Workaholic Faith
When I became a Christian, I knew I’d found my life purpose. I wanted to serve God with my last ounce of strength. I read Christian biographies voraciously and latched onto any report of modern-day Christians who were giving their all to Christ and his kingdom. I often felt that my life was too easy—that I never suffered for Christ as some people did, which to my way of thinking made me an inferior Christian. What this translated into for my life was that I said yes to everything anyone asked me to do and constantly looked for challenging people and situations to be involved with.
What this eventually led to (it took about 20 years—I’m tough) was burnout. I over-extended myself in almost every area of my life. In my false idea that only doing the hard things would please God, I worked part-time for a Christian organization, volunteered for three different organizations, and mothered three children. I wanted to do all of this perfectly, better than anyone had ever done any of them before. I also looked for practical needs all the time that I could meet. During this time, I remember telling the women in my small group that I always worry that I’m not doing enough to serve God. They looked at me shocked and said, “You worry about not doing enough?” I could tell by their expressions that I’d just put them all under the pile, but I stuck to my conviction (that I truly felt) that I wasn’t doing enough.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on October 10, 2008 | Comments (0)
How Do I Uncover My Spiritual Gifts?
Notice the things that energize you and seem to come naturally. Remember the quote from the movie Chariots of Fire when Eric Liddell explained to his sister why he was postponing his return to the mission field in order to race in the Olympics? "Because when I run, I feel the pleasure of God."
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on October 8, 2008 | Comments (1)
What Love’s Got to Do with It
There’s a woman across from me on a wooden bench describing her life as a member of a rural agricultural cooperative in northwestern Haiti. It’s hot so we’re sitting in the shade of an old Brazilian military tarp that has been strung up between two trees. I’m in northwestern Haiti as a photojournalist for Church World Service, to document the stories of men and women who support each other through low interest loans. She’s speaking Creole, so I’m not catching everything she’s saying, but I’m careful to make eye contact, nod, scribble notes, adjust my tape recorder, and glance at my translator every once in awhile.
The truth is, I’m not fully paying attention. Instead, I’m fully engaged in a daydream about a man that I’ve recently fallen in love with. As the woman explains the way that her life was changed by a loan of $50 that allowed her to purchase a donkey, I’m recalling the conversation he and I had on a balcony with the sun setting over Port-au-Prince where his vulnerable confessions of affection melted into my relief. She continues to describe the distance she and her donkey travel every day to carry goods to the market. I’m on the back of his motorcycle on our way to buy dinner from our favorite street vendor. And so the interview continues.
My work in Haiti took a drastic turn when I found myself in a relationship that had a sincerity and gravitational force that made any previous interests seem like planks on a bridge I was now crossing.
Continue reading...Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on October 7, 2008 | Comments (4)
Leading Like Life is On the Line
One of my favorite recent reads, Amy Krouse Rosenthal’s Encyclopedia of an Ordinary Life starts this way: “I have not survived against all odds. I have not lived to tell. …” What’s not to love about a book that starts this way? I have to tell you, my life feels like Amy’s. While I may certainly have survived against some odds I never knew of or lived to tell because of some intervention by my guardian angel, in reality I’m no survivor either. My life has been fairly “ordinary,” and I think I lead that way.
I mean, the “risks” I take are rarely real risks. Failure or messing up in most of my leadership arenas doesn’t put anyone’s life on the line or anything. More often than not, dollars and cents are on that line. And it shows in the way I lead.
I never gave this any thought until I started watching the changes in my friend Kim. Last spring, at 36 years old, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Over the summer, she’s endured surgery, daily radiation, and is now on medicine that “promises” to keep cancer at bay.
Now she is a survivor!
Continue reading...Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on September 30, 2008 | Comments (0)
Sexual Misconduct at Church
One day more than a decade ago, the senior pastor of my church stopped by my house unannounced. I had just had a baby, so I presumed his visit was pastorally motivated, although I was a little thrown off by his sudden appearance at my door. I invited him in, and we made small talk for a while. My baby began to fuss and it soon became apparent that he needed to nurse. My pastor didn’t take his cue and offer to leave, so after several tense moments of trying to soothe my son without whipping out my breast to feed him, I told my pastor that we’d need to continue our conversation some other time. He finally left.
