You're a Feminist

A friend sent me this blog post by Rachel Held Evans because she knows I too have been called a feminist by those who are threatened by my gifting and role as female preacher and pastor. First, let me say, I'm tired of the ignorance of the church on what it means to be a feminist. Feminism started in the 1840's in a conservative evangelical church in Seneca Falls NY.The five tenants of the movement were as follows:-Women should have the right to vote-Women should have the right to own property-Women should have the right to have custody of their children (in a divorce situation)-Women should have the right to divorce (at that time only men where allowed to file for divorce)-Women should be given their pay for their work (instead of it being handed over to their husband)I highly doubt any man or woman today would stand up in church and object to these rights (brought forth by the feminist movement).And yet, some Christians wield the word as a weapon, as if being a feminist is a "dirty thing." A friend from my past met me for coffee. She wanted to clear the air on some past issues in our friendship. During the conversation she stated that I was a feminist; that my focus had become about women's issues and not the gospel. Later, upon reflecting on her words, I realized she truly doesn't get the fullness of the Gospel. When Jesus died, he paid for all sins, meaning anything and everything that violates our perfect God. Any time a human being is being used, abused, treated as second class, less than... it becomes about the Gospel because it's a violation of what Jesus accomplished on the cross.As I said, a friend sent me this blog post because she knows I've been called me a feminist in a derogatory manner. There are some who really believe women like me are bringing secular feminism into the church. We aren't. What we are doing is declaring a fuller Gospel.http://rachelheldevans.com/accidental-feminist utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+RachelHeldEvans+%28Rachel+Held+Evans+-+Blog%29