I'm Alive

Just like Frankenstein's monster.  :-)

The fact that my last post was on Halloween might lead you to believe that I have departed--at least from Blogger if not from the world as we know it.  Not so.  Life is complicated, but I do intend to return to my little blog soon.

Happy Halloween!

Hat tip to Sally Coleman for this picture!

Disappointment, Hope's Brother

Disappointment, Hope’s brother,
lurks around the edges,
Waiting till you forget he is there
to slide in
quiet and, dark.

Disappointment doesn't like it
when Hope comes to visit,
With her shy smile,
tentative moves,
shining eyes.

Disappointment is
forgotten
in Hope’s presence
Almost.

But when Hope goes away,
her brother rejoices,
Making his moves   
while he can.

Sometimes he is strong
and prevents Hope's return,
But she waits, quietly
at the door.

Disappointment  grows stronger
Shadowing Hope till she dims.
He believes he has won,
and can stay till the end.

In truth, it does seem
he may
win for a while...
but at the end of the story,
When all things are know,
Hope abides
And Disappointment will die.

Liking this post from J. Lee Grady....thought I'd share. Thinking today of all the relationships that made me cry...but I wouldn't trade the experiences. Lee is right. It is about relationship.


Christianity Is All About Relationships#readmore#readmore#readmore

A Prayer for Today

I love this prayer from Mother Theresa.  Every line contains a powerful thought on which to meditate. 

Dear Jesus, help us to spread Your fragrance everywhere we go.
Flood our souls with Your spirit and life.
Penetrate and possess our whole being, so utterly,
That our lives may only be a radiance of Yours.
Shine through us, and be so in us,
That every soul we come in contact with may feel Your presence in our soul.
Let them look up and see no longer us, but only Jesus!
Stay with us, and then we shall begin to shine as You shine;
So to shine as to be a light to others.
The light O Jesus will be all from You, none of it will be ours;
It will be You, shining on others through us.
Let us thus praise You without preaching, not by words but by our example,
By the catching force, the sympathetic influence of what we do,
The evident fullness of the love our hearts bear to You. Amen.

Women Still Treated as Objects on Big Screen

From The Pentecotal Evangel, by John W. Kennedy

A new study of Hollywood films reveals that women are depicted wearing little or no clothing more than one-fourth of the time on the screen, with younger females showing even more skin.

Stacy L. Smith and Marc Choueiti, of the Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism at the University of Southern California, analyzed the 100 top-grossing fictional motion pictures of 2008. They discovered that 25.7 percent of the females in the movies were shown wearing sexy, revealing attire. For teen girls, the rate rose to 39.8 percent.

In addition, 23.7 percent of females depicted in those films were partially naked, including 30.1 percent of teenage girls.

The study authors said the high ratio of hypersexualized female images sends the message - particularly to the large number of young males who buy movie tickets - that females are valued most for their appearance.

Los Angeles-based Nicole Clark, who spent four years making a documentary called Cover Girl Culture, says it's part of human nature to desire to be acknowledged, recognized and loved.

"Sadly, the media has force-fed our society the notion that overtly sexy, vacuous, skinny girls - often behaving badly - garner accolades from men and peers," Clark told World View. "There is little else in a girl's life that can compete with the media's endless barrage of this delusional ideal unless they are blessed with extremely conscientious parents who act as gatekeeper and educator of what is truly valuable in a girl."

Clark says well-meaning parents often feel overwhelmed and helpless, yet marketers and advertisers often count on apathy taking over.

"The media relentlessly undermine parents, knowing they will eventually give up," Clark says. "There is another way. Parents need to educate their children about degrading portrayals of women and girls."

Candy Tolbert, director of Assemblies of God National Girls Ministries, urges parents to use Ephesians 6:4 as a guide in training children about the Lord.

"We must do our utmost to direct girls away from the degrading, over-sexualized message of moneymaking clothing and advertising industries that place the marketing of sexy merchandise ahead of the overall well-being of young girls," Tolbert says. "Using sexuality to sell product to girls is inappropriate and demeans intelligence."

