The air was surprisingly cool and crisp this morning as I set out from our property in rural central Virginia for what was supposed to be a 10 mile ride through the country. It is a ride I have done many times before and I was starting to get a bit bored with it. I decided to press on past my normal turn around point expecting to go just a little further.

I had not gone very far when two very fast, very fierce dogs began to chase me. I paddled as fast as I could up the hill and managed to escape unharmed. However, as I turned and looked behind me, my pursuers were poised in the middle of the road daring me to return. I did not have the courage to undergo another attack so I kept riding with no idea how I would get back to our cabin.

I soon found a road I recognized. I assumed it would get me back to familiar territory which it did. However, I was coming from a different direction, took a wrong turn and ended up going an additional 5 miles before I finally found my way back to our property. In total, I biked 17 miles which is quite a long ride for an old woman like me.

While I really wish the snarling dogs would have been napping when I rode past, without my fear of being eaten for lunch, I never would have found this new path. What I saw on these new roads was well worth the risk it took to get me there. I ended up on a ridge overlooking rolling green fields, came upon a creek as I passed through the Buckingham Appomattox Forest, and discovered I am biking distance to Holiday Lake State Park. Most importantly, I learned I can bike 17 miles and live. This one unexpected venture will yield months of new biking expeditions. I also grew tremendously as a biker from the experience. I learned to take a map with me, a cell phone, and will be investing in pepper spray as a nice surprise for the next pack of dogs to challenge me.

This weekend, when I was not biking through the country, I was reading Mike Breen and Steve Cockram’s book Building a Discipling Culture. I discovered why I seem so prone to adventures like the one noted above. According to the assessment tool in the appendix of the book, I am an “Apostle.” I never thought of myself that way before. However, as I read the description, a few things started to make sense to me. Breen makes the argument that every believer is given one of the five roles found in Ephesians 4:7, 11-13.

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it…It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

Breen describes the Apostles as follows, “It is from the Greek apostolos meaning “one who is sent out.” Apostles are visionary and pioneering, always pushing into new territory. They like to establish new churches and ministries. They come up with new and innovative means to do kingdom work.”

Breen then goes on to describe the pioneering nature of the Apostle and how this spirit of adventure and the resulting changes can be unsettling to those whom he describes as “settlers.” Breen explains “Settlers look to put down roots, while pioneers are hacking through dense jungle growth in search of new territory.”

Breen warns that “The tension between Settlers and Pioneers must be understood and managed to keep from being swallowed by division. Pioneers naturally want to move into new ways and ideas of advancing the kingdom. They are willing to take risks and join the Lord in new endeavors, often long before the settler even knows the Lord is moving in that direction. Off goes the pioneer, with excitement that cannot be contained, but that disturbs the settler who is working to preserve what has been handed down by previous generations. “It worked for them, so it will work for us,” is the settler’s life motto.”

What I realized is that I have entered a whole new territory culturally, economically, and racially during a time of tremendous cultural shifts and have left some behind. They simply cannot see the critical need for new methodology to adapt to this new environment. In short, I have failed to bring people along into this new territory with a new paradigm for doing ministry.

There is no doubt in my mind that God is doing something very exciting across this country and I want Embrace to be a part of this movement of God. Some will want us to follow tried and true paths from the past. Some will see the snarling dogs blocking the road and will want to turn around and stick with the ground we have already gained. I recognize the truth of Breen’s words “Without Settlers we would never keep the frontier that was won by the pioneers. Settlers must come to build and occupy, to maintain and to increase through steady, deliberate efforts.” However, I am a pioneer. I can’t help but take Embrace down unchartered roads that may take us in the wrong direction at times. We may have to travel out of our way, face attack, and feel lost and confused some times. But, I trust that in the long run, we will find the path designed for us. It will not be exactly like anyone else’s path and it will be hard work clearing and claiming this new frontier.

