tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11057324.post115620659443039416..comments2023-06-13T10:03:01.228-05:00Comments on Blue Christian on a Red Background: Woman Fired After Decades of Teaching Sunday School... for Being a Woman?Jon Trotthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08667858230128323729noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11057324.post-1156259197582002592006-08-22T10:06:00.000-05:002006-08-22T10:06:00.000-05:00I am a little (okay, a lot) wary of these types of...I am a little (okay, a lot) wary of these types of news items. All the facts are never laid on the table, and then we get people trying to push their particular "ism" based on a supposition of 'what happened.' I'm sick and tired of this contentiousness -- on all sides!<BR/><BR/>The proof in the pudding, for the apostle Peter (Acts 10)and later the Jerusalem council (Acts 11) for whether Greeks needed to become Jews prior to becoming 'full-fledged' people of 'the Way' was the fact that the Spirit of Jesus filled them upon their baptism (referring to the case of Cornelius). Doesn't this prove a better model for our understanding of the role of anyone in the Church than trying to reincorporate legalistic guidelines? It would appear to me that many would be excluded from ministry, whether female or male, if we were more concerned about the spirituality of that individual more than whether they conformed to a predetermined grid of what they know or don't know; whether they were female or male; circumcised or uncircumcised; left or right handed. Can we truly recognize a "Spirit-filled" and gifted person anymore?<BR/><BR/>When it comes to the issue of who is eligible for service (I despise the modern connotation of 'leadership') in the Church, I would argue with Peter: "If God therefore gave them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?" (Acts 11:17)<BR/><BR/>It would seem to me that we are reaping piles of wood, hay, and stubble, by pouring out so much of our energies on both sides of this hot-button issue (and many other similarly motivated issues), that we are neglecting to comprehend the truth as Christians that where the Spirit of the Lord there is PEACE.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com