Are you a woman of the Kingdom?

In the Next-Wave April issue, Felicity Dale has written an article titled Women of the Kingdom. In it she discusses her experience as a minister and being an author.
She is a minsiter with her husband of House2House Ministries She has authored some good books on House churches; An Army of Ordinary People, Getting Started:A Practical Guide to Church Planting and co-author of The Rabbit and the Elephant,and Simply Church. She blogs at Simply Church . She writes about her experience as a woman in ministry, how she has been treated and things said to her. Here are some of the things said to her: • A woman can lead—she just does it through her husband.
• A woman is equal to a man. It’s just that her role is different and, by implication, not as important. Kind of like George Orwell’s “All animals are created equal but some animals are more equal than others" (Animal Farm).
• God will use a woman—but only when there is no man available to do the job (my personal favorite!)

I have had a few other choice words said to me in my ministry as some others have had also.

She says that the body of Christ is actually The Hemiplegic Body. She goes on to explain that Hemiplegia is a medical term used to describe a paralysis of one side of the body, as for example, after a stroke. The voice of the female half of the army has been silenced. Obviously there are notable exceptions to this, but in general women are not allowed to develop to their full potential within the church.

But she goes on to say historically that it has not always been that way going back to the women at work in the early church.

Her final question causes me to stop and think; What could happen if women took their rightful place co-laboring alongside men in the Kingdom? How would you answer her? Can you imagine the body of Christ that is not a hemiplegic body? Can imagine?

Take a look at her whole article.