I didn’t think too much of this incident—at least not until he showed up a second time uninvited. Thankfully, I was running out the door, and I told him I couldn’t visit right then. As I drove away from my house, I had a sick feeling in my stomach, like something wasn’t quite right. Why would my pastor drop by without calling first? And why me? We weren’t that closely connected through the church. Why would he stop by my house to pay a visit? Don’t people usually call first?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on September 19, 2008 | Comments (13)
Is She Driving You Crazy?
I know about those "work" friendships.
Jan and I started chatting on the phone several years ago when our sons became good friends. Jan is caring and funny, and I enjoy our time together. But she started popping in several times a week. When she came to visit, she clearly expected me to drop everything and play hostess. Even the days she didn't drop by, she called—sometimes several times. "Just one more thing … " she'd say. Then an hour later, my errands would still be undone and dinner would be late—again.
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on September 8, 2008 | Comments (0)
Sexual Misconduct at Church
A new study of self-described “active Christian women” shows more than a quarter personally experienced sexually inappropriate behavior, and one fourth of those that experienced it said it happened in a church or ministry setting. The survey, based on answers given last fall by 779 American women to NationalChristianPoll.com, was designed to capture the range and extent to which women encounter unwelcome, gender-based behaviors by their male counterparts, either in the workplace or within a church or ministry setting. Commonly reported inappropriate behaviors include sexual advances, touching or sexual contact, suggestive jokes, glances with sexual overtones, and demeaning comments.
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on September 3, 2008 | Comments (2)
Bold Forgiveness
The last place we expect to get hurt is within the family of God. We assume church people are safe people. But, hurt comes with church leadership. When it happens, the wounds it brings can quickly become a breeding ground for bitterness.
Bitterness can become a gnarly vine that chokes our souls. It poisons our hearts and actions. Scripture says we and others will pay a great price if it is left unchecked (Hebrews 12:15).
What’s a Christian to do? When we are wronged, justice demands that someone pay for the wrong. We know that the Lord wants us to forgive. But how can we handle the tension between justice and forgiveness?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on August 26, 2008 | Comments (13)
"God, Rock The Summit"
This year's roster at Willow Creek's Leadership Summit conference includes an impressive lineup of leaders from both the ministry and secular business realms. Pastors John Burke and Efrem Smith, and Bill George (current Harvard Business prof and former CEO of Medtronic Inc.) spoke yesterday, as (of course) did Bill Hybels. Today we heard from Craig Groeschel and Chuck Colson, and later from Brad Anderson, vice-chairman and CEO of Best Buy. But for my money, the two most challenging and inspiring presenters were relative unknowns--two women who lead small but incalculably influential organizations.
Continue reading...Posted by Roxanne Wieman on August 12, 2008 | Comments (4)
Ethnic Blends
When a position becomes available in most churches, leaders tend to contact those they know and trust for names of those they'd recommend for the job. The people we contact and those they recommend are, more often than not, people just like us in ethnic, economic, and educational background.
Posted by Bonnie McMaken on August 8, 2008 | Comments (1)
Surprised by the 'Old Guard'
As the daughter of academics I was encouraged to be a free-thinker, especially when it came to God. My parents were not afraid of questions because their faith was so strong in the One who gives answers. Yet I lived (and still do) a paradoxical life: A home life of free-thinking and free-discussion amongst a community of “don’t rock the boaters”—the Old Guard of evangelical tradition.
Amidst the Old Guard of evangelicalism, when I came out of Wheaton College in 1992, there was a group who left appreciating our evangelical roots, and willing to think bigger. One of my friends became the religious editor for the Chicago Sun Times. Another friend founded a church. It grew to over 10,000 people assembling each Sunday in less than a year—and is still going strong. This friend also started a not-for-profit, making short films with this ‘new’ take on Christianity. As a woman with leadership skills and a call to ministry this new direction for evangelicalism was very exciting.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on August 6, 2008 | Comments (15)
Food for Thought
There is a difference between being peaceful and being a peacemaker. A fellow pastor told me about an elected church leader who refuses to become involved with anything controversial. This leader is a no-show on big issues and justifies his behavior as "a desire to be peaceful."
