I often struggle to put into words - without sounding disrespectful, rude, disparaging, inflammatory - why I simply don't believe that men are natural-born or preordained leaders. Not of our homes, not of our churches, not of our communities. I won't even agree to this theory in an overly-generalized fashion as I begrudgingly have - for the sake of peace, conformity, and fear of God - for years.
I was simply going to let the story that follows speak for itself, but I have a few things I want to say first.
I think that men struggle more than women do to find and follow their moral compass. I think true, life-changing leadership comes from a place of compassion, a place in which women seem more often to dwell. (I do not necessarily include myself in these flattering descriptions, by the way.) I think left to their own devices, without women calling them to higher standards, men can tool around aimlessly, look inward to the point of self-import, or choose destructive behaviors that - quickly and with terrible repercussions - spiral out of control.
Men need to step back when their weaknesses are hindering progress. They need to not stand in the way of women who are gifted in areas that they are not. They need to stop automatically relegating the duties (and ministries) of "home, children, and other women" to those who have a different calling. They need to show as much respect and deference to a woman called to leadership as they would a fellow man.
From the Heifer Foundation Fall 2007 "Benefactors" publication, Greg Spradlin writes about the Women's Project in Chitwan, Nepal:
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Nepal is a country suffering from decades of civil and political unrest. As I write this, there is news of more rioting from the Maoist rebels who seek to overturn the country's monarchy - neither choice is good for this country. However, what I saw were kind and gentle people who want the same things you and I want. When their children are sick, they would like to have access to a doctor. They want healthy food available for three meals a day. They want a safe place to live, and hope their children will have a better life than theirs.
What I saw in Chitwan was miraculous. I saw villages that Heifer International had worked with for less than five years. In those villages, the women had taken charge in a culture where others only know many of them by their husband's name - property, no different than a small parcel of land they worked and toiled in to make ends meet. In the past, the husbands may have drank what little cash that they earned, and in turn would take out his anger on his wife. Today, the women have been empowered by training and community building that is part of the Heifer process. Today, those women are the leaders and the glue that holds the community together and lifts the community to become one where others would want to live.
The most astonishing thing that has happened is that the animals and training they have received from Heifer have produced a community that now has a medical clinic, a library, a community center and a community-owned fund that now totals over $10,000 USD. This is a country where the average person earns less than $300 per year. The unique thing is that the women have used the funds to build the community. They have even built a dam to protect the village from the floods in rainy season.
All of the women talked of life before they were trained and received animals. They told of having to scrape to produce maybe two meals per day of mostly gains they were able to collect or beg from neighbors. They talked about the abuses that were once part of their everyday existence. Now, they tell a story of enlightenment, where life is not as hopeless if everyone in the community works together.
Christian organizations that implore all men to step back up to their "rightful and God-given" roles as leaders do not necessarily have bad intentions. I just think they miss the point. Jesus brought us a NEW testament, a NEW life, a NEW way of thinking, a NEW freedom. The longer we cling to that which is tried, that which is true, that which is tired, and that which simply does not work, the longer we starve, neglect, despair, abuse and war.
I was simply going to let the story that follows speak for itself, but I have a few things I want to say first.
I think that men struggle more than women do to find and follow their moral compass. I think true, life-changing leadership comes from a place of compassion, a place in which women seem more often to dwell. (I do not necessarily include myself in these flattering descriptions, by the way.) I think left to their own devices, without women calling them to higher standards, men can tool around aimlessly, look inward to the point of self-import, or choose destructive behaviors that - quickly and with terrible repercussions - spiral out of control.
Men need to step back when their weaknesses are hindering progress. They need to not stand in the way of women who are gifted in areas that they are not. They need to stop automatically relegating the duties (and ministries) of "home, children, and other women" to those who have a different calling. They need to show as much respect and deference to a woman called to leadership as they would a fellow man.
From the Heifer Foundation Fall 2007 "Benefactors" publication, Greg Spradlin writes about the Women's Project in Chitwan, Nepal:
Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world. Nepal is a country suffering from decades of civil and political unrest. As I write this, there is news of more rioting from the Maoist rebels who seek to overturn the country's monarchy - neither choice is good for this country. However, what I saw were kind and gentle people who want the same things you and I want. When their children are sick, they would like to have access to a doctor. They want healthy food available for three meals a day. They want a safe place to live, and hope their children will have a better life than theirs.
What I saw in Chitwan was miraculous. I saw villages that Heifer International had worked with for less than five years. In those villages, the women had taken charge in a culture where others only know many of them by their husband's name - property, no different than a small parcel of land they worked and toiled in to make ends meet. In the past, the husbands may have drank what little cash that they earned, and in turn would take out his anger on his wife. Today, the women have been empowered by training and community building that is part of the Heifer process. Today, those women are the leaders and the glue that holds the community together and lifts the community to become one where others would want to live.
The most astonishing thing that has happened is that the animals and training they have received from Heifer have produced a community that now has a medical clinic, a library, a community center and a community-owned fund that now totals over $10,000 USD. This is a country where the average person earns less than $300 per year. The unique thing is that the women have used the funds to build the community. They have even built a dam to protect the village from the floods in rainy season.
All of the women talked of life before they were trained and received animals. They told of having to scrape to produce maybe two meals per day of mostly gains they were able to collect or beg from neighbors. They talked about the abuses that were once part of their everyday existence. Now, they tell a story of enlightenment, where life is not as hopeless if everyone in the community works together.
Christian organizations that implore all men to step back up to their "rightful and God-given" roles as leaders do not necessarily have bad intentions. I just think they miss the point. Jesus brought us a NEW testament, a NEW life, a NEW way of thinking, a NEW freedom. The longer we cling to that which is tried, that which is true, that which is tired, and that which simply does not work, the longer we starve, neglect, despair, abuse and war.
