Yesterday I read a blog post by Lisa Robinson. Nothing particularly unusual about that; Lisa displays an excellent command of the English language and (more importantly) shows herself to love the Lord and have sound theology. But I disagreed with the way she defended Legacy, the special gathering for women of color at The Gospel Coalition’s women’s conference this year.

Lisa correctly pointed out that churches very often have various sub-groups such as Junior Church, Youth Group, Single’s Ministry and support groups for people in various types of addiction. And, while I see merit in separating men and women in certain circumstances, I question the wisdom of splintering believers into so many different factions.  Such segregation fragments the Body of Christ into special interest groups rather than encouraging it to unify around our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.

I know some of you are scratching your heads, wondering whether I’m a blazing hypocrite or if dementia is setting in now that I’m mere months away from turning 65. You probably want to remind me of how vehemently I insist that the only men who should read my blog are my husband and the elders of First Baptist Church Weymouth. My parameters probably don’t make much sense, given that I don’t even write about women’s issues.

Okay, I’ve occasionally considered writing about menopause, just to discourage male readers. 🙂

I blog about matters that all Christians, regardless of gender (or anything else), need to understand. Nothing I write applies exclusively to women. Men could most likely learn from some of the things I discuss on this cute little spot of cyberspace. In fact, the men who ignore my pleas to close my blog in favor of blogs written by men indeed have learned things from my writing.

I have only one reason for trying to restrict my writing to women: obedience.

¹² I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. ¹³ For Adam was formed first, then Eve; ¹⁴ and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. ~~1 Timothy 2:12-14 (ESV)

³ Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, ⁴ and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. ~~Titus 2:3-5 (ESV)

I realize that many people believe 1 Timothy 2:12-14 applies specifically to church settings, and they may well be correct. All the same, I prefer to err on the side of caution by confining The Outspoken TULIP to women. My policy is less about creating a separate group within the Body of Christ than about my responsibility to use my gift of teaching in a manner that honors Christ.

So, although Lisa Robinson made an understandable point, I believe breaking Christ’s Body into too many segments fosters unnecessary division. As Christians, let’s focus on our unity around sound doctrine that leads us to Christ.

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