It’s 2016 – Risk it!

The New Year’s Eve tweet said “Our mission is to empower a generation to change the world for Christ.” It came from a LifeWay Resources connection and I tweeted back “We’re trying to change the world for Christ, but we women are bound by male headship. Help us.”

Needless to say, I was spitting in the wind.

This young pastor wants to change the world for Christ. It is easy to say “change the world for Christ” but unless we are willing to make the necessary changes in our own denomination – in his case, the Southern Baptist Convention – then we are just doing lipservice.

In The Message we find the story about investment. If you have not read it from The Message, you are missing something very important. Read Matthew 25:24-30:

“It’s also like a man going off on an extended trip. He called his servants together and delegated responsibilities. To one he gave five thousand dollars, to another two thousand, to a third one thousand, depending on their abilities. The he left. Right off, the first servant went to work and doubled his master’s investment. The second did the same. But the man with the single thousand dug a hole and carefully buried his master’s money.

After a long absence, the master of those three servants came back and settled up with them. The one given five thousand showed him how he had doubled his investment. His master commended him: “Good work! You did your job well. From now on, be my partner.”

The servant with the two thousand showed how he also had doubled his master’s investment. His master commended him: “Good work! You did your job well. From now on, be my partner!”

The servant given one thousand said, “Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no alliances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.”

The master was furious. “That’s a terrible way to live! It’s criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do no less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest.

“Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this “Play-it-safe” who won’t go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness.” (The Message – Eugene H Peterson Navpress).

“But,” you say, “Paul said that women must remain silent.” I say that there are 7,000,000,000 people in the world who need the gospel—Risk it!

“But,” you say, “Paul said that women are not to have authority over men.” I say that there are 7,000,000,000 people in the world who need the gospel and one-half of them are men—Risk it!

“But,” you say, “Paul said that women are to submit to their husbands.” I say that elevating all men to god – like status is wrong, and you must claim your equality—Risk it!

Are you ready to quit playing it safe? Are you ready to go out on a limb? Over one-half of the Master’s children have been buried in the sand. We have misjudged the Master. In the quest to be “exactly” right regarding what a woman can do and what a woman cannot do, we have put her in the sand and covered her up according to our own particular beliefs.

Some have dug the hole deep. Some have dug a hole not so deep. But no matter what depth the hole, they have kept watch over it and not allowed women to come out.

God forgive us! What awful things have been done to your female children.

It is 2016. What are you doing for God’s female children?