Remembering 9-11-01--and Wondering What has Happened to the USA

I may have been one of the last to know.

I was working in my church office, alone in the building on a quiet day. About noon I took a break from sermon preparation to go to the post office.  The car radio was on, and as I heard unbelievable words about the twin towers and planes....and...I thought I was listening to some strange kind of radio drama.  I pulled to a stop in front of the post office and paid closer attention. 

Could this be real?

I don't know why I did not immediately head for home, but instead I went back to the church and turned on the radio in my office and listened, slowly beginning to understand the news that had been unfolding all day while I was unaware.  I stood at my office window and gazed eastward, towards New York and Washington, D.C. I tried to picture the scene at the Pentagon, a building I saw many times in the years we were stationed at Headquarters, Marine Corps.  The bright blue sky and sunshine seemed wrong.

I felt guilty in my little town in the midwest. Insulated and removed.

The phone rang, and the voice on the phone was a friend and fellow-clergywoman from a small Presbyterian church.  In a 2008 blog post, I wrote about what happened.  Here is a little bit of that post,

A few hours later some of the area clergy hastily put together a prayer service for the evening, and phone calls went out to invite the community. I sat with two other clergy women in a sun-drenched room at St. Peter's UCC. We had been given the task of writing a litany for the service. We sat in silence, looking at one another sadly as we listened to the tolling of the bell at the Roman Catholic church across the street. It seemed to go on and on, each somber ring striking our spirits like a blow.  Where to begin? How could we encourage anyone when our own hearts were stricken and afraid? I remember thinking how incongruous the sunshine was. It should be cloudy and raining.  The three of us joined in prayer for a few moments, began to brainstorm a bit--and then it happened--not with bright lights or trumpets or any sort of excitement. The litany came together in a matter of minutes. The one taking notes almost could not write fast enough to get our thoughts on the paper. When we finished, three pastors--a Presbyterian, a Methodist and a Pentecostal, looked at each other in a sort of wonder. Finally, someone said, "The Spirit of God came in the room with us."
 
I remember wondering, as we prayed together that evening in St. Peter's beautiful sanctuary, where the terrorists would strike next.  I remember the unity, the shared sorrow, that brought liberals and conservatives together, and I can picture a photo of several congressionl leaders holding hands with bowed heads.  I remember discussions with fellow clergy about what would happen to America and specifically what would happen to the American church.  Many people expected that church attendance would rise in the days, weeks and months following 9-11.  Preparations were made.  Everyone was concerned, but beneath it was a flicker of expectation that perhaps our nation would repent of our national arrogance and pride and begin to acknowledge what many of our forefathers called "Divine Providence."
 
There was a blip of repentance, of sorrow, of prayer.  I remember vividly a prayer circle in my little church sanctuary, where several of us sang the words of a Kyrie, (not something typical for Assemblies of God people), "Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy...." and tears rolled down our cheeks. 

Church attendance did rise--for a short time. There were alarms, anthrax scares here and there....but mostly our fears were unrealized.  And things went back to normal in a very short time.
 
But I found myself saying, many times, "Something...something undefinable has changed."  I still cannot define it or understand it or explain it, but I still believe that something fundamentally changed on this day ten years ago.  Whatever happened, I think we Americans changed as a people.
 
Ten years later, what do we find in the United States of America?
 
We find a nation that is angry.  The partisan rhetoric is vicious on both sides.  We are embroiled in not just one but two wars that seem to have no clear purpose, and no end.  Many have died.  We have lost faith in our elective process, in the government, "of the people, by the people, for the people" to an extent that I have never seen in my lifetime.  Cynicism and hopelessness seem to have the upper hand.  The econmy is stalled. Republicans and Democrats seem more interested in party politics than in solving problems.  Church attendance continues to decline.  Our educational systme is still mired in inertia as test scores continue to be alarming.  No one is exactly rejoicing at the array of possible candidates for President.  There is a sense, and this saddens me deeply, that our greatest days are behind us and that we may be on a irreversable path to oblivion.
 
