What I wish for women in ministry (or what I wish people knew ABOUT women in ministry) in the New Year….wow! Where do I even begin?
I thought about emailing all the women I know and asking them one thing they would wish for women in ministry this year. This would mean that (1) more voices would be heard and (2) I would write less. But that seemed a bit like a “cop out” and I still didn’t know how I would allow my own voice to be heard. So, I asked myself what I really wanted to see happen, to be heard, to make known…and I remembered.
I remembered the Sunday when, in the midst of preparing the sanctuary for the evening service, I watched a little girl playing in the pulpit. This little girl, we’ll call her Katie, was having fun standing by the microphone talking and gesturing with her hands. I turned to Katie, and with a smile on my face, asked her if she wanted to be a pastor when she grew up.
“No,” she shouted, “No way.”
Shocked, (and, to be honest, a little afraid of what her answer would be, given how many stories I have heard from other women about little girls being told they couldn’t be pastors simply because they were, well, girls), I asked her, “Why?” “Too much work,” she shrugged—then jumped off the platform and ran to play with her friends.
“And a little child shall lead them….” There is nothing like truth from a seven-year-old. My wish for the world is that we could all be like Katie, where gender isn’t even a question or thought when it comes to determining who is called to serve in God’s Kingdom…and where we all realize and appreciate that ministry is really hard work.
And I would like for all the different voices to be heard—regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, or level of experience. What do you think? What do you wish for women in ministry?
Michelle