Being peaceful, however, is different from being a peacemaker, which we are all called to be.
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on July 28, 2008 | Comments (0)
Service Outside the Pew
I climbed on a bright green trolley and instantly heard calls of “Suz!”
Twenty-seven freshman girls were perched in the seats, waving. The driver put the trolley in gear. And off we went.
We traveled to a refurbished theater from the 1950s and watched an independent film. Then we hopped back on the trolley and traveled to the Music Hall of Fame. The students went wild when they realized their entertainment was area musician Colton Swon, one of the Top 50 in this season’s American Idol. Next we traveled to WISH, a safe home for battered woman where we ate lunch and discussed statistics and where to find help if you are a victim of dating abuse. Our last stop was at The Castle, a local Renaissance Fair building complete with history, knights, kings, and queens.
It was a special day as a community mentor with a local high school.
What does this have to do with ministry?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on July 15, 2008 | Comments (6)
Food for Thought
Even the most dedicated people often shy from being called into "leadership." So instead, when one of our current leaders (we like to call them "servants" or "coaches") sees someone passionate about a ministry, he or she approaches that person with an invitation:
"Beverly, I've watched you get passionate about God's purposes. And I've seen you display gifts of caring and evangelism. I'd like to invite you to serve with me on this missions project."
Posted by Bonnie McMaken on July 14, 2008 | Comments (1)
The Wow Factor
Over the years, I’ve discovered that the best haircuts aren’t a matter of what I think when I stand up from the stylist’s chair, but the feedback I get from friends (and even strangers) after I walk out of the salon. Comments like “Great haircut!” and “Love the look!” signify that that the hairstylist knocked it out of the park. Whereas questions like, “Was that the look you were going for?” and “Wow—did you want it that blonde?” leave me wondering what just happened. I want to have the wow factor when it comes to my hair—just not that kind of wow factor.
So what’s this got to do with leadership? Bear with me, because just as I’ve been discovering secrets to increasing a healthy wow factor in my hairstyle, I’ve realized their application to leadership. Consider these wow factor hair tips:
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on July 8, 2008 | Comments (3)
Drowning in the Fishbowl
I walked up to the red door with trepidation. Please God, don’t let anyone recognize me today.
We had just moved, and I needed desperately to meet God on his turf. I needed a church. At the same time, I dreaded the people in a church. Dreaded the moment someone would ask what my name was and what I did. Even worse, I dreaded the people who would approach and tell me who I was and what I did.
I was working for a national ministry at the time, in a semi-public position. My name and picture were on the front pages of their magazines, and my byline showed up regularly. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to make me recognizable to a certain subgroup of Christian women. Well-intentioned churchgoers would assume they knew more about me than they did. They’d ask me about my children (which I didn’t have). Look around for my husband (he worked weekends while going to school full time, and so he wasn’t with me). Make assumptions about my spiritual life, during a season when the holes in my faith resembled Swiss cheese.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on June 13, 2008 | Comments (11)
Food for Thought
It seems like ministry today has been reduced to strategy and outcomes and production. And, frankly, that is what makes you famous—developing a new ministry strategy. If you can reproduce it and sell it, you can get a book deal.
Ministry to "the least of these" is about people, and it's messy. But there are godly people all over this country who have been loving people in the name of Jesus, and I think that's real ministry.
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on June 9, 2008 | Comments (2)
The Title I Didn't Ask For
I married a banker. I like to remind my banker-turned-pastor husband of this when we’re having a particularly difficult time in the ministry. Although I wouldn’t trade his occupation (some would say “calling”), my husband’s career choice bestowed on me a title I never bargained for when we walked down the aisle.
I am a pastor’s wife.
