"What does emergent think about women?"

by holly rankin zaher

I must admit, I'm usually baffled when I see the last one. I know the intent is to ask, "What does emergent think about the role of women in ministry."

But I'd rather answer the obvious, "Well, I'm pretty sure emergent thinks lots about women. Many involved are women and, well, many are men who are married to women. I'm pretty sure almost everyone involved knows at least a few women. I assume that means that they think about women alot."

But the fact of the matter is that for many people, the role of women in leadership in the church is a huge issue. I received yet another email today detailing a painful story of a women who was working in the church and hit the glass ceiling. This is reality. This is still an issue.

Just what does emergent think of women? I want to answer that they don't, meaning that the hope of emergent is that this would become a non-issue so that we can continue to push into the dreams of the kingdom.

I also want to answer that they do: this is still an issue. Because of that, emergent is also committed to creating space for women to be included into this conversation.

We need women in this conversation. In our current context, where there is lots of talk about those who have been previously excluded from the conversation (whether it be women or many other neglected groups) being included, it is imperative that women are part of this conversation.

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