Women's Ordination...

Here is an essay by Frederica Matthewes-Green expressing an Orthodox perspective on the ordination of women.

The words that jumped out of the essay for me were these:

"I don’t mind if Protestant denominations want to ordain women. Many times, this just means allowing them to do things Orthodox women have always done."

I am intrigued by one thing in the conversation that has been taking place in LMC regarding this issue. It seems that we have leaped over a more fundamental theological issue in the conversation. That is, what is the theological significance of ordination? Since the word is not used in the New Testament, what sources are we drawing from to guide our thinking on what the meaning of ordination is? I have heard the pragmatic answers, but I have yet to hear a deeper engagement with Scripture and Tradition.

At the LMC Leadership Assembly, time was spent considering what missional authority might look like. A question for me is this--what is the relationship between missional authority and ordination. I would assume that one could have missional authority without being ordained. What then is the authority that comes with ordination and how is it distinct from missional authority?

Nelson Kraybill paper...

Trinitarian missiology. A must read paper (11 pages) by Nelson Krabill, presented for Allelon Missional Schools project.

the missional church...in a post-Christendom world

"There is a fundamental schism in American cultural, political, and economic life. There's the quicker-growing, economically vibrant...morally relativist, urban-oriented, culturally adventuresome, sexually polymorphous, and ethnically diverse nation...and there's the small town, nuclear-family, religiously-oriented, white-centric other America, [with]...its diminishing cultural and economic force.... [T]wo nations..."
Michael Wolff, New York, February 26 2001, p. 19

The LMC Leadership Assembly is going to provide opportunity to interact with an artical by Tim Keller--The Missional Church. This theme should generate a healthy and necessary time of reflection and discussion. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend because of school and leaving for Kansas in the afternoon.

The article by Keller effectively surveys the landscape of culture in an increasingly post-Christendom context. Wonder what church would look like if we fully acknowledged that the Christendom footing is crumbling....

Love these points made by Keller in the article:

• The missional church avoids 'we-them' language, disdainful jokes that mock people of different politics and beliefs, and dismissive, disrespectful comments about those who differ with us
• The missional church avoids sentimental, pompous, 'inspirational' talk. Instead we engage the culture with gentle, self-deprecating but joyful irony the gospel creates.
• The missional church avoids ever talking as if non-believing people are not present. If you speak and discourse as if your whole neighborhood is present (not just scattered Christians), eventually more and more of your neighborhood will find their way in or be invited.

Let the re-orientation continue...