While I know plenty of women who are thrilled to bear this title, I’ve never worn it very well. I was always confused by the girls at the Christian college I attended who said they felt “called to become a pastor’s wife.” Since I grew up Catholic, I was astonished to learn that pastors were allowed to marry. More shocking to me, however, was the idea that God would call a woman to be a spouse of someone’s occupation.
How do we treat the women (and men) who happen to be married to our pastors? Do we balance them precariously on high pedestals? Do we set impossible-to-live-up-to expectations for them to follow? Are we quick to criticize when they fail or act (gasp!) human? Will we take the time to get to know—really know—them?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 20, 2008 | Comments (18)
Setting Ministry Boundaries
The biggest change Christ made in my life is a desire to serve others rather than myself. Before I became a Christian, it was all about me. Afterward, I was drawn to the weak and hurting and constantly looked for opportunities to minister. I took to heart Jesus’ instruction that if I wanted to save my life, I had to lose it. This led me to full-time Christian work and helping to plant a church.
What I didn’t know then, but am learning now, is that I simply cannot help some people. I’m sure that I understood this intellectually. I was aware of the joke: “How many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, if the light bulb wants to be changed,” but I thought I would have a lot more success than most psychiatrists since I had help from the Lord of the Universe. And that’s true. I do have help a secularist could never tap into.
I thought those who were wounded would be able to understand God’s love if I just loved them enough. In some cases, this happened. Some that I loved did understand God’s love and were able to move beyond the hurts of their past. However, others couldn’t comprehend the love I offered and only found reasons to blame me for their lack of comprehension. I became the recipient of all their anger.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on May 6, 2008 | Comments (16)
Is Women- or Men-Only Ever Okay?
A couple weeks back, as I eyeballed the catalog for an upcoming auction held by the Christian school I graduated from, send my kids to, and serve as Alumni Board President of, a chill fell through my body, numbing it along the way. Feeling came back as I reread the chill-inducing words—which this time sparked a rage:
“Are you up to the challenge? [Club] member and [School] parent [Blankety Blank] invites you to go for it! Three gentlemen are invited to be [Blankety’s] guests for 18 holes of incomparable golf at this famed all-men's course. After the game, enjoy refreshments in the traditional atmosphere of the clubhouse.”
—Donated by Blankety and Blankette Blank
Anyone else see a problem here? Well, I did. An abomination, actually. I couldn’t believe that this school—which I loved, which shaped me, made me think I could do anything God called me to do, and which now shaped my children—would accept money from this source that screams: “Women are a nuisance! Women aren’t as good! Women don’t belong!” I couldn’t believe that this passed as something that supports the school’s mission to develop academically prepared disciples to transform the world for Christ.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on April 29, 2008 | Comments (25)
When Good Gifts Turn Bad
In my observation, some of the worst "troublemakers" in organizations of all kinds are women with frustrated leadership gifts.
Like all gifts, leadership can be used in positive or negative ways. Someone with the gift of hospitality may use it to build up the body of Christ--or to foster a clique. A gifted teacher may help others learn--or sit back and ridicule those who do teach. And women with leadership gifts can choose to embrace their gifts and the responsibility God has given them to exercise their gifts for his glory. Or they can reject their gifts, try to be someone else, and end up leading others in destructive ways.
Because they can't squelch God's gift, they can't help but lead. They lead others astray, seek (and often find) followers, lead rebellions, and champion pet causes that are at odds with the goals of the organization as a whole. They criticize and find fault with their leaders. They manipulate others into doing what they want them to do.
Continue reading...Posted by Amy Simpson on April 25, 2008 | Comments (13)
Food for Thought
Women process pain differently than men. Women need to talk about it, to get it out in an affirming environment before receiving direction. Empathetic listening skills are critical. Understanding is essential. In some ways, women desperately need the comfort only other women can give.
