One of the most painful fears that comes for me out of the ongoing crisis at Willow Creek is the fear that other churches will respond in ways that punish women leaders.
People will say, "See this is why we need the Billy Graham rule" and women will continue to be the ones pushed to the margins of church leadership.
In fear we will act in extreme black & white ways instead of seeking the Spirit & reacting in proactive nuanced ways. Extreme actions rarely serve us well & almost always hurt the marginalized the most.
There is a huge difference between meeting in an office & meeting in a hotel room late at night.
There is a huge difference between a lunch meeting & a yacht meeting.
There is a huge difference between needing to visit one and one & saying your husband can't travel with us.
There is a huge difference between a lunch meeting & a yacht meeting.
There is a huge difference between needing to visit one and one & saying your husband can't travel with us.
Are the solutions complicated? Sure. Would it be easier to respond by digging our heals in & saying that is will just be safer & easier to have only men lead? Sure.
But the Church is complicated. The Church was never meant to be easy.
But the Church is complicated. The Church was never meant to be easy.
Boundaries around time & location aren't enough. Harassment & abuse of women must be addressed on a deep heart & spiritual level.
As we spend time making policies, we need to spend time having male staff do serious work around toxic masculinity & the imago dei of their sisters.
As we spend time making policies, we need to spend time having male staff do serious work around toxic masculinity & the imago dei of their sisters.
