Saturday, January 13, 2007

Rethinking Spiritual Authority

I have been in the process of sorting out my beliefs and understanding of authority, particularly in church structures.

In the midst of sorting through this, I realized that deconstructing teachings about church authority and hierarchy would become intertwined with my beliefs about gender issues also.

Looking back, it now makes sense. The things I read challenging hierarchical church structures validated my understanding of the nature of submission.

Also, the things that I read about gender issues have clarified and affirmed my understanding of the way we are intended to relate to one another as believers.

Ultimately what one believes about power and equality dynamics in the kingdom will eventually be contextualized in all of their relationships.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

so, so true. i started asking questions about gender issues junior year of college and once the questions came, so did a change in how i saw myself in relation to men in marriage and church roles. the pool of eligible bachelors has definitely gotten smaller as i have considered myself more of an egalitarian (and that is definitely a minority belief in the southern baptist context i am from) its also enriched friendships, even when i do have a differing opinion.

mom23 said...

I am an avid reader and rarely comment but I love what you are getting at here. I would love for you to elaborate on your thoughts here as this is something that I have really been thinking about and wrestling with. Thanks! Tracy

Linda said...

Lacey,
I think that the willingness or even need to question is often what leads to a change in views about this topic. I read somewhere that the SB were historically more egalitarian than they are currently. Not sure if that's true or not.

Tracy,
It looks like you have your hands full! Thanks for commenting. I hope that I'm able to articulate my thoughts on this in a way that makes sense. I decided to go at it in bite size pieces rather than an all-encompassing megapost.

mom23 said...

Sounds perfect to me! I would much prefer it that way. Looking forward to your thoughts . . .

Ari said...

absolutely, well said.