Many American Christians may see Mike Huckabee’s appointment as U.S. ambassador to Israel as a victory for their pro-Israel beliefs—perhaps even a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.

But as a Palestinian Christian, I urge you to pause and reflect: What does this moment truly mean for the faith we proclaim? For the justice and compassion Christ taught us? And, most urgently, for the lives of those of us who, like me, call this Holy Land home?

Political agendas disguised as Christian compassion

Too often, American Christian support for Israel seems to prioritize political loyalty over Christ’s compassion.

Leaders champion an unwavering defense of Israel, frequently overlooking its policies of occupation, apartheid and systemic oppression—all under the guise of “security” or “self-defense.” These policies favor one group, often at the expense of another, denying basic rights and protections to those who share this land.

What about the millions of Palestinians—many of them Christians—who also call this sacred land home? What about their pain, their stolen futures and their fading hope to live free of fear and humiliation? Their security? Their right to self-defense?

Consider the Kisiya family, Palestinian Christians from Beit Jala, near Bethlehem. For generations, they carefully tended their olive groves, a legacy passed down through the centuries. But one day, without warning, their land was seized to make way for an illegal Israeli settlement, built to house Zionist immigrants, perhaps even from Brooklyn or New York.

Overnight, the Kisiya family became strangers on their own soil, reduced to helpless spectators watching others reap what they had sown.

Every morning, the Kisiya family walks past their ancestral land. They cannot touch it, cultivate it or even set foot on it. What was once a symbol of their heritage and security is now a silent reminder of their dispossession.

To an outsider, it might seem like just a plot of land, but for the Kisiya family, it was their sanctuary, a connection to their ancestors and a promise to their children. Imagine the pain of standing on the edge of what is rightfully yours, knowing it has been taken from you—not just in property, but in identity, in history, in faith.

When faith becomes a weapon

Huckabee’s staunch defense of Israeli policies doesn’t just stop at support. It veers into justifying actions that many—including Jewish, Israeli, American, churches and human rights advocates—condemn as apartheid. These policies sustain a cycle of land theft, military occupation and unrelenting violence that has been entrenched for decades.

Take, for example, the Nasir family—another deeply rooted Christian family in the Christian town of Birzeit, near Ramallah in West Bank. For years, they were pillars of the community, helping to found Birzeit University.

One night, Israeli soldiers stormed their home. The stillness of their quiet evening was shattered by the sound of splintering doors, the sharp orders of soldiers and the sight of weapons in their faces.

In the chaos, 23-year-old Layan, barely awake, was dragged from her bed. Her cries were drowned out by the noise, and she was taken—kidnapped. Her family has not heard from her since.

Days stretch into months, and each day her family faces a new torment of unanswered questions: Where is she? Is she safe? Will she ever come home? The Nasirs’ home, once a sanctuary of learning and love, is now haunted by her absence.

Can we, as Christians, truly accept this?

Are we to be peacemakers only for those deemed “worthy” by political or racial standards, or are we to open our hearts to all who suffer, as Christ commanded? We may not agree on every issue, especially when it comes to politics, but surely, we can grieve together, mourn the loss of innocent lives, and commit ourselves to the work of true peace and justice.

This isn’t just about politics. It’s about people. It’s about the father forced to explain to his children why soldiers stormed their home. It’s about the mother silently mourning the disappearance of her daughter while trying to hold the family together.

It’s about the children of Gaza sifting through the rubble of their homes, searching for fragments of the lives they once knew. This is the human cost—the real, unmeasurable grief of families torn apart, homes destroyed, futures stolen.

The real human cost

When American Christians rally behind political figures like Huckabee without reckoning with the human cost, they risk betraying the very heart of the gospel. Jesus’s words in Matthew 25:40—“Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”—call us to a higher standard of love and mercy.

As Christians, supporting Israel should not mean disregarding the dignity, safety and humanity of others. Palestinian Christians, Samaritans, Muslims and others who share this land too often are silenced in the name of political loyalty.

Lorenzo Vargas, a communications expert, wisely said, “Nothing about us without us.”

We, Palestinian Christians, have lived in this land for millennia. Yet, in discussions about our future, our voices often are dismissed, and our struggles are minimized or ignored.

Misusing Scripture to justify oppression

It is painful to witness Scripture twisted to justify policies that cause harm. For Palestinians, the loss is more than physical. It is spiritual and emotional. It is a slow erasure of presence, hope and the right to dream of a better future.

Every family forced to leave their home, every church watching its congregation shrink as members are killed or flee, and every child growing up under the shadow of violence feels the profound and personal weight of this loss.

A call to action: Listen, reflect and act

The Bible tells us to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves” (Proverbs 31:8). This isn’t a call for convenience; it’s a call for courage. As Christians, supporting Israel should not mean turning a blind eye to the humanity and the suffering of Palestinians.

To my fellow believers, I say: Look beyond politics. Listen to the voices of those who are silenced. Palestinian Christians are not relics of history. We are living testimonies of faith, endurance and hope. We may be few, but our story is integral to the broader Christian witness.

When history remembers us, will it see the teachings of Christ in our actions? Or will it see a faith compromised by politics?

The choice is ours. Let us choose wisely.

Jack Nassar is a Christian in Ramallah, Palestine, who strives to foster positive change in the public, private, nonprofit and academic realms. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

La pertenencia es algo en lo que he pensado casi toda mi vida. Forma nuestra identidad, lo que somos y en lo que nos convertiremos.