Breen not only helped me see myself, my gifts, and my calling more clearly. He also helped me understand why I often feel misunderstood and why it is so hard for me to explain the things I am seeing to those whose focus is on past experiences. I have learned that if a pioneering ministry is turned over before a new paradigm is firmly in place, it will return to what is tried and true. Breen helped me understand why my unconventional ways seem so dangerous and unnecessary to some and I pray I am more sensitive to these issues in the future and do a better job of stabilizing a ministry before I move on.

Wendy McCaig is the founder and Executive Director of Embrace Richmond (www.embracerichmond.org), an urban ministry in the inner city of Richmond, Va. Her first book From the Sanctuary to the Streets: How the Dreams of One City’s Homeless Sparked a Faith Revolution that Transformed a Community was released earlier this summer. Wendy blogs at www.wendymccaig.com about social justice and Christian practice. (this post first appeared at her blog here)

From Jim -
I’m doing research for my next project- The Resignation of Eve. I want to interview Christian or formerly Christian women who are experiencing or have gone through one or more of the Three Stages of Resignation. I will be doing these interviews in May. Most will be via Skype but some might be in person (depending on where I am in the world). Get more details in the blog and post a short explainer in the comments (at this site) (100 words or less) as to why you or your friend might be a good person for me to interview.

1. Resigned To
Using the word “resigned” in the passive sense we will highlight the most widespread abuse of women in the church – blocking, stonewalling and stalling women’s interest in gaining more influence in the church. We will tell the stories of women who find themselves “stuck” in a Catch 22. They love their church and the people but they also know they aren’t being given the opportunity to bring their best. Some are very frustrated others have simply come to terms with it.

2. Resigned From
This section profiles women who have walked away from Christianity, Church and in some cases God. These are women who at one time were very dedicated Christians, church goers and bible study leaders who have opted out for other beliefs or no beliefs. In spite of their rejection of the religion that confused and complicated their lives many of these women often lead fulfilling and productive and even deeply spiritual lives.

3. Re-Signed Up
Life is about making trades. Two people can appear to be doing the same thing but for two very different reasons. This section features the stories of women who have found a way to “orbit the giant hairball” called Christianity. They’ve learned the art of “defining themselves and staying connected”. They’re engaged but not owned, integrated within the church but knowledgeable about its inherent limitations and dangers. They’ve discovered ways to contribute to something they often disagree with. What makes these women different is that they don’t deny or just accept the situation they know it exists, talk about it and are seeking to change it from within.

Hi folks. Although I’m not a regular participant on the Emerging Women blog, I facilitate our local emergent cohort here in Chicago and am part of the leadership team at my emergent church, Wicker Park Grace. My name is Rebecca and, recently, I became involved in a new project that is trying to create an online community of people who are engaging Judaism in non-traditional ways. We are trying to move beyond the discussion of whether or not intermarriage will destroy the Jewish people by working from the premise that it will not, that it is here to stay and that some of us need to take leadership roles for how to constructively help Judaism adapt to this new dynamic. The website can be found at www.fiftypercenters.com. It’s a lot like the work we’re doing for emergent Christianity and that you’re doing for feminism. All we can do is tell our stories as we keep trying to live out this ideal. We believe that will help shape the future.

This project is engaging my passion right now because two and a half months ago, I married a practicing Jewish man. I struggled so much with feelings of rejection from the Jewish community: a community that still speaks with a fairly unified voice that families like mine are not welcome. To give you some idea of the scope of this refusal, I have only heard of three rabbis in the entire city of Chicago who will even perform a marriage between a Jew and a non-Jew. The feeling of being somewhat helpless but also full of righteous indignation was so similar to how I felt when churches I had tried to be a part of told me that they didn’t want me unless I wanted to fit into the limited identity they had laid out for.

I worked through these feelings on my personal blog and with friends and with my therapist but what we’ve all learned from our participation in the emergent movement is that finding a community that has similar experiences has all sorts of redemptive power. Thus Fifty Percenters was born. As my family expands and as the world changes, we want to be at the forefront of that change, contributing and creating the necessary dialogue to ensure that people have unfettered access to God in the language that their souls speak. If you are at all interested in this project or know of anyone who would be, please visit us or direct your friends to us. The more voices that we have responding to posts and the more eyes we have reading the stories that are being told, the more likely it will be that lives will be changed.

