The Hebrew prophet Isaiah foretold the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, about 700 years before the Christ-child was born. All-powerful, all-knowing, all-patient, present-everywhere God knew the right time to come to earth to dwell with us in human form. It was a time when hope, peace, joy and love were needed to fill the emptiness of a greed-filled world.
Like Isaiah, Jesus was a prophet, but more than that, Jesus was the Savior of the world. He was a great teacher, preacher, healer and community organizer who devoted his life to social justice and concern for society’s most vulnerable—the poor. He organized a band of followers who passed on to us who are living today the Christ-inspired work of promoting justice and God’s kingdom on earth.
Isaiah prophesied that one day the rest of God’s dream would be fulfilled, when weapons of war would be turned into farming implements. There also will be a day when the wolf shall live with the lamb and people of different races, religions, socioeconomic classes and sexual orientations will lovingly break bread together at the table of brother/sisterhood.
The world is not there yet, but with God’s help and our diligence in doing his will, the realization of God’s dream/Isaiah’s prophesy will be something to behold!
Paul Whiteley Sr.
Louisville, Ky.
Women, ministry & God’s pragmatism
Regarding “Right or wrong? Pragmatic hiring of women pastors”:
Was it wrong for Annie Armstrong, Lottie Moon and other women missionaries to preach the gospel? Or was that OK so long as they didn’t try to do it from a pulpit? It seems a little off, old Southern Baptist Convention souls, to affirm callings and God’s use of these people in furthering his kingdom—even naming offerings after these women who embodied the practices you believe are forbidden, even if they never received the title of pastor.
Sign up for our weekly edition and get all our headlines in your inbox on Thursdays
I’d agree with the author of the article that we should respect your local church autonomy and believers’ priesthood in persisting in these weak hermeneutics based more in tradition than in actual consideration of Christ and his ministry and prayerful spirit-led interpretation, if these beliefs didn’t threaten to completely disenfranchise an entire denomination which has been instrumental in Christian missions from a culture in dire need of our Savior.
It stinks that tradition has made SBC conservatives so hard-headed to God’s use of only men that they limit God’s ability to use whomever he chooses however he chooses to use them. Kudos to God for his use of pragmatics in getting his stubborn people to open their minds and pulpits to the ones he is calling to fill them, irrespective of gender.
But, of course, Meredith Stone is absolutely right in stating, “We should do more to creatively encourage people to consider women as an equal first-choice to a man.”
Calli Keener
Gunter
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.