"Here I am!Send me!"
By Kenneth Aveirls, Sr.
The issue of Women in ministry has long been one of controversy. This subject can be so heated and intense at times, that it has caused relations between Christians to be strained, congregations to be at odds with each other, Churches to "split", and denominations have been fractured.
If you look around, you will notice that God is settling this debate for all. "He who has ears to hear, let them hear!" There is an incontestable fact that the Living God is choosing to lay claim upon the lives of an ever-increasing number of women and charging them to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, in season, and out of season. Daily, women are being asked by the Lord, "Whom shall I send?” with the response being, "Here I am! Send me!"
If you glean the scriptures closely, you will find that our Lord prepared women for ministry. Jesus welcomed women into his itinerant seminary, held deep theological discussions about the nature of God and the character of true and high worship with a Samaritan (Black) woman at Jacob's well. . .Who once became a changed person from the inside. (Note - You can look like a million dollars on the outside . . . but if your heart is nasty . . .all you have is a Rolex watch on a dirty greasy wrist!)
Her Trial Sermon was "Come See a Man. . .;" He commended Mary of Bethany for choosing to learn the truths of God at His feet, and transformed women mourners into women messengers at the site of the empty tomb. Commissioned by no Bishop, no Moderator, no Deacon, no Steward, no Pastor. . . but commissioned by a risen Savior to proclaim the resurrection.
Here we are, over two thousand years later, blessed with the spirit of some, "Daughters of Thunder". From Jarena Lee, to Dr. Teresa Fry-Brown; From Bishop Vashti McKenzie, to Prophetess Jaunita Bynum; From Prathia Hall Wynn, to Dr. Ella Pearson Mitchell; From Dr. Suzan D. Johnson, to Dr. Cynthia Hale; From Carolyn Ann Knight, to Dr. Renita Weems. . . and the list goes on and on. . .
In conclusion, understand that accepting the call as a female preacher, was not, is not, "ain't gunna be" easy. You see, sometimes we as a people, forget what it was like to be in bondage. . . how our ancestors built this country under "Massa's Whip", and we still prejudice our own sisters!
We may not be chained physically. . .but some of us are being held slaves in our own minds. These women, even as they struggle today, even as they uttered the words "Yes Lord!", knew what Jeremiah once said. . .they learned that to refuse to preach is to experience a fire in one's bones that can be quenched by nothing less than faithful, obedient preaching.
Besides, is there anything too hard for God?
Think about it. . .
(c) Copyright 2005 by Kenneth Aveirls, Sr a/k/a Saukrates
