"Her Redemption" Excerpt

Chapter Four-  THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

​"I consider myself to be a bible-based Christian. I take the word of God very
seriously and do not believe that it should ever be compromised. How does a female
pastor, like myself, who claims to be a bible-based Christian reconcile with 1 Timothy
2:11-12 which reads: Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a
woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.  (KJV) Or 1
Corinthians 14:34-35 which reads: Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is
not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience as also
saith the law. And if they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home: for it
is a shame for women to speak in the church. (KJV) 
I’m going to be honest, when I first started preaching, I used to avoid those
scriptures at all cost. I can recall getting extremely nervous any time someone would
even read from those two chapters. While deep down inside, I knew that the Lord had
called me to preach, I was not yet fully mature in my theological studies to dissect the
true meaning of those scriptures. Those scriptures became my elephant—a huge elephant
in the room that I prayed would simply disappear. Wisdom, however, teaches us that we
should face our fears head-on. It is better to walk in the truth of the light than to hide in
the fear of darkness. I renewed my mind and decided to thoroughly study those scriptures
for myself. 
 What are your fears? What are key verses that cause you to cringe or make you
uncomfortable? Have you avoided them for fear of being wrong, or have you faced your
fears head-on? You will never get clarity about God’s call until you confront your
questions. Confronting your questions doesn’t mean you are challenging the scriptures, or discounting its validity. Confronting your questions means you take the Word so
seriously, that you want to understand what the verse means so that you don’t
misrepresent God as you teach it to others. "
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