Help! I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry Practical Empowerment for Your Calling and Your Life

Help! I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry! Practical Empowerment for Your Calling and Your Life Copyright © 2004 by Youth Specialties Youth Specialties Books, 300 South Pierce Street, El Cajon, CA 92020, are published by Zondervan, 5300 Patterson Avenue SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49530 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Powell, Kara Eckmann, 1970- Help! I'm a woman in youth ministry! : practical empowerment for your calling and your life / by Kara Powell, Heather Flies, and Megan Hutchinson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-310-25552-X (pbk.) 1. Church work with youth. 2. Women in church work. I. Flies, Heather, 1973- II. Hutchinson, Megan, 1970- III. title. BV4447.P655 2004 259'.2--dc22 2003015151 Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version (North American Edition), copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All right reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other-(except for brief quotations in printed reviews) without the prior permission of the publisher. Web site addresses listed in this book were current at the time of publication. Please contact Youth Specialties via e-mail (YS@YouthSpecialties.com) to report URLs that are no longer operational and replacement URLs if available. Edited by Laura Gross Cover and interior design by Brian Smith Printed in the United States 04 05 06 07 08 09 / DC / 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 S E C T I O N O N E YOU What's Paul Got to Do With It? Your Theology about Men and Women As soon as I read these two words in the Ph.D. catalog, I knew it was the degree for me: practical theology. I had never seen the phrase before, but it immediately resonated with me. Some people joke that "practical theology" is an oxymoron, just like "military intelligence" or "jumbo shrimp." Instead, I counter that it's a redundancy. Our theology is inherently practical. Every aspect of our lives, from how A couple of years ago, my husband Adam and I had the unique privilege of going to Israel. Naturally, we visited numerous sites we had read about in Scripture. One site in particular was an eye opener-a first-century synagogue in Capernaum where both Peter and Jesus taught. One of the things that struck me was the architecture.There was an upper galley where the women would sit and talk or gossip with their friends, and a lower level where the men would listen, intent on the message.Why is this? Because the men were educated, the women were not.Women living in the first century did not understand what was being taught, so they chatted with their friends throughout the service. Heck, I would too if I didn't have a clue what they were saying! I think that's why Paul wrote to Timothy that a woman should remain silent in the church.Today we are free to teach the wonderful truths of Scripture for we are now free to speak with the amazing gift of a theological education. Praise God! -Megan we treat the planet to how we treat other drivers, is shaped by what we think about God. When it comes to women in ministry, our theology and our practices are intricately connected to one another. So if we're going to have better practices, we need better theology. Whether you're a theological novice or a veteran fluent in the original Greek, it's time to wrestle with the tough questions about women in leadership until you pin down some answers. Start Local Have you ever looked your senior pastor right in the eyes and asked him or her what they think about women in ministry? Are there any positions of leadership they think women shouldn't hold? If so, why? If not, why not? Make it your goal to listen, ask some questions, and then listen some more. The Wesleyan Quad John Wesley, the wise nineteenth-centuPowell, Kara Eckmann is the author of 'Help! I'm a Woman in Youth Ministry Practical Empowerment for Your Calling and Your Life' with ISBN 9780310255529 and ISBN 031025552X.