Kadi Cole found that many ministers were baffled by the slow uptake of the new strategies to include women more. In Developing Female Leaders, she outlines ways church leaders can deliberately shift the culture so that the change does not shock or cause alarm or damage to the church body.
Best Practice #8: Take on Your Culture
Cole recommends the use of language, boundaries and symbols to make the shift towards inclusion.
Language - Whether it’s introducing a woman by her qualifications or achievements rather than her relationships or appearance, or recognising and communicating the importance of the voice and contributions of women in team meetings or the weekly church meeting, the way we talk about women and promote the voices of women to be heard is the first step.
Some churches making the shift can do this in a rather clunky way. It’s best to strategically plan the messaging, rehearsing and repeating so that the message is received loud and clear: “We value women.”
Boundaries - Many churches are rather clear on where women cannot serve. But when church leaders haven’t done the hard work of discerning what roles ARE open to both men AND women or women alone and actively communicated this and recruited women to fill these roles according to their gifting, the church suffers. One way of communicating is typically out of fear and self-protection. The other way is out of love and the urgency of equipping and empowering the body of Christ. Churches would do well at all levels to determine how they will treat one another with love and respect and enforce those convictions in their hiring and firing practices.
Symbols - The first woman to join the leadership team will always be a symbol. Recently, a local church has decided to develop ministry teams. The first team to form was for strategic planning and implementation. A friend of mine was the first woman to be recruited for the ministry team. Not as a mere token: see we’ve got a woman! But for the genuine value and connections and insights she brings to the team. Her involvement will pave the way for other women and young girls who will see the possibilities for their own gifts to be used for the kingdom of God.
Other symbols might be not avoiding the women in the Bible during preaching series. Rather, focusing on the roles the women play in the passage, not shying away from the difficult passages. Another symbol is to credit women in your congregation you have consulted with when preparing sermons on different topics or passages. Women may be invited to participate in the public reading of Scripture, prayer, announcements, MCing, panel discussions, interviews, etc. You might also showcase local women, women from church history or missions who have served the body of Christ. Intentionally pursuing women to fill vital roles, even as volunteers, giving them real jobs with real titles will also go a long way.
“Cast a vision for unity, support, embracing change, and serving one another for the sake of the kingdom and for the benefit of your church.”
All of three of these will go a long way in shifting the culture of a church or organisation to embracing women using their gifts in leadership roles.
Cole cautions church leaders to be mindful that as the leadership are hashing out the details and thinking through these shifts, the congregation will not have had the same level of time to process this change.
Listen and Talk with the men in leadership and discuss the practical changes that may take place by incorporating women into their workplace and team culture. Help them appreciate the ultimate good these changes will bring to the team and the congregation as a whole. (Some may mourn the loss of the usual team bonding activities that may not appeal to women joining the team.)
Listen and Talk with as many women as you can. Some may not agree with the shift. Show them where the you have drawn from Scripture to inform the shift towards inclusion. Some may be hurt that these changes did not happen sooner and old feelings may bubble up and need to be addressed and church leaders can ask for forgiveness.
The book continues with a series of actions the church and individuals, particularly male leaders, can take to implement the changes, questions for leadership teams to work through to make sure they are on track and even a section for recommended best practices for women leaders. These final sections is where this book really shines as a practical resource for churches and not just another book for women on ministry.
I’ll visit some of these final sections in the Facebook group.
AFES - I’ve personally witnessed our staff pay particular attention to the way we intentionally speak about our student leaders, create balanced ministry teams and actively recruit both men and women for all levels of student leadership. Giving our students this experience now will help shape the future of evangelical churches.
Best Practices:
Take on Your Culture
Developing Female Leaders: Navigating the Minefields and Releasing the Potential of Women in Your Church, Kadi Cole, Thomas Nelson, 2019, 224pgs.