While at my mom’s this morning, I watched a little of the Kathie Lee and Hoda show (that may not be what the show’s called, but I’m sure it’s not far from that). For a half minute they were talking about what constitutes a great friendship, and one of them, don’t remember who, said that a great friend is someone who is happy for you and cheering you on even when you are successful at what you do, or when things go well. I got to thinking about it, because so often we, or at least I, have been under the impression that a real friend is the person who is loaning you the shoulder to cry on. You know that whole, ‘friend in need, friend indeed,’ bit.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this woman was on to something. Thinking back on not such pleasant circumstances in my life, girlfriends popped out of the woodwork, so to speak, whenever something unpleasant occurred, offering words of sympathy and kindnesses unheard of until then. And I remember wondering then if they just needed fodder for gossip, secretly glad at what had befallen me. Did my personal tragedies make them feel any more superior? Did they pretend to be strong, because in reality, they were weak?

I can say in all honesty that when I myself have acted in such a way, it gave me a definite sense of power, and it made me feel privileged that the mean reality of the other person’s life, was not mine. But to be truly happy (and I don’t mean half heartedly), for someone’s good fortune and blessings, now that is altogether different. It implies a pure heart, free of envy, jealousy, or spite. Love and encouragement in bad times as in good. That is a true friendship.

I am so curious what you readers, think about this.

Angie Muresan was born and raised in Romania during the communism dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu, where even her thoughts had to be censored for fear of blurting the wrong thing out. Now, she lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, her two children, a house full of books and no television. This post originally appeared on her blog angiemuresan.com.

Patrick McCullough recently sent us an email addressing that very issue. He writes –

“I don’t know if any women from your group follow the conversations in academic biblical studies blogs (“biblioblogs”), but we currently have one that may be of interest to you. I wonder if you might be willing to help us out.

At present, the closest thing to an “official” tally of academic biblical studies blogs is done by the Biblioblog Top 50–which puts the ratio of male to female bibliobloggers at 270 to 20. Women make up roughly 7 percent of those who blog about academic biblical studies. We have had a few conversations about this over the years but have come to no firm conclusions about why this is the case or how we should solve it.

Some explanations attempt to reason through gender preferences (women don’t like to sit in front of a computer, men are more narcissistic, etc.). But these preferences (stereotypes?) seem to relate to blogging in general and not the vast discrepancy in biblical studies specifically. I suggested that there may be a perceived risk to blogging which professionally academic women do not want to take. The person behind the Biblioblog Top 50 believes there is a “deeper, structural religious bias towards male authority.” April DeConick (perhaps the strongest, most reliable biblioblogger who happens to be a woman) believes that there is a sexism embedded within the network of biblical studies blogs, which marginalizes the blogs of women as unimportant (post one, two, three). Have a glance at this person’s post to see a timeline and links to some of the conversation happening.

I wonder if you could pose the question to your community of intelligent female bloggers, many of whom are quite well-informed about theological/spiritual/biblical matters. Why do you think there aren’t more women blogging about academic biblical studies? If you have some knowledge about biblical studies, but are not a “biblioblogger,” why not? “

She writes -

“Step into the pages of Akeldama, my historical novel of Faith.  Meet beautiful Yo-hannah, whose tortured past has imprisoned her body and heart.  Walk in the stooped steps of Veronica, whose mysterious malady has made her ceremonially unclean.  Thirst for living water with a half-breed whose checkered past is about to catch up with her.

Thrown together from different dead-ends, each woman seeks answers to her own desperation.  Will Yo-hannah find the peace she craves?  Can an unclean woman receive a touch of mercy?  Where can a despised half-breed go to be made whole?  And what about old Hadessa, whose enigmatic past is as mysterious as the young rabbi from Nazareth who crosses each woman’s path?