Resulta apropiado hablar de lo que significa pertenecer en el mes de noviembre, cuando celebramos el Mes Nacional de la Adopción. Es un tiempo en el que honramos a los niños que necesitan un lugar al que llamar hogar, un lugar al que pertenecer.

Mi historia de pertenencia

Aunque nací en Corpus Christi, crecí en el sur de California en un vecindario de mayoría hispana y asistí a la escuela y a la iglesia en un contexto multicultural. Cuando regresé a Corpus Christi, mi ambiente cambió a un contexto bicultural, principalmente anglo e hispano.

Una frase que oí mientras crecía era: “No somos ni de aquí, ni de allá”.

No éramos lo suficientemente mexicanos para ser realmente mexicanos ni lo suficientemente estadounidenses para ser realmente estadounidenses. En lugar de eso, nos considerábamos tejanos de descendencia mexicana.

En el seminario, aprendí otra palabra para esto: liminal. Liminal significa ocupar una posición en o a ambos lados de un límite o umbral. Mi propia liminalidad es una ventaja que me ayuda a navegar dos mundos al mismo tiempo.

Sin embargo, mi familia me proporcionó siempre una fundación sólida a la que pertenecía con mi propia identidad y comunidad. Recuerdo que soy un producto de mi familia. Mis padres y sus familias—que me proporcionaron 74 primos hermanos—mi esposa y su familia, mis hermanos y sus familias, y nuestros hijos me han bendecido con un lugar al que llamar hogar y una familia a la cual pertenecer.

Necesidad de hogares hispanos

Creo que muchos de los aproximadamente 12 millones de hispanoamericanos en Texas—un poco menos del 40 porciento de la población del estado—estarían de acuerdo con esta búsqueda de pertenencia e identidad. La familia es un ancla importante en esa búsqueda. Desafortunadamente, muchos niños—particularmente niños hispanos- no tienen una familia que los ancle de esa manera.

Según el Departamento de Servicios para la Familia y de Protección  de Texas más del 40 porciento de los niños en el sistema de acogimiento familiar de Texas son hispanos. Eso significa que, de los 30,000 niños en el sistema, aproximadamente 13,000 son hispanos. De los 4,700 niños esperando ser adoptados en Texas, aproximadamente 2,000 son hispanos.

Estas cifras demuestran la urgente necesidad de familias hispanas acogedoras y adoptivas.

En Buckner, nuestro objetivo principal es colocar a los niños en hogares seguros y amorosos. También reconocemos que un contexto cultural y un idioma conocido pueden ayudar a los niños a sentirse conectados y seguros. Buckner encuentra familias para los niños, en lugar de encontrar niños para las familias. Por eso estamos trabajando para encontrar más familias hispanas que estén dispuestas a acoger o adoptar.

La historia de una familia

La familia Jasso de Fort Worth es un ejemplo de familia hispana que decidió abrir su hogar a el acogimiento familiar.

Mike y Senaida Jasso crecieron con fuertes lazos a su herencia mexicana. Ambos son estadounidenses de primera generación cuyas familias les inculcaron valores importantes para muchos hispanos, uno de los cuales era la importancia de la familia.

Se casaron a una edad más avanzada y, aunque Mike tenía dos hijas mayores de un matrimonio anterior, Senaida anhelaba tener también la oportunidad de criar niños. Cuando un cliente de Mike les informó sobre el trabajo de Buckner en acogimiento familiar, al principio se sintieron aprensivos a la idea.

El acogimiento familiar no es muy común en las culturas hispanas. Los Jassos, como otras parejas, tenían muchas dudas. Curiosamente, la mayor venía del énfasis cultural en la importancia de la familia: ¿Por qué traer a un «extranjero» cuando hay suficientes sobrinos u otros parientes a los que dar cariño?

A pesar de las dudas, la profunda fe de los Jassos les impulsó a seguir adelante con el acogimiento familiar. Senaida dice que aún tenían mucho amor por dar.

Fue un viaje largo, pero con Buckner a su lado, finalmente recibieron un acogimiento-para-adoptar—dos hermanos y su hermana de origen mexicano de 3, 5 y 7 años de edad. Cuentan que los niños se sintieron como en casa de inmediato, preguntando enseguida: “¿Cuál es mi cuarto?”. Rápidamente se sintieron cómodos con el cariño que Mike, Senaida y sus familias ampliadas les ofrecían.

Una similitud cultural o lingüística entre los niños que esperan ser adoptados y la familia de acogida puede ayudar al proceso de sanidad, ofreciendo a los niños una conexión, seguridad y sentido de pertenencia. Los Jassos lo experimentaron de primera mano y creen que fue de gran valor para sus pequeños.

Y no sólo fueron Mike y Senaida quienes abrieron sus mentes y sus corazones, sino también sus numerosas familias. Más de 50 personas, muchas de ellas familiares, estaban en la corte el día de la adopción. La jueza se quedó tan impresionada que mencionó que era el mayor número de personas que había visto en un juzgado.

Puede ser esa familia

Esto es lo que las familias hispanas pueden ofrecer a los niños vulnerables a través de el acogimiento familiar y la adopción: no sólo una familia, sino una comunidad entera que puede rodear a un niño y amarle bien.

Las familias hispanas pueden ofrecer un apoyo y una comprensión únicas a los niños hispanos en acogimiento familiar. Ofrecen un sentido de continuidad cultural y pertenencia mediante tradiciones, idioma y valores familiares para los niños.