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on April 21, 2008 | Comments (1)
Finding My Voice
A couple months ago in the Presidential campaign, we all saw Hillary Clinton become a little emotional when a reporter asked her a question. I was stunned by all the buzz generated by the press and subsequently chatted about beside water coolers and in coffee shops all over the country. A couple days after the event, Clinton remarked that perhaps she had “found her voice.” I fully understood what she was driving at. Every leader needs to find his or her voice over time. But as a woman leader in the church, the challenge for me has been to discern what truly is my authentic voice, and what is an attempt to mimic the voices of male leaders I respect. In all kinds of settings, we have to discover what voice is the one that most accurately reflects our God-given instincts, personality, perspective, and story.
By nature I am a fairly emotional and expressive person. I don’t believe this is unique to female leaders and communicators, though sometimes people assume that males will be more “in control” of their emotions and speak from the head more than the heart. Certainly there have been times both in meetings and in the pulpit when I have attempted to at least put a lid on becoming too emotional, avoiding the kind of blubbering that thwarts the ability to even choke out words. But to hide all my passion and deep feelings simply isn’t me.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on April 15, 2008 | Comments (10)
Food for Thought
Stephen Ong, pastor and founder of Victory Baptist Church in Greeley, Colorado, chose to build the church on an intergenerational model. “Too many families were living Christianity only at church,” Ong says. “It wasn't being applied at home. I figured if we could bring families together in their walk of faith on Sundays, it would create a mutual accountability that would stay with them throughout the week.”
Posted by Bonnie McMaken on April 14, 2008 | Comments (2)
Crossing Chasms—With Courage
Growing up, my all-time favorite action hero was Indiana Jones, an audacious archaeologist who traveled the world looking for treasures and lost artifacts, including the Ark of the Covenant and sacred stones. On his last crusade, Jones is searching for the Holy Grail, the cup Christ reputably used at the Last Supper. To aid him in his journey, Jones uses an ancient book to help him navigate through a maze of tunnels and various obstacles that impede the way to the Holy Grail.
At the very end of the maze, Jones reaches a chasm that is deeper than the visible eye can see. He stands precariously on the edge of the rocky cliff, his face contorted with bewilderment. Had he gone the wrong way? Had he made a mistake? There was no visible way to cross the chasm; the other side was utterly beyond his reach. Gripped with fear, he anxiously thumbs through the pages of the ancient book until he understands the obstacle: it’s a leap of faith, an invisible bridge. Jones scatters sand over the invisible bridge, closes his eyes, and steps out over the chasm with both feet. Once he realizes his footing is secure, he rushes across the invisible bridge to retrieve the Holy Grail.
Inevitably, every Christian leader, even those among us who appear to be the most fearless, must face their own chasm, the chasm between our calling as Christian leaders and our own personal resources.
Continue reading...Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on April 11, 2008 | Comments (0)
Listening To God's Word
This month Gifted for Leadership, Leadership Journal, and some of our sister sites are joining to think seriously about Scripture. An exciting foray into this topic begins with an interactive assessment: The Hermeneutics Quiz, by Scot McKnight. This free quiz will give you an insightful perspective into the way in which you interpret Scripture.
For other considerations, read Scot's article on the Leadership website, or dive into Christopher Blumhofer's insightful post below.
A church’s ability to minister to people hinges on its confidence in the Word of God. A low-confidence church can’t teach or preach or serve with any real sense of expectation. It can’t profess assurance that God speaks or that listening for his voice is worthwhile. A high-confidence church lives in another reality: a realm in which God speaks and acts, calls and sends.
Continue reading...Posted by Roxanne Wieman on March 20, 2008 | Comments (3)
Food for Thought
While I don’t understand everything, there is one thing I am solidly convinced of: a call is not a career. The pivotal distinction between the two may be the most important thing we ever understand about the call of God, especially in these times.
The words themselves immediately suggest one difference. Our English word career comes from the French carriere, meaning “a road,” or “a highway.” The image suggests a course one sets out on, road map in hand, goal in sight, stops marked along the way for food, lodging, and fuel.
Posted by Bonnie McMaken on March 17, 2008 | Comments (5)
Deferring to God
It’s four o’clock and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston has just begun visiting hours as Alice Rouse, a 31-year-old outreach worker for Starlight Ministries of the Emmanuel Gospel Center is buzzed through the doors of the ICU. Today her friend Adam began his 17th birthday by shooting China White, the purest form of heroin, and then stringing himself up in the shower with a bed sheet.