Each woman’s life and future hinges on the Nazarene’s answer to  one question: who are you?”

“I have read only a few Christian novels worthy of the name.  My favorite Christian authors are C.S. Lewis, Stephen R. Lawhead, Joseph F. Girzone, and now Kristine Lowder.  I must tell you that her book, Akelada, touched me so deeply that I cried like a baby as I read the final chapter.  Yes, the final chapter is about the resurrection of Jesus Christ – not a new subject.  But something in her telling of it blessed me with joy, gratitude, awe, and wonder.  I cannot remember a time when I wanted to re-read a book as soon as I finished it.  Treat yourself to a great book!
- William C. Oakes, Senior Pastor, Living Stones Fellowship, Warrens, Wisconsin

Click Here To Order

Even as debate erupts across the blogosphere about whether Emergent is fizzling as a movement, those of us still committed to the friendships and ideas we’ve found here are going ahead with ideas for how to keep the ball rolling and continue to get more and more people connected with the conversation. A few days ago I posted a question here at my blog and at the Emergent Village Cohort Leaders Google Group about what Emergent Village could do to help emergent-leaning folks in rural areas get connected with one another and with the broader emerging conversation, whether through cohorts or other means. The ensuing discussion was very productive, and has resulted in a project to create a comprehensive google map of what’s going on in the Emergent Village world.

In keeping with Emergent Village’s desire to be a network of emerging people and communities, the goal with this map will be to create a resource to help network folks with what is going on in their own local area, or help them start something new if there isn’t anything already. This will include existing cohorts, as well as any “emerging churches” who don’t mind being listed on the Emergent Village website.* The map will also include individuals who are interested in being a part of a cohort, but don’t currently have one near them. Our hope is that as more people add themselves to this map, it will become a lot easier for them to find one another and start new cohorts.

We’ve decided to start by open-sourcing this map, basically letting anyone and everyone who wants to add themselves or their faith community – no gatekeepers or approval system, though those of us in the cohort network will help make sure it stays free of trolls. We’ll start passing the link to the map around through blogs/Twitter/Facebook, etc. (that’s where you come in and inviting folks to add their churches and cohorts (or themselves if they’re not yet part of one and want to be). Hopefully it will snowball, and in a few weeks or months we’ll have a thorough and exciting map of what is going on and where. How cool will it be to be able to see just how much this conversation has grown in the past decade!

So here’s the link again. I hope you’ll help us create this thing!

*Of course we realize that there may be emerging ministries out there who do not wish to be “affiliated” with Emergent Village in any official way, for any variety of reasons, even if just on a google map. Nonetheless, those of us in the Emergent Village are happy to partner with any faith community that doesn’t mind calling itself a “friend of Emergent Village,” and hope that many communities will choose to add themselves to our map.

The problem is not that the women aren’t out there using their gifts to build up the church. The reality is that they, in fact, are. The problem is one of perception. Perceptions about what women can do versus what they may do in ministry. And it is a problem that the sisters share with many other segments of society.

Head over there for the full article. There are a few comments there, but I’ve haven’t been able to post a comment there yet for some reason. I hope though her thoughts lead to some good conversation.

there’s nothing like writing a wrap up of an event 3 months after it happened! that’s what sometimes happens in my crazy life, but i didn’t want to miss the opportunity to share a bit of what i gleaned from a great time together at convergence 2009 (http://womensconvergence.com/) , a gathering of women leaders in portland in february, so that women who weren’t able to be there could catch a bit of what was shared.

on saturday there was a panel discussion that included a variety of voices that the participants chose with questions that they had written down earlier in the day. i had the privilege of being part of the panel & some of the thoughts from that segment are the tangible ones that might encourage other women leaders on their journeys.

here are a few highlights of statements & thoughts shared by the panelists (sorry, i didn’t keep track of who said what) that i wrote down afterward & have been reflecting on in different ways for the the past few months:

• “know our limitations” – this a big one for so many of us. many of us struggle with wanting to be all
things for all people. and because so many are capable and have incredible gifts, it is quite possible to give more than we probably should. it is important to cultivate a clear sense of what we can and can’t do, recognizing that some that we serve & love will not understand. it’s not our job to make others see; it is our job to create balance in our lives as best we can; that will most certainly mean acknowledging & recognizing our limits.