Si usted es una familia hispana que se pregunta qué valor podría ofrecer, los Jassos pueden ser un ejemplo. Por más de un año, han sido un ancla para estos niños, y ellos dirían que los niños han hecho lo mismo por ellos.

Considere cómo puede ser usted esa ancla para un niño que lo necesita. Usted puede ser el lugar donde no sólo encuentren una familia, sino una gran comunidad de personas que se parecen, hablan y piensan como ellos. Usted puede ser el lugar para que estos niños digan definitivamente: “De aquí somos”; “Aquí pertenecemos”.

Albert L. Reyes es el presidente y director ejecutivo de Buckner International. Es miembro de la mesa directiva de Christian Alliance for Orphans, Angelo State University Foundation, y Stark College and Seminary. Ha escrito tres libros, La Agenda de Jesús: Cómo llegar a ser un agente de redención (2015), Esperanza Hoy: Paz, sanidad y justicia cuando el reino se acerca (2019), y Nunca Solos: El poder de la familia para inspirar esperanza (2024). Reyes es el primer presidente hispano en los 145 años de historia de Buckner International.

Belonging is something I have thought about most of my life. It shapes our identity, who we are and who we will become.

It’s fitting to discuss what belonging means in November when we recognize National Adoption Month. This is a time we honor children who need a place to call home—a place to belong.

My story of belonging

While I was born in Corpus Christi, I grew up in Southern California in a Hispanic-majority neighborhood and attended school and church in a multi-cultural context. When I returned to Corpus Christi, my environment shifted to a bicultural context, mainly Anglo and Hispanic.

The phrase I heard growing up was, “No somos ni de aquí, ni de allá”; “We are neither from here nor there.”

We were not Mexican enough to be truly Mexican and not American enough to truly be American. Instead, we thought of ourselves as Tejanos, native Texans of Mexican descent.

In seminary, I learned another word for this: liminal. Liminal means occupying a position at or on both sides of a boundary or threshold. My own liminality is an advantage that helps me navigate two worlds at the same time.

And yet, my family always provided me with a strong foundation where I belonged with my own identity and community. I remember I am a product of my family. My parents and their families—who provided me with 74 first cousins—my wife and her family, my brothers and their families, and our sons have blessed me with a place to call home and a family to belong to.

Need for Hispanic homes

I think many of the more than 12 million Hispanic Americans in Texas—a little less than 40 percent of the state population—would agree with this search for belonging and identity. Family is an important anchor in that search. Unfortunately, many children—particularly Hispanic children—do not have a family to anchor them in that way.

According to the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, more than 40 percent of children in the Texas foster care system are Hispanic. That means out of the 30,000 children in the system, approximately 13,000 are Hispanic. Out of the 4,700 children waiting for adoption in Texas, around 2,000 are Hispanic.

These numbers highlight the urgent need for Hispanic foster and adoptive families.

At Buckner, our primary goal is to place children in safe and loving homes. We also acknowledge a familiar cultural context and language can help children feel connected and secure. Buckner finds families for children, rather than finding children for families. That’s why we are working toward finding more Hispanic families who are willing to foster or adopt.

One family’s story

The Jasso family from Fort Worth is an example of a Hispanic family who chose to open their home to foster care.

Mike and Senaida Jasso grew up with strong ties to their Mexican heritage. Both are first-generation Americans whose families instilled in them values important to many Hispanics, one of which was the importance of family.

They married a bit later in life, and while Mike had two older daughters from a previous marriage, Senaida yearned for the opportunity to raise children, too. When a client of Mike’s told them about Buckner’s work in foster care, they were apprehensive of the idea at first.

Foster care is not as common in Hispanic cultures. The Jassos, like other couples, had many doubts. Interestingly, the main one came from a cultural emphasis on the importance of family: Why would you bring an “outsider” in when there are enough nieces and nephews or other relatives to give your love to?

Despite doubts, the Jassos’ strong faith compelled them to move forward with foster care. Senaida said they still had a lot more love to give.

It was a lengthy journey, but with Buckner at their side, eventually they received a foster-to-adopt placement—three Hispanic siblings ages 3, 5 and 7. They said the kids felt at home right away, immediately asking, “Which room is mine?” They were quickly comfortable with the affection Mike, Senaida and their extended families offered.

A similarity in culture or language between the children waiting to be adopted and the family placement can help the healing process, giving children a connection, security and a sense of belonging. The Jassos witnessed it firsthand and believe it was valuable for their children.

And it wasn’t just Mike and Senaida who opened their minds and hearts, but their large families, too. More than 50 people, many of whom were family, were at the courthouse on the day of the adoption. The judge was so impressed, she mentioned it was the most people she’d ever seen in the courtroom.

You can be that family

This is what Hispanic families can bring to vulnerable children through foster care and adoption—not just a family, but a whole community that can come around a child and love them well.

Hispanic families can provide unique support and understanding for Hispanic children in foster care. They offer a sense of cultural continuity and belonging through traditions, language and values familiar to the children.

If you are a Hispanic family wondering what value you would bring, the Jassos can be an example. For more than a year, they have been an anchor for these kids, and they would say the kids have done the same for them.

Consider how you may be that anchor for a child that needs it. You can be the place where they not only find a family, but a large community of people who look, talk and think like them. You can be the place for these children to finally say, “De aquí somos”; “Here we belong.”

