Saddle Up for another round

It was just a matter of time before Junia came out of the closet again, asking for her rightful place around the proverbial "women in ministry" table. Tim Challies, who always seems to stir the pot (but takes his hands off the spoon I might add, after the sizzling begins) was the culprit this time around and his blog tips on scripture reading. The complementarians and egalitarians saddled up again and took fire at one another on his blog.

One of my favorite cowboys, Scott McKnight joined in lassoed a post in response, the new it girl for all things ladies, Rachel Held Evans chimed in and called us ladies to pick up the task of prophets. My favorite Canadian Mummy said she is too pooped to fight anymore, and gave up her seat at the table.

Seems everyone saddled up for this one. Even Kinnon and Jared Wilson took a few pokes on Twitter.

I'm late to the game, as this blog has been for the past few years. My apologies.

But though I agree with the sentiments of my fellow ladies, to live out our callings anyways, in our quest for liberation and freedom from having to prove our place at the table...I worry for us.

I worry that in our zeal and poetic language, in our fervor and passion, we will miss that perhaps some still need to wrestle and "come to dinner" if you will, with the predominately white, evangelical men that rule the web, the publishing world, and the podcasts of Christendom.

I worry that while dancing with the outcasts, and prophesying with the radicals, that we will miss the call to still poke and prod at the tattered theology keeping women out of "the game".

We women can live out our callings, without the permission of those who would rather see us silent but still miss the mark on this subject.

What if God, in all His women loving wisdom, is asking some of us ladies to still knock at the door of the dinner party, and remind our fellow brothers that we are still outside, and we aren't leaving. Not only are we not leaving, we are armed with some scriptures, some stories, and some scars they need to see and hear.

Ladies, I feel you.

Trust me I do.

I penned a contribution to a conference two years ago that addressed this very issue, but my submission was ignored. More than my disappointment that I couldn't share on this topic was the disappointment that no one at that significant conference addressed the issue of women in leadership.

In the defense of the conferences planners, whom I love, respect and admire, they likely thought the issue had been flogged to death.

And they are right.

It is has.

But we are still crying out.

We are still crying out in the dessert.

Even in the emerging/emergent/emerged/reformed/affirming/catholic/mainline/charismatic/you name it...we are still crying out.

And there is a good chance, that we will be crying for years to come.

But ladies, don't give up the good fight to dance outside in the rain. Some of you have voices that need to be heard. Some of you have theological dissertations that need to be shared. Some of you have words that need to be penned.

And for some of us, we need you to keep battling so that we can find our voice, gain our strength, and take over in the years to come.

We may not get the invitation to dine with the men's club just yet, but some of us still need to stand on stools outside and pelt the windows with pebbles.

Just reminding them, we might be out of sight, but we aren't out of mind.