![]() Besides never occupying the pulpit on a Sunday morning, they were never to “teach doctrine.” Women could share a testimony, tell some stories of how God has worked on the mission field, etc., but God forbid that they dare try to expound a biblical text or speak on some point of “doctrine.” They were happy to have them out for a midweek or a Sunday evening service, but never on a Sunday morning. Some pastors agreed that a woman could teach a mixed group, just not on a Sunday morning. I find it funny because, in my own conversations with those in my tribe over the same issues, this thing about some sort of sacred time and space also kept coming up. So when we hear of a prohibition against a woman speaking God’s Word to a mixed congregation on a Sunday morning or the “Lord’s Day” gathering, know that we are hearing someone’s tradition, not a biblical command. In the New Testament, there is no mandated day given for God’s people to gather to pray, worship, and study the Bible. One of the funny things I keep coming across in the criticism of both Beth and those who have allowed her to speak at their churches is that she was “in the pulpit on a Sunday morning,” or as one Evangelical leader put it, “the Lord’s day pulpit.” Let’s just be clear, whatever one believes about which day of the week Christians gather to worship is traditional, not biblical. I beg to differ but will come back to that later. She is in clear violation of Scripture because we all know that Paul forbade women from teaching men in his first epistle to Timothy, at least that’s what some are absolutely certain of. But apparently, for many men in her tribe, this is now a problem. Beth doesn’t aspire to the role of pastor or overseer she simply teaches the Bible whenever and wherever she can. Beth, as many know, is one of the great Bible teachers of this generation and has been used by God in extraordinary ways among multitudes of women and a large number of men also. And this brings me to the current controversy concerning Beth Moore. ![]() The issue is still hotly contended among many in our tribe today. Well, the controversy continued to build and much discussion and debate ensued. Our main teaching and music venue is in a cowshed, and somehow, when the ladies stepped out of the seminar tents onto the main stage, they were treading on “holy ground” and violating Scripture by teaching the Bible to a mixed audience of men and women, boys and girls … in a cowshed. Now just to clarify, the “main stage” upon which my wife and another woman spoke to a mixed audience was not in a church. a few weeks later (the festival is in the UK), there was brooding and deep concern that I had gone liberal. The problems started when we moved her from the “seminar tent” to the “main stage.” That’s when mutterings of “heresy” began to spread, not just at the festival, but all around the world (with the help of social media). ![]() My wife, Cheryl, was often one of the women leading a seminar, and the men would flock to hear her, loving her amazing gift to teach God’s Word. All the seminars were attended by mixed audiences of both men and women as well. For years, we held teaching seminars led by both men and women. ![]() It wasn’t at a church service but rather at a music and Bible festival that I’m involved with annually. The context where all this occurred makes it even more interesting. According to these men, I was in clear violation of Scripture by allowing such a thing. A few years ago, I ran afoul of some pastors in my tribe for allowing a woman to teach to an audience of both women and men. ![]()
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