Dr. Albert L. Reyes is the president and CEO of Buckner International. He is a member of the board of directors for the Christian Alliance for Orphans, Angelo State University Foundation, and Stark College and Seminary. He has written three books: The Jesus Agenda (2015), Hope Now (2019), and Never Alone: The Power of Family to Inspire Hope(2024). Reyes is the first Hispanic president in Buckner International’s 145 year-history.

A few years ago, not quite in living memory, Paul encouraged Gentile Christians to partner with their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. The Christians in Jerusalem were struggling, and Paul exhorted their Gentile brothers and sisters to come alongside them so they wouldn’t struggle alone.

As far as Paul was concerned, partnership was a strength of the early church.

As far as I’m concerned, partnership is still a strength of the church. And I’m not any more starry-eyed about it than Paul was more than a few years ago.

The Baptist General Convention of Texas demonstrated this strength during its 2024 annual meeting.

Partnering around the world

A highlight of the annual meeting held in Waco, Nov. 10-12, was the signing of partnership agreements during the report of Texas Baptists’ Executive Director Julio Guarneri.

This might not excite you, especially if you weren’t there. After all, what’s exciting about two people signing a piece of paper? Fair enough.

It’s what these signings signify that’s exciting. These agreements signify Texas Baptists’ willingness and commitment to join hands in ministry through financial, human and material resources.

Maybe that’s still not all that exciting to you. Again, fair enough.

Consider this: Agreements are usually signed one at a time in smaller and less-public venues. We usually learn about them in press releases published in places like the Baptist Standard. This time, though, eight agreements were signed at once in front of hundreds of people who shared in the celebration Monday evening of the convention.

And the joining of hands in ministry spans the globe. This is what really is exciting to me.

New and renewed agreements were signed between the BGCT and these eight ministry organizations: the National Baptist Convention of Mexico, the Brazilian Baptist Convention, the Ukrainian Baptist Union, the National Baptist Convention of America, the Baptist Convention of Argentina, the Baptist Union of Scotland, the GlocalNet church mobilization and multiplication movement, and the Baptist World Alliance.

What these agreements mean

Importantly, these are not one-way agreements. This is not well-to-do Texans swooping in to save the world from hunger and strife. This is a joining of forces, a bringing together of the gifts and resources God has given people in different parts of the world so they can pursue and accomplish their individual and shared calls from God.

These agreements are recognition that places with perhaps fewer material resources, places where Christians face persecution, places torn apart by war are not without their own strengths. Despite the real struggles fellow Baptists endure in some of those places, they are leading many people to follow Jesus, they are planting churches, and they are training others in ministry.

These partnerships aren’t and won’t be perfect. They will be challenging at times. There will be disagreements, misunderstandings and disappointments. Some may not last. Even so, they will enrich the whole body of Christ simply for having been attempted.

What these partnerships are is an acknowledgement that we can’t and aren’t supposed to carry out by ourselves the work God gives us. That acknowledgement is a show of strength.

Partnerships within Texas

There is another set of Texas Baptist partnerships to celebrate. These are the joining hands of the BGCT and the African American Fellowship, African Fellowship, Cambodian Fellowship, Chinese Baptist Fellowship, Japanese Baptist Fellowship, Korean Baptist Fellowship, Laotian Fellowship, Vietnamese Baptist Fellowship, and Hispanic Baptist churches either through Texas Baptists en Español or Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas.

Not to mention the partnership ministry carried out by Texas Baptists’ Intercultural Ministries with numerous ethnic, national and language groups not listed above. Many of their ministries are thriving, multiplying and worthy of emulating.

Too often, we underappreciate the significance of these partnerships within Texas—if we’re even aware of them at all. In my observation, these fellowships often are the growing edge of the church as a whole and Baptists in particular. They should not be overlooked but celebrated as part of our strength.

Partnership isn’t easy

All of this about the excitement and value of partnerships may seem too bright. Given everything that transpired during the annual meeting, maybe it’s too much spin. I understand.

When we come together in a room with strong disagreement over significant issues—like which iteration of a statement of faith is best—the tension and tone sure seem to undercut the coziness of partnership. Words spoken in disagreement can carry the minds and conversations inside and outside the room far away from partnership. May the heart not be carried, also.

This is where the shine of partnership meets the grit of life together. No, we do not all agree. We do not all interpret the same words on the same page in the same way. We do see the world differently, sometimes very differently. And we still are one body in Christ, baptized in one Spirit.

More specifically, we who gathered Nov. 10-12 in the Waco Convention Center to carry out our shared business share in the legacy of the Baptists who went before us—all of that legacy, good and bad. And we share in the whole legacy we will pass to those who come after us.

Let us look to our one Lord—who is our ultimate strength—for how we can continue to partner even amid disagreement over statements of faith, struggling alongside each other more than we struggle against each other. That is a show of strength our descendants need.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

I’ve read if a bumblebee flies into an open glass jar, it can’t escape. It will continue to beat its head against the sides of the jar over and over until exhaustion sinks in. Eventually, the bee gives up and dies.

That bee hasn’t suddenly forgotten how to fly. It’s been doing it its whole life. It still has its wings, and they are still in good flying shape. It flew into that jar and should know how to fly out, right? So, what’s the problem? Why can’t it escape? Apparently, the bumblebee simply can’t or won’t look up. If it only could or would look up, it would find its salvation.

Are there times in your life when you feel a little like a bumblebee trapped in a jar? Perhaps you are facing some pretty jarring circumstances right now, but you find yourself endlessly buzzing around, relentlessly banging your head against those circumstantial walls until, eventually, you become exhausted. Maybe, just maybe, you’re at the point of giving up.

