I'm glad you were able to hear it. It was refreshing and encouraging. Some who will read these posts may think that Larry and I are male chauvinists. They are only half right (Larry is, I'm not --just kidding)--we are both males, and that's as far as it goes. As a general rule I get along better with women than I do with men. Too many men have big egos, which I have a hard time relating to. At one time I actually was in favor of women's ordination. This was more than 20 years ago, and before I had actually studied the subject. Many women have better people skills (than some male pastors) that could make them better as pastors and elders--but the ends do not justify the means. We must have a "thus saith the Lord" before we make changes in how we operate our church. And in this case we have clear Scripture that says no to making these changes. The Lord can make up any deficiencies that a man may have in the "people skills" department.What is often lost sight of in this debate is the fact that women can do things that men cannot do. They can minister in ways that men cannot. They can reach people that men cannot. But that does not require ordination. It only requires submission to Christ and commitment to His cause. When Jesus hands out rewards for service, it isn't going to be on the basis of who is ordained or not; it will be on the basis of who has humbled themselves the most and been the most willing to serve God in any capacity that He may choose for them.
See how men are? You never can tell who are really your friends. Women are loyal and stick together.
Ej, do you know of conferences who are currently actually ordaining women to the ministry? Apparantly a lot of conferences are hiring women as pastors, but an ordination whould not be accepted by the world church.
The ordination certificate and the commissioning certificate are the same. I have seen them. Across the top it says 'Ordination/Commissioned.Personally, I think we must move on to higher ground. This is one where you win the battle and lose the war. I learned early that influence flows downhill. We must be careful that we don't light fires that we can't put out. In am convinced that the issues for the time are personal heart issues. To go for institutional change is often the call to revolution. Personally I need a reformation in my life and the focus of my ministry at this time is a personal call to be born again and repent. Turn back the clock on women in ministry?? It's too late. We must go to higher ground.
So we should take the stance,"what's done is done"? Move on to higher ground?How many times did God ask ancient Israel to turn around and quit doing the things wrong they were? Did God expect Israel to turn around or come up with excuses?If the church isn't going to observe God's established train of authority, then it won't be long and it won't be observing any of His authority about anything. I can't think of any higher ground than that.
I was not stating what I did in an agitating manner, I was simply making a statement. Facts are facts and truth is truth.I believe I basically stated the same thing you stated, we just stated it in different ways.One of the things about saying things live, that doesn't come through in written form, is the manner in which words are said. I am accused of this quite frequently on this forum. If you would hear me say the things I write, you would know I'm not a harsh person.
