Willow Branches in Autumn Winds

We Need Each Other in Leadership

Many Christians feel that men are made to be leaders and women are made to be helpers of men. In the family, this means that while the wife certainly has input and should share her insights and opinions, ultimately it is the husband who makes the decisions. In the church this means that men are lead pastors and elders and decide how to run the church, while women serve in the children’s and women’s ministries. In the world, this means that women stay home to focus on nurturing children and creating a comfortable, peaceful home for their husbands, and men are out in the workforce, creating products, running the government, or providing important services.

Before I go further I want to state clearly: I believe women’s and children’s ministry in the church are very important, and serving in those areas is not to be seen as inferior. I also believe it is good for moms to stay at home to care for children and create a home and this is a noble and difficult job that has a huge impact on our society.  

My point is not to suggest that women should strive to move up and out of the “lowly” positions of women’s ministry leader or stay-at-home mom. My point is that I don’t think there should be blanket limitations on what women can do in the home, the church, or the world. This is not because I believe that men and women are essentially the same. It is because I believe that a hierarchical structure where men are the leaders and women are the “helpers”, leads to problems, precisely because men and women are different.

In Genesis 1 God says, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” I absolutely believe that God created Eve as a helper for Adam. I believe that what God had in mind was a partner, not an administrative assistant. I also believe that the roles of helper and helped (not helper and leader) are not limited to the institutions of marriage or the church, but that in all areas men need the help of women.*

The video I shared yesterday illustrates this. Men have proclivities to certain sins. In media, a field that is run mostly by men (according to the Miss Representation documentary, men hold 97% of all positions of clout in telecommunications, entertainment, publishing and advertising), men’s sins go unchecked. We see this played out when we see the rampant use of violence, sex, and women’s bodies to sell products or create entertainment.

The men who make decisions in the world of media need the help of women to present a more truthful and respectful view of women. I believe our churches and our government would also benefit if more women were partnering with men in leadership. Women have a different perspective, different ideas, different priorities than men, and their contributions are needed.

It is not good for man to be alone.

*I want to make it clear that women also need men. There are sins that women are more prone to, and we need the help of men to recognize and balance that.