• “cultivate friendships with other women leaders so we can learn from each other.” i always hesitate to use the word mentor here because i know many of us (especially in the evangelical tradition where there aren’t as many women pastors in general) have been in leadership a long time without any true “mentors” that have invested specific time and energy in cultivating our gifts and supporting us on the journey. of course, many women have had these kinds of relationships, and i am glad some have received that support. for me, i think the most encouraging part of the past few years has been intentionally cultivating relationships with other women pastors/leaders/writers/pot-stirrers and really sharing life & experiences together. it has made a world of difference. one thing many of us have shared in different ways is how frustrated we’ve been in the spirit of competitiveness that often exists among women. i am not sure what that’s all about (i am guessing insecurity?) but i think that we need to really notice what kind of vibe we are putting off and be more confident in our roles, who we are, and love each other more intentionally. we are all busy, but making time for these kinds of challenging & encouraging relationships is so important.

• “make room for other women & voices as much as we can.” we have a responsibility to each other. the only way to keep hearing from a variety of different voices, no matter what that looks like, is for people with power to give it away. whoever has the microphone, the floor, the leadership usually has some form of power. the more we pass that microphone we have to our other sisters, encourage them to step up & use their voices, the better. and because we know what it might feel to be marginalized, we can use our leadership to include as many other new voices as possible—across gender, race, socioeconomics, and all kinds of other lines.

• “be who we are; don’t try to be something we’re not.” each of us is unique and bring different gifts and combinations of personalities and strengths and weaknesses to the table. we are supposed to be “us”, not who we think other want us to be or what we think we are supposed to be because of what kind of authors, speakers, whoever we see. it’s true, many of us will not make a ton of money or get some crazy book deal or a whole lot of other things, but hopefully we will honor who God made us to be and live as integrated and whole and honest as possible.

• “learn to be friends with men.” the question came up about our sexuality & how it can be a limitation if we are not in touch with it. there’s no doubt that much healing and restoration must happen between genders to learn to live and work and be together as equals, taking sex & power out of the equation. we have a responsibility as leaders to work on this, to change unhealthy patterns, to become more free in our ability to engage with men as friends, co-laborers, equals.

• “take good care of ourselves.” ah, self care. the demands of ministry, family, kids, work, and all of the other pulls on us can really take its toll. we all want to last. we want to live out who God created us to be. we don’t want to burn out. we want to take good care of our families. we want to live a balanced life that includes a lot of other things other than just leading. in order to do this, we need to work on taking care of ourselves emotionally, physically, spiritually.

• “accept the reality of injustice but do everything we can to fight against it.” the reality is that injustice against women in the church in many denominations is present. it’s real, it’s not going away anytime soon. living with this injustice is sometimes so hard; it can make us want to give up and throw in the towel or stop fighting for change. part of our roles as women in leadership is to live in the tension of what is and what could be and be bridge builders, risk takers, path pavers toward healing of injustice on behalf of the women who will come behind us. our daughters need us. our sisters need us. we may not see all of the fruit of our labors, but the work we are doing now plant seeds has the potential to grow incredible fruit in the future. let’s keep our eyes on them & not give up.
there were many other things shared in our time together, but these are the ones who have lingered. no doubt, there was incredible wisdom in the room. these tiny highlights won’t give it justice, but hopefully a little of what happened there is spread across the miles to encourage others, too.

kathy escobar co-pastors the refuge (www.therefugeonline.org), an eclectic faith community in north denver dedicated to those on the margins. she also is the cultivator of voca femina (www.vocafemina.com), new site for women to use their voices through art, writing, photography, and other mediums.