In this latest series, begun last week with Hannah Mudge’s Thinking Positive about being a Woman in the Church, I offer you another guest post, this time from Cory Copeland of MadtoLove.com. I posed the topic of What would Church be like if there were no women. Here’s what he came back with!
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It’s always a bit easier to write when you’re assigned a subject to cover. However, when Anna asked me to write on the possibility of a womanless church, I couldn’t help but be overcome with a fit of the chuckles—mainly because I immediately imagined a church full of men in large hats and colorful dresses, playing their tambourines loudly while waiving their handkerchiefs and fainting from the move of the Holy Spirit. It’s a vision that’s both comical and possibly emotionally scarring, depending on the men of your congregation.
Once my laughter had subsided, my mind began to wander over the thought, and I began to consider just how empty and lifeless a church could be without the ladies of its congregation present. I imagine the sanctuary would be a little less joyful due to the lack of wonderful laughter and charisma the women of Christianity tend to produce. I feel that, with a lack of women, a church would also find itself craving a sense of organization and direction. Lord knows we men are atrociously bad at both of these things and would only end up abandoning any programs or initiatives that would require any type of discipline. It’s entirely too sad, yet…true. Without women, men would be lost. We’re simply too stubborn to admit it.
In all seriousness, and aside from my attempt at “jokes”, I honestly feel that women are the livelihood of today’s church. They are the prayerful soul and the resonating passion that ignites our church beyond its four walls and resuscitates a dying world. Women are the heart of our outreach and the blood of our love for others. They are the striving boldness that pushes us to the heights God has so graciously reserved for us. And though they are rarely positioned in a place of ultimate leadership within our churches, they are disciples of the worthy cause, taking up His cross in whatever way they may be needed or called upon. Without women, our churches would ache for their revival while pondering the lack of spiritual fervor they ultimately possess.
You may feel I’ve ventured too far in describing women’s importance within the church, but the truth is, I’ve witnessed the worth a Godly woman possesses. From my own mother, the pastor’s wife, to the exhausted Sunday school teacher to the women who run the church’s kitchen or clean its buildings, Godly women are rampant in their devotion to their Savior and His church. They will not be deterred, nor will they be swayed in their determination and faith. These women are the impassioned heart of God and our churches could never be the same without them.
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Cory Copeland writes at www.MadToLove.com and can also be found on Twitter @Cory_Copeland. He is also the creator of novelty website www.ToMyFutureSpouse.com. Cory is currently at work on his second book, which will be released in the spring of 2012. If you want to contact him, you can send him an email to Cory.Copeland@gmail.com.
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