christ with their lips and deny Him by their lifestyle." The God I serve values women, and not just in the kitchen.

Thanks, Stacy!

On the money lady!

It's kind of funny (though it didn't seem so back in the late '80s when the fundamentalists were in the process of dismantling the Southern Baptist Convention), but the church I attend--one of the largest Southern Baptist Churches in Louisville, KY--is labelled either a "moderate" or "liberal" church because we have women deacons. They seem just as capable of serving communion as the men.

:-)

Actually Jeff, I never quite got use to women serving as deacons; you crazy, liberal, diversity guru. ;)

Stacy, your story is just another example of God's sense of humor.

I've never seen any evidence that public speaking, leadership, strength, and wisdom are restricted to the Y-chromosome. In fact, when I compare the sizes of the X and Y-chromosomes, I'm more likely to wonder what got lost on the Y to make us men more unbalanced than women.

But it really comes down to gifts and calling. The church has the duty to recognize and encourage these when they appear, regardless of sex, color, income, family/political connections, or any other superficial characteristic.

We are repeated reminded not to be respecters of persons, but to recognize and rejoice in the work of God in people's hearts reflected in their lives. I certainly wouldn't want to be an ice jam on God's river!

Thus, keep on fighting the good fight, living out the gifts and calling that God has entrusted to you.

Really GAY site you have here.

Stacy, I'm a Nazarene and we have (gasp) women pastors.

Uh, gee anonymous; how long did it take you to come up with that one. BRILLIANT example of stupidity you've supplied for us. Mwah!!!

Jeff, they let your church in the SBC with women deacons? Amazing. The SBC must have changed a lot since I was forced uhhh I mean attending an SBC church... :)

Stacy: I've been mulling over what IT said last week about women. I keep on coming back to the fact that God gave THE single, most important role that any human being could possibly have to a woman - that of being the Mother to His son, Jesus - and her name was Mary. That shows how much God holds women in ESTEEM, how much he values our roles as a woman, and how he entrused WOMEN to have the most important job on the face of the earth, that of being moms. As moms, we have many different roles, but one of the most important ones is to teach our kids how to think and come up with conclusions on their own (opinions). The thing about opinions is that they are supposed to be based on FACTS rather than FEELINGS - something that IT overlooked because IT'S opinions about women seem to be based on IT'S utter disdain and contempt for us. I wonder what IT'S relationship was like with IT'S mother, and what kind of woman IT'S mother is - that might give us a clue as to why IT is the way IT is.

Not only do women have valuable lives and opinions, they also have boobies. And I think, really, that's something men will never be able to top.

(Seriously, though, misogynists are idiots).

HEY ANDY!! Funny thing, I was thinking about you the other day. Better watch that misogynist thing though, I get called that all the time. LOL

I actually had a conversation with our department chair of philosophy. He also reads fluently classical Greek. I brought several passages to him (specifically in Corinthians and Timothy) and asked him to translate. He asked a very interesting question: Did I want him to just say the words in English, or did I want him to tell me what it meant to a Greek?

It was interesting and also a bit disheartening for me. How can a woman of the 21st century live like a 1st century woman? A woman of the first century had only two jobs: marry and bear children. She was not allowed an education, to step out of the house without a man accompanying her, she kept separate living quarters from the men (and by the way, a boy then was considered a man long before 18, so why are women still "teaching" men at 15 years of age- if we stick to literalist interpretations then scripture doesn't adjust for culture, in fact, it is pitted against it),, she wasn't allowed to speak in any formal, public assembly (why then, literalists, are women "allowed" to do special music, and sometimes even speak before singing? The words in the Bible say "silent!").

Deborah is an example, but most literalists, Stacy, will tell you that she is the exception, not the standard. Good for you. God gave you a mouth, the ability to control it, and a brain, not just breasts, a uterus and general knowledge of the kitchen.

As always Rae, you're right. Deborah was not the norm, she was the exception; yet she was used. Really, we all should learn ancient Hebrew and Greek if we truly want to understand the Bible. Thanks Rae, I love your visits. Oh, and the average American thing, if I remember correctly I had 9 of them.