Honoring Rev. Pam Durso

I was clapping as Rev. Pam Durso of BWIM received her Lifetime Achievement Award in Los Angeles. She was honored by Christians for Biblical Equality for her 30 years in ministry and advocacy for women.

Rev. Pam is educated in both secular and religious studies. She is a modern woman who is able to speak and preach the gospel effectively. It was a soul-satisfying moment for me to see her honored for her achievements as an advocate for Baptist women in ministry.

At this CBE (Christians for Biblical Equality) Conference, we heard from women pastors and their struggle in a church society that does not value them. Our hearts were uplifted as we heard how they overcame these adversities, even as we balanced that against the stories of women who could not answer their calling because of those Christians who choose to live in the past, and take all women with them.

It is 2015 and Christian women are still relegated to a culture that made sense 2000 years ago, but does not make sense today.

I want those Christians who deny women their calling to realize and come to grips with the fact that we live in the 21^st Century. We can’t go back 2,000 years. We do not live in a time warp where men can proceed into the future while women are bound by laws and church restrictions that have absolutely nothing to do with our witness as Christians.  As Christians, it is not our business to subdue women and to elevate men. Our business is to elevate Christ in order that others may see Him through us – through all of us, women and men alike.

We should not have had to be there. But we were, and it was my great privilege to clap my hands as Rev. Pam Durso stood at the podium and received her award.

Will you join me in speaking up for women’s equality so that more women like Rev. Pam can answer their calling and preach behind a pulpit on Sunday morning?