If you want to be happy in life despite your jarring circumstances, if you want to be released from that jar that imprisons you, maybe you need to start by simply changing your behavior. That’s what that poor bumblebee needed to do.

Looking up to the Lord

Maybe it’s time to stop banging your head against your circumstances and start looking up to the Lord who is always there for you, always with you and always looking out for you.

God has given you wings to fly up and over your circumstances, but you have to learn to look up and keep looking up. You can choose to keep banging your head against the walls of your circumstances—most of which you have little or no control over—or you can choose to lift up your head and look heavenward for your help, your hope, your salvation.

Not surprisingly, the Bible speaks a lot about the importance of looking up and looking to the Lord, especially amid jarring circumstances.

Biblical encouragement

Maybe God is speaking to you today, telling you to stop looking around and start looking up. Try beginning with some of these incredible and freeing exhortations and encouragements from the Lord:

“Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing” (Isaiah 40:26).

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:1-2).

“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven” (Psalm 123:1).

“My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare” (Psalm 25:15).

“Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame” (Psalm 34:5).

“Lift up your eyes to the heavens, look at the earth beneath; the heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment and its inhabitants die like flies. But my salvation will last forever, my righteousness will never fail” (Isaiah 51:6).

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7).

“When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28).

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).

I’m looking up, too.

For the past two years, I have found myself feeling trapped in the circumstantial jar of chronic pain.

Like the bumblebee, I started on this journey looking for an escape route, but I found myself looking for it in all the wrong places. I was looking for it in and through my circumstances. And like that bumblebee, I found myself hopelessly banging my head against the wall of circumstances I really had no control over.

But I soon discovered that important lesson of the bumblebee. Until I learned the daily discipline of continuously looking up, my “salvation” never was going to come. It’s been by looking to and feeding on that steady diet of God’s uplifting words that he has started giving me wings to fly up and over my circumstances.

I may never escape from my jar of pain. The walls of my circumstances may never change. My pain may never cease. But God’s word never changes (Isaiah 40:8). The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases (Lamentations 3:22-23). God’s promises never break (2 Corinthians 1:20).

And God’s great faithfulness (Lamentations 3:23) and his amazing, sustaining grace (2 Corinthians 12:9) are becoming the wings helping me to soar.

Do you want to be happy in life despite your jarring circumstances? Check your behavior. If you will develop a daily discipline of looking up, you will discover some unbelievably amazing, sustaining wings from the Lord that are going to help you fly.

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as bumblebees; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, author’s paraphrase).

Jim Lemons is professor of theological studies and leadership in the College of Christian Faith and the director of the Master of Arts in Theological Studies at Dallas Baptist University. The views expressed in this opinion article are those solely of the author.

In my previous article, I discussed institutional abuse reform initiatives. However, the reality of church autonomy leaves local churches ultimately responsible for reform.

Background checks and interviews are a good start, but they are not enough to protect children from predators.

Churches are spaces that provide people access to children. The reality is 93 percent of abusers identify as religious. When one couples this statistic with the reality abusers are master manipulators, an abuser may not only be religious but may come across as spiritually mature.

Preliminary measures are a start, but securing accountability measures that apply to every church member is even better.

The Southern Baptist Convention’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force suggests a possibility that “25 percent of the average church congregation has likely experienced abuse.” The stakes are high.

As I tell each member who undergoes child care training, “we don’t do thorough screening and training because we are untrusting, but because we have been entrusted with the most precious commodity—children.” This is a doctrinal concern.

Doctrine vs. abuse

So how can we communicate to our congregations that abuse is a doctrinal concern? I have provided a list to start the conversation. What God says and what abuse says could not be further apart.

1. Anthropology:

• God says children are made in his image, fearfully and wonderfully made, loved by God.
• Abuse says children are sexual objects, punching bags, puppets to be controlled, a means to an end.

2. Christology:

• Jesus says to have childlike faith, and if anyone harms his little ones, it would be better for a millstone to be hung around their neck and thrown into the sea (Matthew 18:6).
• Abuse says childlikeness and innocence are to be exploited, manipulated and destroyed.

3. Theology:

• God says he is a God of justice, compassion, care, tenderness, our heavenly Father.
• Abuse done in God’s name is blasphemy. It distorts people’s view of God, making him seem vindictive, aloof, controlling, uncaring or even dangerous.

4. Hamartiology (doctrine of sin):

• God says abusers and rapists should be held accountable and punished for their actions. God even commanded to execute rapists but to protect victims (Deuteronomy 22:25-26).
• Abuse convinces the survivor they are the wrongdoer, that somehow they deserve to be inhumanly treated, that they should be ashamed of who they are rather than see themselves as children of God.

5. Public theology and ecclesiology:

• God says we must bring sin into the light, that we must hold lawbreakers accountable and that the church is not a legal body.
• Abuse says sin should be kept in the dark, that apologies without making amends are enough and that the church is accountable to no one but itself.

Creating safe spaces

So how do we set fire to the god of Molech and smash his altars? We do so by claiming kingdom territory in our classrooms, on our playgrounds and at our youth retreats. Every child care space must become holy ground where Jesus’ heart for children becomes ours: “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them” (Matthew 19:14).

Here are some basic starting points for local churches to establish safe sanctuaries:

1. Appoint a child safety coordinator. If no one can do it, you need to be the coordinator. From there, you can build a child safety team tasked with enforcing and updating policy, as well as being the go-to child care helpers.

