Markers of a church planting movement #7: Women as Leaders & Inclusive

This is the seventh post in a series exploring the broad vision for our church plant in Seattle. If you want to know more about that project, check out my Church Plant category   For the rest of this specific series, go here.

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Mutuality in Leadership

One of the things I love about the BIC is that we are an egalitarian denomination. What this means is that we believe that both women and men should be empowered to serve mutually within the church—without distinction. Therefore, women can serve as bishops, pastors, elders, teachers, deacons, and church planters. We also believe in mutuality in marriage relationships. Women can exercise “spiritual leadership” in a marriage and so can men. Leadership, in the church and home, based on our reading of the Scriptures, is based on gifting, not gender. We passionately desire to be intentional about creating a culture where women can flourish into their callings.

Inclusive

There are no prerequisites to grace and love. God’s beautiful and upside-down grace is offered to all people in all places and at all times; therefore we love people and offer them grace no matter what wrongs they have committed.

• We do not condone destructive behavior, habits, or lifestyles. But God’s grace can change lives. This can be instantaneous for some, but for many others this may take time.
• We follow the model of God who loved us before we ever chose to respond to grace. We choose to love others no matter where they are in their spiritual journeys. God is patient with people “wishing that all will come to repentance.”
• We choose love over judgment.
• Christ-followers are called to tear down the walls of separation that this culture has built to divide us from one another so that we may come together in authentic community.
• Reconciliation of all peoples is central to the message of Jesus. Economic, social, and racial reconciliation is the picture we receive from the New Testament church who strove to create authentic inclusive communities of love.