Over the last 25 years I have been on a journey of understanding what being a woman means for my life. Born in a country where women enjoy a high degree of political and economic equality; brought up by a mum and dad who both worked full time; educated from 11-18 at girls' schools which taught me that I could do anything I wanted to in life; it wasn't until I was in my mid-20s that I started to reflect on my fairly aggressive brand of feminism and to wonder whether I had got it right.
This was partly because I had become a Christian and had very good friends who believed that God had ordained that men should lead and women should follow. You can imagine how I reacted to these views. I firmly believe that, as I began to sense God's call to Christian ministry, he deliberately put very significant people in my life who had much more traditional views than I was used to hearing - people who, had they not been such good friends, I would have avoided in disgust at their outdated opinions. Even admitting the possibility that these friends might have a point was unthinkable.
This issue had to be worked through, though, because I knew that going forward for ministerial training was not and should not be about making a political point. It wasn't about me saying, 'look, whatever a man can do, I can do too!'. It was about God choosing to do something through me. I have since met wonderful Baptist ministers who are women and who aren't at all hung up about their gender and whether some people disapprove of them. If someone doesn't want to receive a visit from them or listen to them preach, fine, no need to argue that person round. They just get on with what God has called them to do. These days, I respect the views of my friends who are hesitant about female leadership in the church; although I still don't agree with them, this is now because I have given the issues serious thought, rather than a visceral, knee-jerk reaction. I no longer feel the need to fight about it.
Last May I got a text from a friend who was at the Baptist Assembly, telling me that Lynn Green had been nominated to be the next General Secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. I cannot begin to explain how that made me feel as a woman Baptist minister. To know that a woman had been appointed to the highest profile post in the Union. A woman who had had both her children while pastoring a church (I didn't even know Baptist ministers were entitled to maternity leave - given the number of woman Baptist ministers of childbearing age it's not often an issue). A woman who still had young children at home. And most importantly, a woman of great wisdom, integrity and warmth. The appointment of Lynn Green made me feel that my church tradition valued me just as much as my colleagues who are men, and confirmed that I don't need to fight any more.
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