I hope this is wrong.  I hope that we can cry out, in the words of David, Israel's greatest King,

 Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin...
Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,
And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom...
Make me hear joy and gladness,
That the bones You have broken may rejoice.
Hide Your face from my sins,
And blot out all my iniquities...
Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit...
Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
The God of my salvation,
And my tongue shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.
For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit,
A broken and a contrite heart—
These, O God, You will not despise.

Excerpts from Psalm 51

It seems like a good day to remember these words, attributed (perhaps incorrectly) to A. Tocqueville. 
"I sought for the greatness and genius of America in her commodious harbors and her ample rivers and it was not there; in her fertile fields and boundless forests and it was not there; in her rich mines and her vast world commerce and it was not there; in her democratic Congress and her matchless Constitution and it was not there. Not until I went into the churches of America and heard her pulpits aflame with righteousness did I understand the secret of her genius and power. America is great because she is good, and if America ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.

Whether the quote is his or not, I recommend his book, "Democracy in America.")

Did something happen to us? If so, what do you think it was/

Happenings

It has been far too long since I've posted anything, and I hope to do better.  Life has sort of exploded.  

The BIG news for our family is the arrival of another grandchild.  Our son, Josh, is the new dad of a baby boy, Noah Kenneth George, born in June.  Here are a few photos.



Josh sheds a tear as he holds the new little guy for the first time.



Josh, Stephanie and Noah.

Trinity and her new cousin.

Isn't he sweet?

We saw Noah when he was three days old, but not since.  So excited that he'll be visiting on Sept. 17th!

More updates soon about other changes. 

A Friday Five about Gratitude

Over at Rev Gal Blog Pals, Jan says, "A wise person once told me to make an ABC list of things I am grateful for any time I feel sad or depressed. It is a good practice when one is feeling happier than that, too. So for this Friday Five, I suggest that you use your name or nickname of about five letters and express your gratitude about something that starts with each letter. Some people have longer names, so you decide how you will go about this! (Last names, middle names, and nicknames count!)"

Since my name is six letters, that's close enough!  Here's my list:  Feel free to join me.

D.  Daffodills are my favorite flower.  I've always liked them because of the vivid color and the little "trumpet" shape (that says "rejoice" to me) but I have grown even more fond of them living in a snowy, "up north" state.  Winters are long and monochromatic and about April we start watching (it's way too early, but we watch anyhow) for some sign of color.  Usually by May we see the daffodills and tulips poking up.  It is like a peal of song, a ray of light, a glimpse of joy and hope after a difficult time.  I like dandilions too, but that's another issue...

O.  Hmmm...how about...organ music?  I remember the first time I heard the music I'm about to share.  I was about 12 years old, and pipe organs (being from a very simple Baptist church) were not generally part of my life.  What is more majestic than a really big, beautiful, organ played by someone skilled?  It's almost enough to make a low-church woman into a high-church one.  The video is pretty long, but have a listen to at least a bit of this glorious music!



R.  Rhubarb!  If you go to my cooking blog The Owl's Kitchen and look up my Strawberry Rhubarb pie recipe, you wil see this at the top: "I remember my first taste of rhubarb. I was about 10 and had never heard of it, but I was served a bowl of warm rhubarb sauce at the famous fried chicken restaurant at Knott's Berry Farm, Anaheim, California. I thought it was about the most wonderful thing I'd ever tasted, and I told my mother I could not understand why we had never had it before. She had never tasted it either. We had a large and healthy stand of it by our mobile home at Trinity Bible College, and I've since learned that it is beloved in the cold states."  I go on, and finally get around to posting the recipe.  You can find several others ( rhubarb ones, I mean) at that blog too. 

C.  Children are one of the greatest blessing I can imagine.  I miss my children.  I love the adult versions, of course, but I miss the child versions.  I am so glad for Trinity (age 4, and spoken of often in this blog) and now little Noah, aged one month.  Post and pictures coming soon!

A.  Apricots.  We used to have an apricot tree back in CA where I grew up.  Haven't had a really good one since I left the state about 35 years ago!