2. Educate your child care team and church about your state’s mandatory reporter training. Each state has its own training on how to do a proper report in the event of an emergency.

3. Create a list of safe sanctuary policies for child care workers, such as the two-adult rule. No child should be left alone with an adult on church premises or at church-sponsored events.

4. Pray over every classroom that it would be a safe sanctuary and kingdom territory. Pray that the church’s ministry would lead to children loving Jesus and that his little ones would be protected from ravenous wolves.

It is imperative to ensure your church agrees to enforce safe sanctuary as a covenant community. Show that your church cares. Create a safe community. Start by appointing a person, then build a team, then build a safe community. It is not a matter of politics or policy; it is a matter of doctrine. The life and faith of our kids depend on child abuse prevention.

George Harold Trudeau is the child safety coordinator at Missio Dei Church Raleigh, N.C., and a Master of Divinity student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you need help beginning your journey to make your churches safe sanctuaries, email him at OakCityeLearning@gmail.com.

Joe and I married in seminary and had a three-room duplex in seminary housing. We had one air-conditioning window unit and a wall furnace that was as hot as Hades. Our floors were old wood, and we had a small cement front and back porch, and a big backyard with a clothesline.

Once I did a big load of laundry, and crazy seminary boys climbed our fence and stole my husband’s underwear.

Joe was always busy with school and working at the federal center nearby, and I constantly typed his papers, had his meals ready and then took a job with a group of Christian women cleaning houses for the affluent in Fort Worth.

Though I had a degree and teacher certificate, art teacher jobs in the area were not available. So, I scrubbed and vacuumed an assortment of homes, achieving the slimmest waistline I have ever had.

We found a church home, learning to sacrifice $10 a week for our tithe. That amount increased a bit as I found more work. Instead of cleaning one house a day, I found I sometimes could clean two.

Moving

After graduation, we moved to rural north Louisiana, into an old, white clapboard parsonage with nice big rooms. Finding a huge snakeskin under the sink was an unpleasant memory, but we painted the rooms and enjoyed the new brown carpet our little church had installed.

Joe had an office in the house with the church telephone and an odorous mimeograph machine from which he produced the Sunday bulletins.

Eventually, our parents bought us a new Sears washer and dryer. What bliss, even if housed in the storeroom under the carport.

At night, we held on to one another in our double bed as one holding on to a life raft. We could not afford insurance for a while, could not afford to get sick, and life was scary.

Still, we had fun. We had church members over to eat and made a huge amount of chili for New Year’s Eve. While that party was kind of a bomb, we tried our best. The older church members did not like to sit on our inexpensive folding chairs and stay up late. Home was their preferred place.

On weekends, we got on the rural roads and explored small towns in Arkansas, eating at humble establishments, and looked for old furniture and assorted bargains for the parsonage.

We found a shrimp and hushpuppy restaurant in Monroe, La. Then, in 1988, Walmart! Delicious and divinely convenient.

At church, we had a Halloween carnival and Vacation Bible School. We held revivals and took the visiting preacher to a different home each evening for dinner. He stayed with us in a guest room, as we had no motels for miles, and that was the local tradition.

In time, I found teaching jobs, and we were able to buy our first home a few years later and adopt a baby.

Advice

My mother watched me struggle through those years, and she gave me great advice, and plenty of help.

First, she and my grandmother gave us our small, home wedding and a wedding lunch. When we had no resources for a honeymoon, the family made our lake house available. I am sure my mom was behind the idea to gift us the washer and dryer, desperately needed, since no laundromats were in the cotton fields where Joe was a pastor.

Then, mom kept me going with encouragement about our small church. Whenever we came home to Dallas, our trunk was loaded with a million things mom thought we could use—furniture, clothes, canned food and spices she had gathered. She knew my size and was talented at picking out “church dresses” as she shopped around Dallas.

She was proud I led the music each Sunday at the church.

Most valuable of all was the advice she gave me about marriage.

She told me always to turn to Joe in our struggles. Our hard times would bind us together as a couple, and leaning on each other would cause our love to grow and endure.

Mom loved Joe and said he was very handsome and would grow into a great man. She saw intelligence and a sense of humor in her son-in-law, and she lived to see him get a doctorate. She did not live to see his counseling degree and Ph.D.

She was to him a support he never had experienced before.

Mom knew happiness was not found in having all the riches of life in one’s youth. She, as well as my grandmother and aunts, told me to enjoy finding each antique and refinishing my “finds,” making my home beautiful and unique, one piece at a time. My Aunt Louise gave me her old Singer sewing machine, and I was able to sew up valances for windows.

Being able to make a home, refresh it and change it was a way to show love. Cooking could be endlessly creative—and fattening. Homemaking was a privilege; that was the message from the women of my family.

Lessons

Like many Baptist ladies, I come from a long line of homemaker wives, and their collective wisdom has proved solid.

Though I have worked at a job for many years, my bond with my husband has grown as my mother predicted. And my love for our humble home is still tremendous.

It occurs to me that when she taught me to cleave to Joe and leave her, I only loved her more.

I loved her truth and bravery to face the dynamic of relationships within God’s plan. Her day was different than the prevalent culture many women experience today, and I accept that and realize we can learn from the lessons change brings.

Mama was smart, and of course, she learned it all at Baylor.

She also learned through experiences that did not work out so well for her, but her legacy was daughters who soaked up her soul and learned to mirror her heart.

