We Are The City Harmonic ናሙና

"In Christ"

I am a woman and I am a pastor.  I hold the view that Scripture teaches that women can serve in any and all roles within the Church. 

But not everyone agrees with me.  

In fact, a significant number of people in True City disagree with me. 

This was a big deal for me when I first joined the TrueCity movement – an organization of churches from different backgrounds and denominations that work together for the good of our city.  Most of the pastors involved were men from churches that taught women shouldn’t serve in church leadership.  I wasn’t sure I wanted to hang out with those guys.  I feared being treated differently, not getting taken seriously, or having to defend my theology all the time.    

I also asked myself if could do mission with people who thought differently than I did about an issue that was so important to me.  I feared what might happen if our church aligned with “those kind” of churches.  I feared people would think this issue didn’t matter to me anymore.

As you can see, there was a lot of fear. 

One of the most common questions that we have had to address in TrueCity is: Can we do mission with people who think differently than us?  It is a question sparked by fear.  We are afraid of what can happen if we work with churches or people who understand parts of Scripture differently than we do.  Whether we would consider ourselves “conservative” theologically or “progressive” or anywhere in between, the fear is the same.  We are afraid doing mission with those with whom we disagree will compromise the message of the Gospel.

Yet, through TrueCity, I have heard God’s words again and again:  “Do not be afraid.”

We do not have to be afraid of doing mission with people or churches that are different than us.  This is because of Christ, who does not negate our differences, but who transcends them.  Within True City, we are different, but under the common mission of Christ - we are one.  There is no male or female.  No hipster or baby boomer.  No fellowship Baptist or convention Baptist.  We disagree... AND we do mission.  We serve in our own places and through our own traditions...AND we serve together.  Christ works through us in our differences...AND we are better because of it.

-Leanne Friesen, Pastor of Mount Hamilton Baptist Church in Hamilton, Ontario