Adam is paralyzed with sedatives after a recent attempt to pull out his tubes and IV, but as Alice approaches his bed, he smiles and whispers, “finally.” She has brought her guitar and will play “It is Well with My Soul,” same as last year when she and Adam were here for the same reason. As she leaves the hospital, she weeps for him, for the familiarity of that stark scene, for the long road of recovery they have in front of them. A week later he’s discharged and calls Alice in a rage, “I’ve been locked up in the hospital for days and will forever hate you for not visiting!” Alice explains that he must not remember, that there were sedatives, but she’s making little progress because Adam is already hurt. She hangs up the phone and shrugs.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on March 4, 2008 | Comments (12)
Food for Thought
[Deborah] also sang the praises of those who served her well—“My heart is with Israel's princes, with the willing volunteers among the people” (Judges 5:9)—and she commended Jael at length, calling her “most blessed of tent-dwelling women” (Judges 5:24). A final leadership lesson from Deborah: Acknowledge the efforts of others, rather than pat yourself on the back.
Continue reading...Posted by Bonnie McMaken on March 3, 2008 | Comments (1)
Should Churches Differentiate?
As a show of solidarity with my seven-year-old daughter, I recently reread the classic Little House on the Prairie books and Anne of Green Gables. One phenomenon I noticed this time around (probably because I’m in the habit of thinking about church leadership) was that the books’ good, churchgoing characters didn’t have to choose between churches of various sizes and stripes. They simply attended the church in town and enjoyed (or put up with) the teachings of Reverend So-and-So every Sunday.
My, how things have changed. Along with the constant and dizzying array of choices we face every day, we have the luxury of choosing the church we like best. I know some small towns and villages in our country still have only one church. But in most of those cases, people live within driving distance of other communities and might choose to drive to one of them to attend another church. And the situation is very different where I live—in some areas I can find a church on every block. And on a recent trip to the area around Fort Worth, Texas, I thought I saw at least two churches on every block.
Continue reading...Posted by Amy Simpson on February 22, 2008 | Comments (10)
A Deeper Spiritual Issue
My name’s Marshall, and I’m a male and I enjoy reading the “GFL” e-newsletter. (I feel like everybody in the room just said in unison, “Hi Marshall.”)
No, this isn’t an AA meeting. But yes, it’s sort of a check-in. Sort of a confession. Sort of just who I am—a voracious reader, a colleague of the people who write GFL, and the husband of a staff pastor that GFL describes really well.
Last week’s piece by Caryn got to me when she talked about how women don’t feel like they fit in at church.
For what it’s worth, most times I talk with men at church (even some pastors), the very same feeling is expressed, “I just don’t feel like I fit in.” Men are more relationally-challenged, perhaps, and find most social gatherings hard to “fit in.” Lots of men these days tend to say the church is too “feminized,” whatever that means. Often I suspect that’s just another way of saying, “The women around here seem to have closer friends than I do. I wish it were as good for the men here as it appears to be for the women.”
Continue reading...Posted by Roxanne Wieman on February 11, 2008 | Comments (11)
Food for Thought
A look at current social trends bears out the experience of churches: today’s women are complex. Studying these trends also provides information that can help churches design effective women’s ministries.
Consider just two trends that affect most church ministries:
Continue reading...Posted by Roxanne Wieman on February 11, 2008 | Comments (0)
Engaging in 'Sustained Dialogue'
You don’t have to strain your eyes to see them—the cracks that run down racial, gender and doctrinal lines, splintering the Church into a multitude of factions. We're good at conflict. Too good. We build our self-assured walls, oblivious to the tragedy we create by our divisions. At the root of our disunity is closed ears; we aren't hearing each other. In his book Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical’s Inside View of White Christianity, Edward Gilbreath exhorts, “As members of the body of Christ, we should be determined to hear and understand the concerns of our brothers and sisters.” That means we need to engage in conversation, and not just any conversation. We need Sustained Dialogue.
