“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved praise from men more than praise from God.” John 12:42.
I am not sure John would use the word praise today. I think perhaps he would use the word “approval.”
It is the same thing we find in our churches today. Those people sitting in the pew seek to be approved by the congregations. So they will not speak up.
Two weeks ago, two women told me “don’t stop working for women.” They go to different large Baptist churches in a city nearby, neither of which allows women deacons, and one does not even allow women to teach mixed classes of men and women. The other one probably doesn’t now, either, but it did when I went there, before a new fundamental pastor came on board. Being of a certain age (before the Baptist fundamentalist takeover) they both remember the days when women could teach mixed classes. Both women said that they prefer a woman teacher.
Neither one of these women will speak up to their pastor. One of the women has been going to her church for many years and she said “I doubt that he even knows my name because he has never called me by name.”
Yet they still go. Yet they remain silent. Yet they know of a better way.
Frankly, there is not another Baptist church in their city that allows women to speak up in church. Oh, they can sing. They can even sing solos. They can act out skits before the congregation, and they can plead for money, and they can give reports. (Read Wayne Grudem’s things that a woman can do and you’ll find out why they can do these things.)
They can’t teach a mixed class of men and women, and they can’t serve communion because serving communion is done by the deacons and deacons are – you guessed it – men.
These women are not alone. There are many sitting in those pews who think it is time that women are seen as equal before God as their husbands, as Mrs. Whoever’s husband, and as their own boy children.
Will you join me in being the voice for these women?
bWe Baptist Women for Equality's Blog 
Interestingly The CBE Scroll just did a post talking about Wayne Grudem’s support of women serving communion. Grudem does acknowledge that this could be a challenge where only church officers were allowed to serve communion.
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I will repeat what I have said before. Women are going to have to make their voices known by challenging their pastors on these issues.
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How right you are! We have got to find our voice. We are meeting June 23 for our first Christians for Biblical Equality Houston Chapter meeting. We hope to encourage women to find their voices. If they women would just go up them and tell them what they think!
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Silence in the face of injustice is complicity.
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Yes it is. It is complicity. It is also denial. They don’t feel the injustice because they themselves don’t want to preach or be a deacon. What they deny is that unless all women are free to answer their call in their church, they themselves are not free sitting in the pew.
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It’s hard to stand alone– and hard to get leaders to take you seriously if you are alone. Women need to feel that they are banding together with others who are all fighting injustice together.
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We hope that the CBE Houston Chapter will help people band together. Our first public meeting is June 23 and all interested are welcome.
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