{"id":26441,"date":"2020-03-19T13:23:32","date_gmt":"2020-03-19T20:23:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dminlgp\/?p=26441"},"modified":"2020-03-19T13:23:32","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T20:23:32","slug":"what-in-the-world-are-we-doing-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/what-in-the-world-are-we-doing-together\/","title":{"rendered":"What in the world are we doing together"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reflecting on these two texts, I am focused upon the term \u2018Ezer Kenegdo.\u2019[1]<\/a><\/p>\n

The word Ezer Kenegdo<\/em> is an old Hebrew term, but the purpose of discussion essentially means a strong warrior, a complimentary partner with the other half of the adam<\/em>. I love the word\u00a0complementary. Complementary is what one is and doing if they are \u201cin Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Complementary is true that some women do not want to be complimentary. However, I find it to be far the other opposite in circles I journey.\u00a0 In the Church world, I am a part of, women are celebrated, have been given leadership opportunities since the denominations inception since 1908. However, does this mean that a woman cannot be whole without a man? I don\u2019t think so. Men are beloved sons of God and women are beloved daughters of God.<\/p>\n

Please do not tell my mom that she could not be the best parent she tried to be for her children not having a wayward husband at home. She was and is a warrior princess if I ever saw one who does not yet fully realize it but she could do much more with the power of the King of kings. The image of the King of kings is not something we fully comprehend.<\/p>\n

Early on in my training and interviews for ordination, I heard friends describe themselves as one\u2019s who could not serve under a female pastor. I understand because the way I see it there are many men I could not serve under either! Having served or been taught by women is a reality that none of us able to say has not been a reality happened.<\/p>\n

Men and women are like two hands of the same body. One\u2019s left hand and right hand are in some ways the same but also different. Our left and right hands are the exact opposite of each other, but the one hand is not more important than the other one. One hand might be a little stronger and likely the hand we give more attention to, but we can perfectly use each hand on its own. If we have the blessing of two hands; they can do so much more together than apart. It is not a zero-sum game. My experience is that two hands are even stronger than one’s preferred hand. You can get more done with less effort when using both hands together. Of course, this is only going to work when one’s hand is the Ezer Kenegdo to the other hand. Genesis 1 and 2, in large part, describe a partnership and not a ruling over like there is a subordinate one. “God said, “let…”” Genesis 1:3-25.<\/p>\n

In particular, Genesis 1:26 reads (English Standard Version), 26\u00a0<\/strong><\/sup>Then God said,\u00a0\u201cLet us make man\u00a0in our image,\u00a0after our likeness. And\u00a0let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

With the above discussion, I think it is entirely inappropriate to refer to humankind being made in purely the physical image of God. God is Triune, God is a Spirit, and other than those who lived among Jesus that is only physical aspects of God that there was. Brueggemann wrote,<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is one way in which God is imaged in the world and only one: humanness! This is the only creature, the only part of creation, which discloses to us something about the reality of God. God is known peculiarly through this creature who exists in the realm of free history, where power is received, decisions are made, and commitments honored. The image of God in the human person is a mandate of power and responsibility. There is nothing here of coercive or tyrannical power, either for God or for humankind.\u201d[3]<\/a><\/p>\n

Some around me want to rewrite Scripture to fit their agendas, which some agendas probably come out of pain. Obviously, I am not a medical expert, yet I do not believe that it would be prudent, especially in the area of subscribing to genders (male and female) that are not a part of Scripture or clinically proven from birth or before. With that, the two genders of adam, <\/em>both male and female are probably the closest we can get to the crowning glory of God\u2019s creation.<\/p>\n

In my research topic, healthy markers of (bi) covocationally led congregations, I did not find any data from any denomination or dissertation that differentiated the percentage of female or male covocational pastors. Therefore, this week\u2019s study helps me be more cognizant and celebratory that \u201cin Christ\u201d we can see more redemption\/ restoration in our world.<\/p>\n

Colossians 1:27\u00a0(English Standard Version), \u201c27\u00a0<\/sup>To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are\u00a0the riches of the glory of\u00a0this mystery, which is Christ in you,\u00a0the hope of glory.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [1] Lucy Peppiatt, and Scot McKnight, Rediscovering Scripture’s Vision for Women: Fresh Perspectives on Disputed Texts<\/em>, Downers Grove: IVP, 2019, 52 and Adams, Katia. Equal: What the Bible Says about Women, Men, and Authority, DCC – UK. Kindle Edition.<\/p>\n

<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [2] Genesis 1:26,\u00a0The Hebrew word for\u00a0man<\/em>\u00a0(adam<\/em>) is the generic term for mankind and becomes the proper name\u00a0Adam<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 [3] Joseph E. Coleson, Genesis 1-11: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, New Beacon Bible Commentary<\/em>. Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2012, 69.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reflecting on these two texts, I am focused upon the term \u2018Ezer Kenegdo.\u2019[1] The word Ezer Kenegdo is an old Hebrew term, but the purpose of discussion essentially means a strong warrior, a complimentary partner with the other half of the adam. I love the word\u00a0complementary. Complementary is what one is and doing if they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","cohort-lgp10"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26441"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26441\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26442,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26441\/revisions\/26442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}