We each have to find our place in the divine plan, putting God first in priority, and then our husbands and children and church.

If we are single women, God gives us more and more of himself and his calling to fill our lives.

Life in my later years overflows with memories, and the wisdom of loved ones moves across the screen of my mind like characters in a movie. God is in it all. His love is in every frame, and when we are married, his powerful truth brings our relationship to spiritual life.

One great lesson in the struggle is cleave, hold on to your spouse in the adventures and drama of life. Let God carry and advance the marriage he knotted together.

It is his glory to be God for his people.

Ruth Cook is an educator assistant for an English-as-a-Second-Language class and is a longtime Texas Baptist. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Donald Trump has won the 2024 U.S. presidential election. How should Christians respond to that?

Based on my social media feed and phone conversations on this day after the election, the answer is obvious. “We should rejoice,” some say. “We should mourn,” say others. Still others are conveying a different response, one I hope to communicate here.

Those who take Paul’s instruction seriously to rejoice with those who rejoice and to weep with those who weep will be busy—and exhausted—following yesterday’s election. But the occasion calls for a deeper and more prolonged response than rejoicing or weeping.

We need to remember two things: Our government is not our hope, and all people are to be treated as bearers of God’s image.

Out of these two things, we need to pray, seek the welfare of our society, care for all the vulnerable, worship the Lord and communicate Jesus’ good news.

Ground hope in Christ.

So much hope was pinned on the 2024 election. Among other hopes, so many saw the outcome as decisive for the future of our democracy. Maybe it was or will be, but such hope is too easily misplaced in politicians and policies.

One important response to this election is for us to be clear-eyed and single-minded about where we are to place our hope.

Christian, we are to place our hope squarely in Jesus Christ, who made all things and in whom all things hold together. He—not any politician or policy—is to have “first place in everything.”

Jesus Christ is the ultimate subject and object of hope, because he is hope’s source and fulfillment. Politicians and policies are like grass—here today and gone tomorrow.

Obey the greatest law.

How we as Christians are to conduct ourselves in light of the election isn’t determined by who won it. Our conduct is governed by a greater and higher law. We are to love the Lord our God with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, and we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

Loving God wholly and with our whole selves involves the way we regard and treat other people—all other people. If we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves, we must fix in our minds that each of us is created in God’s image, and to disparage God’s image is not merely an affront to a person but is contempt for God.

Pray for others.

Sometimes it’s difficult to appreciate the image of God in another person, especially if that other person believes, behaves, looks and acts differently than us. Asking God to do for them what we want God to do for us—praying for them—can change our view of them.

That other person for whom we pray may be the current president or the president-elect, as Joshua Longmire encourages in his Voices article published this week.

Praying for the president isn’t just a nice thing to do, nor is it meant to be patriotic. As Longmire reminds us, praying for the president is consistent with the scriptural exhortation—again from Paul—to make “petitions, prayers, intercession … for all people—for kings and those in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Work for society’s welfare.

While we do not have an earthly king, we do elect people to positions of authority. Our prayers for them, while possibly changing our view of them, also may lead to “the welfare of the city.” “Pray to the LORD on its behalf,” Jeremiah said, “for in its welfare you will find your welfare” (Jeremiah 29:7).

The above verse is not a universal command, but is a more specific instruction to the Hebrews who were taken into exile in Babylon. Even so, it exhibits a principle found elsewhere in Scripture of God’s expectation that God’s people will work for the well-being of others.

Ours is a divided society in which people are convinced others are working against their well-being. What an opportunity for God’s people to demonstrate God’s goodness by seeking the good of others.

Care for all the vulnerable.

Scripture is replete with commands to care for and look after the needy, orphans and widows; to welcome foreigners and give them shelter; to feed the hungry, clothe the naked and free the oppressed. Every part of Scripture—the Law, the historical books, the wisdom literature, the prophets, the Gospels, the letters—every part communicates this expectation of God.

So, whoever holds office, whatever party holds sway, our job, Christian, is to do as God expects.

Jesus said the vulnerable and needy would always be with us. Some try to say that means our efforts to care for them won’t change anything. I say, “Tell that to Jesus,” who made clear what difference it makes. You can read it here.

Worship the Lord.

Whether we celebrate or mourn the outcome of this election, neither response must take the place or stand beside the glory due only to the Lord our God—not to politicians, policies or parties.

The fear, anger, resentment, bitterness, suspicion and cynicism so prevalent among us these last several years are evidence of misappropriated worship. We have allowed things of this world to bend our knees. By contrast, when we worship the Lord alone, joy, love, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control will be evident.

Christian, we must worship the Lord, not because of who won or lost an election, or whether there was an election at all. We must give the Lord our heart, mind, soul and strength—our all and our very best—because: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (Revelation 5:12).

His name is above every name, and at his name “every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).

Communicate Jesus’ good news.

Politicians can do only so much. Jesus, on the other hand, “was with God in the beginning” and “through him all things were made.” He is “the beginning and the end.” He “became flesh,” lived among us and laid down his life, so “whoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life.” In him, our pardon is purchased, our sins are forgiven, our eternal life is secure.

Christian, we are the ones who, in believing this good news, have identified with Jesus in his death, burial and resurrection, and are to lay down our lives in imitation of him—and no one else—to proclaim his good news so others might follow him.

This is how we are to respond to this and any election.