S.  Song.  I had a much longer post, and I don't know why but somehow the A and the S disappeared. So, I have to rush and can't explain. I'll just leave it at, "What is life without a song?"

Casey Anthony and Angry Church Folks

I almost fear to write this post. Almost.

I have been grieved along with many others every time I see this picture of Caylee Anthony.  Mostly because knowing what happened to the sweet little girl pictured--well, it's just horrific.  And partly, if I am honest, because this particular picture, and the dark brown eyes looking up so sweetly, could be of our granddaughter Trinity about two years ago.  It gives me a physical, gut-level reaction to the events that perhaps I wouldn't have otherwise. I grieve for the life that was stolen. 

 I was among the many who were surprised by the verdict.  Clearly, Casey Anthony is deceitful, disturbed, and has no credibility.  Her story is hard to believe.  In fact, I don't believe it.  I find her actions (or lack of action) perplexing, disturbing, alarming, and disgusting. Did she kill her daughter?  I don't know. Few believe we will ever really know what happened to little Caylee.

Still, there are other disturbing things these days following the "not guilty" verdict.  For one, the reaction of many people towards the jury.  I have an opinion about the case--but let's face it--I wasn't in the courtroom and I didn't have to be a juror, and I don't know all that they heard and saw.   I know that our justice system is deeply flawed.  But I still rejoice that, at least in theory, we are "innocent until proven guilty."  Do we have any respect whatsoever for the fact that the accused was found "not guilty" in an American court of law?

I am perplexed at the comments I have read and heard about the attorneys who represented Casey Anthony--that they are "scumbags" or "as guilty as Casey" or similar sentiments.  If I ever find myself in a courtroom as an accused person, I will want a lawyer who does what they are supposed to do--defend me to the best of their ability.  Is that not the job of the defense, for goodness sake?  Do we not know that accused people are not always guilty people?  It may be a flawed system, but I'm glad we have a system!   

Most of all, I am disturbed by the hate-filled, venomous statements (often referencing God, Hell, judgement, and so on) from people who probably would call themselves Christians.  

Here are a few samples from the Internet: 

“The jury may have found her ‘not guilty,’ but she'll get what’s coming to her. God will make sure of that!”

“Casey, you didn't win. You have a dead daughter, a guilty conscience, a society that hates you and a date with God.”
 “Dear Casey Anthony, God will deal with you. Good luck finding a lawyer that will help you lie to Him.”
"There is a special place in Hell for you, Casey."

Surely I am not the only one who is disturbed to hear or read Christians hurling judgment in anybody’s direction.  Is this what we should do? 
A recent column from J. Lee Grady said, "But in the end, people who follow Christ should not be grabbing pitchforks and demanding vigilante justice just because a trial didn’t turn out the way we thought it should. Our response should be tempered with redemption."

Absolutely!

Have we forgotten that Jesus said he did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance  (Luke 5:32)?  Have we forgotten his words to the religious individuals who brought a woman caught in adultery to him?  "Let the one who is without sin cast the first stone" (John 8:7)?  Or Romans 3:23 which reminds us that ALL have sinned? 

If we truly know the forgiveness of Christ, how can we rejoice that someone else will"get what's coming to them"?  Our attitude should be guided by Ephesians 4:32: “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ has forgiven you."   If I understand that I am not righteous, I can hope that others find forgiveness and peace.  Is that not the Good News, after all?

One thing I know, God's love is not just for the "good" people.  Sometimes I wonder if those who are the loudest in condemning Casey to God's wrath are not, as Shakespeare said (paraphrased) protesting a bit too much? 

Will you join me in praying for Casey and for her fractured family?  It is certain that God loves them--flaws, sins and all--and they desperately need God. 

And will you also join me in a prayer for the abused children whose stories do not make the headlines?  One organization involved in abuse prevention has said that every 10 seconds a case of child abuse is reported.  Think of the unreported ones...the little ones who are, even now, afraid.  Let's stop minimizing abuse, especially in the church, and let's be vigilant in  in addressing child abuse in all its forms.  Let's make sure we are aware and careful and loving toward children around us.  Let's stop all the rhetoric and do something constructive with our frustration.  And let's be known as people of grace and mercy.  Let's put down the stones.

