I was wondering what some of you think about the idea of Women in Ministry. I dreamed of being a missionary as a child. I really did. I wanted to go to the Congo. When I joined the COG, one of my convictions was that I was going to go into the entire world and preach the Gospel to every creature. It didn’t matter that I was female. I was Christian. In the JPA I was in one of the bands that traveled and went to parks and youth groups to share testimonies, hand out sandwiches and tell the folks about Jesus. It never crossed my mind that I was different than the guys in the band. We took turns sharing, witnessing and working. Even when I joined the COG, I thought that I would learn to be a better and more effective witness. I did a lot of that.

Well, back in the states the “Shepherding" movement had gone back to the Bill Gothard/Wayne Grudem pattern of subservient, male dominated, “women in their place", no women in the pulpit or in position of authority model. I read the few scriptures offered as “proof" and I really tried to fit that model until I thought I would explode. Fortunately, I am a curious sort and I kept reading and searching out other writers than Wayne and Bill, scripture, primary cultural influences, the original language, not to mention a lot of prayer, until I became convinced that God had not made a mistake. That’s a bit of my journey. How about some of you? Any heartfelt preachers out there?