***SIGH***

Be ye so warned, this post is a rant and will probably be the longest post that I have or will ever write.

Last night the church I attend decided to vote down the idea of women deacons. WOMEN DEACONS! Not an issue about gay people or women pastors, or any other relevant issue... DEACONS. The vote was 33% against, 66% for, but the board had required a 75% for. So, here are my thoughts, and I speak only for myself.

Thought #1

This was obviously a highly charged, emotional issue for this church. It seemed to me that the people against it were folks who a) are not in leadership, b) have been hurt when not affirmed into leadership and c) may have some overcompensating scale of balance within their own relationships. Never mind the fact that I think they lack vision.

Thought #2

The argument for against was based on two positions:
~The bible says men
~Having women deacons is a slippery slope to gay marriage and parades

The logic for this is completely beyond me. Context people! It irritates me to no end when people pluck verses out of the bible and use them out of context. Yes, I agree that Paul said that women should not speak etc...but that is like someone hearing me say to Hubby, "You are disgusting! Get that "appendage" out of here!" You might think, "Uh oh, little bedroom trouble?" But if you had seen/heard the whole context you would have understood that Hubby had stuck his foot on me with his torn off toenail that was oozing pus. (true story). Context is everything. Secondly, women deacons = gay marriage? That is such a far leap that it makes me laugh and then want to hit someone. Two separate issues folks!

Thought #3

The church is a congregationally led church, which means that ultimately decisions are made/voted on by the members of the church...which includes women! So apparently women have enough spiritual discernment to vote in a church meeting, but Heaven forbid she has enough spiritual discernment to sit on a deacons board. And secondly, if we are saying that the Deacons Board, who are men of God whom we voted in, come forward with a motion to include women on the board, a decision that took 5 YEARS and you vote it down...what are you saying about the men on the board?!?!?! Accordingly to the NO team, this makes total sense. Perhaps I'm a bit slow...

Thought #4

What does that mean for me as a woman who has been and still is in leadership and is raising two daughters?

Thought #5

Right after the NO vote, the church introduced a new committee: a Social Justice committee. Does anyone else see the irony in that? I was going to suggest that the first issue we address is women in leadership, but with my keen sense of discernment, I thought it wasn't really the time.

So where to go from here? The image that kept coming to my mind was water flowing. If you see a stream of water flowing, you assume that it gives life to everything it touches/passes. But if a rock gets put in the way of the water flow, the water has to adjust. A boulder was just dropped in the living water of this church. So, the way I see it, there are 3 options:

1. We hope a big ole hand(enter God) swoops in and picks up the boulder and tosses onto the riverbank...so it can watch the water flow on by.
2. The water gets stopped by the boulder and everything on the other side of the boulder dries up and dies for lack of water
3. The water flows around the boulder and joins again and rushes with more force. Eventually the current of the water will become so great that not only does everything get the water it needs, but either the boulder gets moved and/or it gets eroded down to a grain of sand.

I will admit that my first reaction was to disengage with the church. But all day this image of the rushing water (option #3) has been forming in my mind and heart. So we will see. But I really hope that none of the NO faction get in my way for a while...for their own good.