Summertime Friday Five

I note that my last post was one too...so I DO intend to return with more than Friday Five postings...meanwhile....here is the Rev Gal Friday Five. 

So, what's up, Rev Gals and Pals? How are you spending your summer? (I know, some of you are in a different hemisphere and it may be chilly...sorry!) Are you experiencing fire or floods or tornados? Vacationing? Working harder than ever? Experiencing change? Longing for change?  Share five things that are happening in your life, personally or professionally or some of each, in this season of life.

1.  I'm preparing to sell insurance.  Specifically Medicare supplements.  Yes, really.  More about that some post soon.  Not my life's ambition, nor exactly my "calling" but not all bad either.  As I said, more later.  Life has not allowed for blog posts, but that WILL change.  Hopefully soon.

2.  I'm trying life with sorta red hair.  In the last three years I went from nearly white to dark blonde to medium blonde to light blonde, to dark brown (the natural color of my younger days) and now I'm trying out a sort of burgundy?  Am I having some sort of identity crisis?  Undoubtedly.  See number one.

3. I'm reading as much as possible.  I love to read, and somehow in the last few years that enjoyment was waning....and THANK GOD now seems to be back.  So I have my nose in a book lots of the time.  This is a god thing.

4.  I'm enjoying my granddaughter, the beautiful and brilliant Trinity, of course.  You knew that, right?  She is such a delight.  Last week we went to the pool (finally the weather actually got warm enough to want to) and to fireworks.  She's four now, talking like a much older kid, excited about 4-K next fall, and growing tall and thin.  (Hope she stays that body type!)

5. And I saved the best for last.  It deserves a blog post all its own and I hope to post one, maybe tomorrow. Our son, Josh is a new father so that means I HAVE A NEW GRANDCHILD! His name is Noah Kenneth (guess whose middle name he has?) and here is a picture of him with his proud Papa (Trinity's name for her grandfather, and so likely to be Noah's too). Sadly, he is six hours away.  He was born June 12th, and we saw him a couple of days after that and not since.  I hope we can manage to fit in several trips to Minnesota this year.  More pics soon!

New Experiences Friday Five

I am hosting the Rev Gal Blog Pals Friday Five today, but first I have a little story to tell.

Earlier this spring, my husband won three tickets to a concert presented by the symphony orchestra of a nearby city--featuring Mozart's Requiem.  We debated for a few days about taking Trinity, our four-year old granddaughter, to such an adult event.  In the end we decided to give it a try.  After all, the tickets were free, so we didn't have a great deal to lose if we had to leave.  (There she is in the picture, all dressed up and ready to go hear, "my Mozart!")  You may wonder why we would consider taking a preschooler to the symphony, but this child loves Mozart and listens to a CD nearly every night at bedtime. Once I tried to sneak a CD of Bach in, and she cried, saying, "Grandma, that is NOT Mozart."

She was hopping with excitement, but we gave her lots of coaching, and when we arrived she gazed about with wonder at the lovely venue, and when the orchestra began to tune up she sat up straight and gazed, enraptured, with her mouth literally open. It was pure delight to watch her enjoying brand-new sights, sounds and surroundings.

This experience led me to remembering times of discovery, of new experiences.  Some were my own experiences and some were remembered from my children, or those of others. For today's Friday Five we are sharing five memorable moments of insight, discovery, awareness--from childhood or later, something you experienced or something you shared with someone else.

1.  Once, on a summer trip through Arizona at night, my father stopped the car. (This was in the days before air conditioning in cars was common, and traveling at night, though hot, was better than doing it in daylight.)  I was about five, and wondered what was going on as my sisters and I, following directions, spread out a blanket, turned on our backs and gazed heavenward.  What we saw was never to be forgotten.  The scope of the night sky took our breath away.  We were city kids, and while we had seen stars, of course, we had never seen anything like the spectacle that was visible in the clear desert air.  As a matter of fact, I have never seen anything like it since.  It was beautiful but also almost frightening.  We were...so small.

