Leading Women
Titus 2:1-5 - You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance. Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.
This scripture reminds me of the dreams I had about 20 years ago as a young Christian. I wanted to go into the ministry. I wanted to train women to love God, to be reverent, self-controlled, pure, to do and teach what is good on a full-time basis. In pursuit of this dream, as a 9 month old disciple, one year out of college, I spent a summer working for the church in Bombay, India, along with about 20 other American disciples. Before I left for Bombay, India, there had been talk of me possibly serving as an intern in the church upon my return. I was excited, ecstatic about the possibility. However, upon my return the opportunity was not there, so I went back to my career. Although I remained a sold out disciple, my dream of being in the full-time ministry faded over the years.
It was not until we moved to Portland a little over two years ago that I started to get my dream back to be in the full-time ministry! In the Portland Church I saw what I had seen when I ï¬?rst became a disciple, the kingdom of God, a uniï¬?ed group of people that were totally sold out to do whatever it takes to love God and take the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I saw happy people, full of joy, excited to be with each other and excited to worship and serve God. I once again was inspired to train for the ministry! Somehow my career ï¬?nally seemed to pale in comparison! In April 2006 I was appointed a Women’s Ministry Leader and in July, my husband and I moved to Phoenix to lead the Phoenix International Christian Church with the Chloupeks. Although I have had to go back to work on a part-time temporary basis until the church gets a bit bigger and can support two full-time staff, I eagerly await the day I can work full-time for the church here!
Has God put the dream of leading women on your heart? Do you think about it all the time? Do you think about it from time to time? Did you think about it as a young Christian? Is it a lost dream? If this is or has been your dream, and you are not pursuing it right now, I want to challenge you to “do what is right and do not give way to fear”. I Peter 5:5.
I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to serve side by side with women like Teresa Hamblin, Merry Carriaga and Kelsey Campbell, all of whom want to be trained to go into the full-time ministry.
Helen Sullivan
