How Women and Men Can Heal the DivideSýnishorn

How We See and How We Think

We live in a culture that has a patriarchial cultural bias. A bias is when you are not able to see the facts without prejudice. And a prejudice is when you already hold an opinion about a social construct. Your prejudice will always distort your perceptions. Our theology, culture, and church can prevent us from seeing women as leaders. Jesus didn’t see women through the blurred lens of patriarchy. He didn’t see women as a threat. He didn’t see women as a liability. He didn’t even see women as a temptation to resist. He saw women as sacred, as leaders, as blessed. He saw women as people. He had a clear view of reality.

The culture has changed and shifted, and the church has begun to catch up to the ways and will of Jesus in our practices. Women have developed their gifting and leadership capacity and are ready and willing to serve as leaders in every area. But sometimes the effects of segregating the sexes in ministry have made us blind to each other. Male leaders don’t often see women using their gifts, and because they hold the power, they are unable to see women as leaders. And women don’t often recognize their natural talent or leadership potential.

Let’s change our distorted perspective that perpetuates exclusion by embracing the truth, imagining the possibilities, and confronting the barriers. The closer you are to someone, the clearer your vision of that person becomes. The concept of empowerment and inclusion and mutuality and opportunity has moved from a “good idea,” and even a “theologically inspired” one, to a personal one. When things get personal, they get closer and our perspective shifts. We move from talking about the theory of empowerment to a felt need to change for the sake of our daughters and sons. We need to change the lenses we have seen through that have kept us blind and clear our perspective. We shift our vision by changing our minds.

Shifting a mind-set is a deeply difficult process, but it also holds the most transformational opportunity for change. What we believe is at the root of everything we do. We need to plant true beliefs to see the results of good fruit in our lives. Just removing the bad fruit won’t solve the problem. If we want real change, not just short-term reactions, we need a massive mind-set shift when it comes to gender relationships. If your leadership team or culture doesn’t include women, doesn’t treat women as contributors and co-creators, and doesn’t create space for them to be part of leadership, it might be exposing your real beliefs.

Believing that women are a true gift of God and understanding them as equal, vital, gifted, and contributors to the world will not only change your behavior—it will also change theirs! It’s time to change our minds so we can see each other through the sacred lens of God’s worldview. After all, the image of God is embedded in each of us, and if we could believe that, we could see it. With a transformed belief at the base of our attitudes and behaviors, we can grow values and actions that bear flourishing fruit.

Respond

What shifts do you need to make in how you think about women and men in leadership roles? 

What gifts do you have to share with your church and community? How can you encourage a woman or girl in your life to develop and use her gifts and strengths?

How could shifts in your thinking and actions toward building gender equity create opportunities for the next generation to serve God to their full potential?