2.  Once when I was about eight, I was telling my father, with great glee, about a friend's cousin.  "She's getting married," I related, "and Susan gets to be in the wedding."  My father made polite noises as I went on, "The bride is going to have a baby.  She's wearing a navy blue outfit."  My father's face changed as he said, "Oh, that is a shame."  "What?" I asked.  "What is a shame?  What's wrong with having a baby?"  He didn't answer, but I had a sudden realization that this having-a-baby thing had something to do with other things we didn't mention, like certain body parts.  I knew I'd get nowhere asking him, so I went on a journey of discovery at the local library.  I was a good reader.

3.  I once walked past a fire station with a friend.  We were about 15 or so.  Several firemen were sitting out front, and the sound of wolf whistles followed us down the block.  I was totally shocked.  It was a moment of realization that I wasn't a kid anymore, that I was growing up.  It was exciting--and very unsettling.  It was as if, in a moment, the entire world shifted. Scary! Thinking of this now, I am sad that the innocence of my teenage years would now be pretty much unheard of.

4.  The moment I first heard Handel's "Hallelujah Chorus" was like a visit to heaven itself.  It was Christmas Eve and we were having a candlelight service (the only one I remember from my Southern Baptist childhood--we didn't usually have church on Christmas Eve).  I was transported--and I think it may have been my first real awareness of the greatness of God--King of Kings and Lord of Lords!  It was awesome.  A much overused word these days, but this truly was!

5.  My grandmother died when I was three.  I had traveled to Texas with my mother.  Grandmother was in the hospital, and because she was dying they broke the usual rule against children visiting (lots has changed since the 1950s) and allowed me in.  I was lifted up to sit on the high hospital bed so my grandmother could see me.  She whispered something I do not recall.  I suddenly knew in an unexplainable way, that people do not live on this earth forever and ever.

Seven Stanzas at Easter by John Updike

As a young writer, John Updike submitted “Seven Stanzas at Easter” to a religious arts festival at the Lutheran church he attended. He won the “Best in Show” award for the poem and returned his $100 prize to the congregation. I am, once again, posting it as we celebrate another Resurrection Sunday because to me he acknowledges the "if" that many may struggle with. As someone has noted,  all of the 35 lines in the poem deal with a question that can make Christians squeamish: How should we talk about the Resurrection? Updike didn't want to talk about it from some some nebulous metaphoric "middle" that turns it all into a nice story.

He is risen! He is risen indeed!

Make no mistake: if he rose at all
It was as His body;
If the cell’s dissolution did not reverse, the molecule reknit,
The amino acids rekindle,
The Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,
Each soft spring recurrent;
It was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the
Eleven apostles;
It was as His flesh; ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes
The same valved heart
That—pierced—died, withered, paused, and then regathered
Out of enduring Might
New strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
Analogy, sidestepping, transcendence,
Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded
Credulity of earlier ages:
Let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,
Not a stone in a story,
But the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of
Time will eclipse for each of us
The wide light of day.

And if we have an angel at the tomb,
Make it a real angel,
Weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair, opaque in
The dawn light, robed in real linen
Spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
For our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
Lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed
By the miracle,
And crushed by remonstrance.

It's Friday

A Review of "Half the Church" by Carolyn Custis James

Disclosure: I received Half the Church from the good folks at Zondervan at no cost other than the understanding that the book would be reviewed on my blog. My agreement to review the book did not require a positive review or endorsement.

In her newest book, Half the Church: Reclaiming God' Global Vision for Women, Carolyn Custis James takes on some big questions in a relatively slim volume. I was excited to see my package from Zondervan arrive in the mail, expecting to love the book. I finished it with less excitement, but that is not to say the book is not valuable, particularly for some. (More about that in a moment.)