I first encountered Sustained Dialogue while serving as a moderator for a small group of Palestinian and Jewish students at the university where I work. Sustained Dialogue “focuses on transforming the relationships that cause problems, create conflict, and block change.” It is promoted by The International Institute for Sustained Dialogue (IISD), an organization founded by former U.S. diplomat Dr. Harold Saunders to bring peace to war-torn regions. The goal of Sustained Dialogue is not agreement. Unlike mediation or negotiation, the point is not consensus, but rather improved relationships. It is about developing mutual respect, shared interests and a greater appreciation of our need for one another.
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on January 18, 2008 | Comments (1)
Is the Church Ready for Iron Ladies?
I have a confession to make, one that I often sheepishly keep to myself: I have very rarely felt discriminated against for being a woman, but often because I am not a certain type of woman.
I stand on the shoulders of giants who labored to make inroads for women’s rights, for equal opportunity in our culture, our workforce, our political system, and our churches. As a child and a teenager, my father taught me that I could be anything I wanted when I grew up. I believed him. My generation—the people I grew up with and the people I interact with even today—take it for granted that women deserve the same opportunities as men. My church assumes that leadership in the church should be based on God-given ability and vocational calling rather than gender. At both seminaries I have attended, I have been encouraged by God-honoring, conservative male professors who regularly tell me, “The church needs women leaders. One reason the church today has so many problems is because we have so few women leaders.”
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on January 15, 2008 | Comments (22)
RetroWomen: The Rise of Gender Fundamentalism
Earlier this year, I provided a link to a video of a fundamentalist teacher in the UK. His comments about women and what he saw as their God-created role (little more than animals, created to serve and please men) were understandably shocking to many readers. Quite a few of those who responded wondered why I had bothered to draw attention to the perspectives of an isolated extremist. No one could possibly take him seriously. This kind of primitive thinking had been “dealt with” since the ‘60s, and there was no reason to spend time and energy on it now. We’re well into the new millennium. Now, Christian women believe that if they’ve been given gifts, they have a divine call to use them, wherever God leads. End of story.
I’ve mused about those responses the rest of this year. Were they right? Has the perspective that women are made solely for men’s pleasure and use truly been relegated to the annals of history?
This fall, The Los Angeles Times ran an article entitled, “Stubborn Stains, Cookie Baking on Syllabus.” Its opening lines:
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on January 4, 2008 | Comments (26)
New Conversions or Changed Lives?
This article is Part II. Part I of this article appears here.
Someone once said of William Penn’s conversion: “Conversion must not be considered simply as a change of opinion. It penetrated his moral nature: it made him a new man. He was raised into another sphere and consciousness.”
I’ve been thinking about the way that some of us evangelicals report so easily on “conversions.” “So many accepted Christ,” we say. “There were hundreds of conversions.” Or, “We went on a short-term missions trip and planted dozens of churches.” (I actually received a letter to that effect.)
But what do we mean? Is there evidence of life following that these people have been reached and moved? Have they been internally sorrowed for the sin that nailed Jesus securely in place till he accomplished our saving? Has the Spirit done his convicting and convincing work?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on December 28, 2007 | Comments (5)
The Gift of Worship
Early in our marriage I gave my wife a terrific anniversary gift: a rain gauge. At least I thought it was a great gift. Susan, after all, is a farmer’s daughter and keeps close watch on the weather. I envisioned her delight and nostalgia while tracking our backyard precipitation. I congratulated myself on my creativity.
Guess what? Susan was not impressed: “A rain gauge—for our anniversary?!” The rain gauge is now a family joke, a classic example of a gift enjoyed by the giver but not the receiver.
One word I hear a lot these days is authentic, as in “we seek authentic worship.” Usually this means we’re trying to create an experience that helps worshipers feel something. Nothing wrong with that, but if our focus is only on our experience, we may be giving God a rain gauge.
Are we offering in worship a gift we enjoy and figure God will like it?
Posted by Caryn Rivadeneira on December 21, 2007 | Comments (3)