NOT Disqualified
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Sunday Reflection
Read Heather Weir’s reflection, titled, “Who Me?” from Sunday’s sermon. You’ll find it in the Sunday Reflections blog.
Scripture Reading: John 4:1-29 (NRSV)
Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John”, Read More…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
Last week there was a conference in Sun Valley, California hosted by Grace Community Church, of which the well-known evangelical preacher, John MacArthur has been a teaching pastor since 1969. During the conference, two of the main speakers were invited to play a word association game. John MacArthur was the first and only one to play. The “word” he was given was “Beth Moore.” Beth Moore is a renowned Bible teacher from Houston, Texas, who has written numerous books and Bible studies. John MacArthur’s word association response was simply, “Go home.” The audience laughed and cheered a little bit. But MacArthur didn’t leave it there. He went on to say the following: “There’s no case that can be made biblically for a woman preacher. Period. Paragraph. End of discussion.” (You can hear the whole thing here, though be advised that listening to it may make you angry.)
A bit further on in the same session, MacArthur went on to share his opinions on feminism, specifically that feminists aren’t really interested in equality, but are only interested in power, which is why they want to be preachers and why they (feminists and women preachers) are so dangerous to the church. I can’t possibly, in this brief article, get into all the absurdities of this misunderstanding of feminism or the associated assumptions about women preachers. Suffice it say, that there would be no need of feminism if the world had recognized the inherent dignity and worth of women as equally created in God’s image from the beginning.
Why am I ranting about this in this article meant to help us prepare to hear from God on Sunday?
On Sunday we’ll be considering the story from John 4:1-29 of Jesus’ conversation with a Samaritan woman. It’s a story packed with all sorts of theology and big ideas about Jesus and God and worship. But it’s also the story of Jesus’ engagement with a woman his culture told him he should never have even looked in the eye, never mind spoken with. It’s the story of an entire town’s belief in Jesus as the Messiah because this same woman – a woman who was likely ostracized by most in the town – told the town about Jesus and inspired them to learn more. It’s one of many stories that illustrates Jesus’ tendency to work through those our world cultures so often declare unfit or inappropriate. I can’t help but imagine the tirade John MacArthur and his colleagues would have launched against this woman had she dared to show up in their midst.