James wastes no time. She engages us in the book’s introduction with the story of Amy Carmichael, well-known missionary to India in an earlier age. Tragically, the horrors women there often endured—and the struggles Charmichael had in making the church folks back home listen to her—are still with us. James also repeatedly references the book, Half the Sky by Nicolas Kristof and Sheryl WuDun, a book which exposes the exploitation of women worldwide and inspired the title of James' book about the church.

The first paragraph from the book jacket of Half the Church is revealing of what we will find inside. News stories that ran in 2008 highlighted how throughout the world women are living in a world of extremes. On the one hand, Hillary Rodham Clinton nearly captured the Democratic nomination for US President. At the same time, media reported the brutal killings of five women in Pakistan--three young girls buried alive for planning to choose their own husbands, plus a mother an aunt shot to death as they pleaded with their husbands, sons and brothers to spare the girl's lives.


The author aims to look at the issues in a worldwide context, not just from a Western perspective. She reminds us early on that the lives most women in America and other developed countries experience are beyond the wildest imaginings of our sisters elsewhere. Each chapter begins with a pithy quote and an accompanying story that vividly illustrate problems and barriers women face. I found these small quotes and stories one of the best features of the book.

Half the Church is designed to be used for a study group and includes discussion questions and points to ponder at the conclusion of each chapter. The writing flows nicely and is easily read. I applaud the author’s frank acknowledgement of how short we have fallen in speaking a message that is GOOD NEWS. She calls us to consider three questions, first, “What message does the church offers women?” Secondly, "What will the church do to address women’s suffering globally?" And, closer to home, "What are we telling our own daughters?"

She says,
Yet instead of casting a powerful gospel vision that both validates and mobilizes women, the church’s message for women is mixed at best–guarded, negative, and small at worst. Everywhere we go, a line has been drawn establishing parameters for how much or how little we are permitted to do within the church. As in the wider culture, there are always exceptions… But culture shock awaits many women who migrate from the academy or the secular workplace to the church. In the former, opportunities are vast and their contributions valued and pursued. In the church, what they have to offer often goes unnoticed or is restricted to “appropriate” zones within the church.


Her discussion of Genesis chapters 1-3 will be helpful for those who are new to the concept of woman as "ezer" (a strong help). She shows us how God's plan for the world was always designed to include a glorious partnership (she calls it the "blessed alliance") of equals. I enjoyed these chapters, but I did think her use of both "ezer warrior" and "blessed alliance" (both used throughout the book) were a bit overworked after a while. (Perhaps that is because for me these concepts are such a "given" that I wonder why they need such emphasis. I know that is far from true for many women—and men—in churches of my own denomination.)

A quote I enjoyed from her exegesis of Genesis was this one, referring to chapter two which assures us, It is not good for the man to be alone. "Why," James asks, "do we not hear more preachers following the biblical example and preaching that it is men who need to marry and get a home life going if their lives are to be complete?" This made me laugh out loud. Why indeed!

Psalm 8:4-6 says:
What is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
You have made them a little lower than the angels
and crowned them with glory and honor.
You made them rulers over the works of your hands;
you put everything under their feet...

Referring to this passage, James says ...the world is wide of the mark when it devalues and discards women and girls. By making us “a little lower” than himself, God affixed the highest possible value on his daughters and his sons. It also certainly means (and the church should surely openly trumpet this) that the Bible’s high view of women cannot be surpassed...The Bible calls us to raise our eyes and our aspirations and strive to be like God.

Well said.

So why am I not quite as excited by this book as I hoped to be? My disappointment comes when Carolyn Custis James comes back home to North America.

First, she seems to leave out, for the most part, the mainline Protestant churches. In many churches the equality of men and women is not discussed much, if at all, because to do so would leave many people scratching their heads in disbelief that a large portion of the church world still struggles with issues of gender roles.

But, since I am an “Evangelical” and very aware that for many churches this issue is very much alive and well (or should I say “unwell,”), I’ll leave the discussion of women and mainline Protestant (not to mention Roman Catholic) churches to others.

