I am grateful for the value that my church places on women. Not to open a theological Pandora's box, but my church allows women to teach and preach. One of the pastors is a woman. I know that this may be controversial for some, but it does make me feel valued as a human being. (And, yes, I do think my church takes scripture seriously. I honestly believe it is one of those issues that honest Christians can disagree on.)
When I was on staff with InterVarsity, the women in ministry issue blew up in my face. We were selecting officers for the next year. We were talking about various options and one of the students turned to me and said, "We won't have a woman president." At first I thought he was joking. He wasn't. He took the issue to my pastor. I went to a church at that time that did not allow women to teach men. I knew I disagreed with the leadership on this issue, but it fit me in other ways so I bit my tongue there. My pastor, instead of making a local call to me, called InterVarsity's national headquarters. He knew me well but couldn't call me first? I was grateful that the vice president that he spoke with backed me and my roll up.
I had been on staff about 3 year and taught numerous times and got good feedback. When this issue blew up, students started staying for worship and getting up and walking out if a woman was teaching. It was heart wrenching to see this exodus as well as disruptive.
I don't teach at my church, but I am grateful for the value that says that I could.