Within 20 miles of my home there are churches from about ten denominations that do not ordain women. In at least one of these denominations, women are not allowed to hold any leadership role whatsoever, so the idea of an ordained female is anathema. One clergywoman friend of mine found herself ignored in a local ministerial group by three participants who apparently chose to pretend she was invisible. I am glad to say that after three meetings where this took place, the remaining clergy in the group took those pastors to task and said they either would treat their female colleague with respect or leave the group. They left.

I tell this story to explain why I find the next section of James’ book to be disappointing.

She has already pointed out that a culture-shock awaits women who come to the church, where egalitarian assumptions are undone in patriarchal systems. She relates the story of a friend who, in sharing the gospel with a co-worker, is petrified to get to the point about gender roles in the church. James already knows and has spent several chapters telling us that inequality in the church is not good news and not even very biblical after all.

And then she avoids the issue. It was profoundly disappointing to read that she refuses to take sides in the egalitarian-complimentarain debate. In case you are new to this blog, or to the debate in general, "egalitarians" hold a view of equality which affirms that God did not design women and men for specific "roles"--in the church or elsewhere. The "complimentarian" view holds that men are designed to lead and women are designed to follow, both in the home and in the church. (There are variations of this on both sides I'm trying to be brief.)

James asserts that the female ordination debate centers on some key passages that people disagree how to read. She says that this debate is a “distraction.” As another reviewer of this book said, "So there’s no answer to be given, and we just need to develop a more holistic vision of women as leaders in the church and God’s agents in redemption."

Seriously, Carolyn?

No.

What James has already argued is that the question of women’s relationships to men in the church is NOT a matter of a few isolated proof texts. By refusing to take a stand on this issue, she weakens her argument and ignores the passages of scripture she has already discussed. Our interpretation of passages like I Timothy 2 is profoundly determined, I believe, on how we interpret Genesis. James has, though she refuses to say so, laid out an egalitarian view of men and women in creation and onward. To refuse to meet this issue head on when she comes back home to her North American church world does a profound disservice to the audience of church women who are the most likely to be reading her book.

I would like to tell Carolyn Custis James the story of the night I received ministerial credentials in the Assemblies of God. I would like her to see, as I did, the woman who asserted tearfully, “I had no idea women could be ministers!” Yes, this was a couple of decades ago, but the issue is not gone, sad to say. Failure to ordain women, failure to offer women opportunity at every level of church and denominational life is just patriarchy dressed up in pretty clothes.

Some of my evangelical friends and colleagues would likely read this and shake their heads thinking, “There she goes again.” But from my own experience with women in the church, the refusal to allow for women in “professional” (for lack of a better word) ministry is part of an environment that belies the position, the hope, the joy, the freedom we have in Christ. James’ refusal to hit this issue head on, smack dab in the middle of the theology she lays out in her book, left me a bit stunned and mars what is otherwise a worthwhile read.

It is most likely to be helpful to those in the conservative evangelical church sphere. It is engaging, biblically focused, and for those who are willing to see, will be illuminating.

But I would like to ask the author if she believes that injustice must be confronted in other lands and ignored in our own. The injustice women in her world, and mine, encounter does not, I know, begin to reach the level of what is suffered in many other places. But injustice is still wrong. Has she never, as I have, spoken to a woman who grew up in a Christian church but left her roots for paganism or agnosticism precisely because only men could be church leaders? Is the good news of living our lives in God’s image without arbitrary “role” restrictions for all of us-- or not?

Forty Days to Palm Sunday #25

Psalm 67:1,3-4 God be gracious to us and bless us and cause Your face to shine upon us...Let the peoples praise You, O God! Let all the peoples praise You! Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for You will judge...and guide the nations on the earth. God, fulfill your promises to be gracious and bless people in every place. Fulfill Your promise to intervene as a mighty, righteous judge. Thwart every kind of evil and set things right. Show people from every nation how to follow you. Amen Seek God Today for: Prisoners and Their Families Pray that people in jails and prisons will hear the Good News of God's love and follow Christ, for genuine fellowship to multiply, for protection from violence and spiritual evil, for spouses and children to be sustained, protected, provided for and honored rightly. Pray that released prisoners find resources, strength and wisdom to live better lives.