Eric Black is the executive director, publisher and editor of the Baptist Standard. He can be reached at eric.black@baptiststandard.com. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

RE: Voices: Silent on Sunday, manager on Monday

The main thrust I gleaned from Ms. Lukefahr’s opinion piece is it seems unfair women can run a boardroom but not a church, because the Southern Baptist Convention has made clear they cannot be pastors.

Lukefahr notes: “Secular employers increasingly embrace diversity and champion gender equality for all positions of authority. Apple, for example, commits to ‘inclusion that reflects the world around us’ and publicly posts statistics for accountability.”

The lament, it seems, is that SBC churches fail to focus on equality of opportunities like Apple does. Yet, the church does not exist to commit itself to the changing cultural landscape. I am unsure if Ms. Lukefahr has recently looked at “the world around us,” but it seems abysmally outside the confines of God’s desires.

To argue Apple—or any of the corporations that slap a rainbow veneer over their corporate logo in June—are the stalwarts of moral and social progress concerns me greatly, coming from another Christian voice.

Discussions of church polity and who is or is not qualified should rest on the weight of Scripture. Yet, what was presented was an argument from the surrounding culture. That is no argument at all.

Our surrounding culture overwhelmingly affirms abortion as a right, marriage as anything that goes, and gender as a construct rather than something designed by God, binary in its nature and determined based on the organs one is born with. The culture cannot even manage itself, let alone the complexities of God’s expression of himself and his kingdom today.

The slope is steep and slippery if your theology relies first on your sociology. We can debate Paul’s writings from within, but never whether the culture can speak into Christ’s church from without.

Nathan Feinberg, pastor
Adamsville Baptist Church
Lampasas, Texas

Like many in the Baptist world, my wife and I were shattered when the Guidepost Report was released in 2022.

I would be lying to say I was shocked. There were many whistleblowers prior to the report, and we had heard personally from many friends of the abuse they experienced within their church growing up.

The report put me at a crossroads: Should I leave the Southern Baptist Convention in protest, or should I stay and fight? Is abuse a core doctrinal issue for me, or is it merely a passionate position I hold that has little to do with Scripture?

At my core, I felt abuse was not a mere matter of policy; it had to be a matter of doctrine.

SBC reforms

Thankfully, my concerns about abuse are shared by many within the SBC. In 2022, the SBC created the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force to address prevention and intervention strategies.

Two members of the task force included Kris Buckman, a youth and kids missionary consultant, and Brad Eubank, a pastor and survivor of clergy abuse. In several interviews, they explained the philosophy behind two resources created by the task force. In their interview with Baptist Press, they clarified the mission and goal of the materials created.

In its first iteration, the ARITF created Becoming a Church that Cares Well for the Abused, which is both a booklet and multimedia series. While helpful and rich, the material could be overwhelming to churches with no background in these issues. To help remedy this, the task force created new material that was disseminated at the 2024 convention.

In its second iteration, the ARITF created Essentials: Abuse Prevention and Response Lessons with the purpose of making the content more accessible. The five essentials are train, screen, protect, report and care. The material covers why background checks are not enough and provides tangible steps to create a safe environment.

Essentials is accessible online and, just like the earlier resource, is free. The material provides strategies for screenings and making reports. It also goes over what procedures are needed in the event of an emergency.

God’s command

But are these reforms mere polity changes, or do they reflect core theological beliefs? To see the connection between the SBC response and theology, we must look to Yahweh, the God who rescued the Hebrews from Egypt and revealed proper worship within a polytheistic, pagan world.

In the land of Canaan, many people worshiped Molech—an ancient tribal deity. Yahweh warned his people about this god as one who destroyed innocent children: “You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the Lord” (Leviticus 18:21).

God set himself apart from these nations forbidding them to participate in child sacrifice because Yahweh is holy, different from evil idols. These pagan practices were so evil, the people not only killed children, but they burned children to this deity as an act of piety (Deuteronomy 12:31).

God commanded his people to be pure. When entering the land of Canaan, the Israelites had to cleanse the land from idolatry. God said: “You shall tear down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and burn their Asherim with fire. You shall chop down the carved images of their gods and destroy their name out of that place” (Deuteronomy 12:3).

God’s imperative to cleanse Canaan reveals how proper worship and treatment of children are inextricable.

Are our worship spaces safe?

Here comes the uncomfortable truth. Many of our worship spaces have not been safe sanctuaries for children. Perhaps they have inadvertently become altars to Molech who is not a deity, but our adversary, who seeks to destroy children and childlike faith.

A combination of bad actors and negligence has allowed holy places to become dens of idolatry and cruelty. Citing a statistic from the Child Welfare League of America, the ARITF states, “In 2021, 147 children were sexually abused every day on average in the United States.”

With such sobering statistics, do we really want our places of worship to give easy access to children without a thorough vetting process?

In my next article, I will show how leaders can communicate abuse reform as a doctrinal concern, as well as some basics steps every church can take to build a safe sanctuary.

George Harold Trudeau is the child safety coordinator at Missio Dei Church Raleigh, N.C., and a Master of Divinity student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. If you need help beginning your journey to make your churches safe sanctuaries, email him at OakCityeLearning@gmail.com.

Do you find it challenging to pray for a president you didn’t support? For many, it can be easier to critique our leaders on social media than to lift them up in prayer.

It may feel awkward—even contradictory—but when Gerald Ford assumed the presidency following Richard Nixon’s resignation, he didn’t just ask for political support. He asked for something far more powerful: prayer.

His message to the nation stated: “I am acutely aware that you have not elected me as your president by your ballots, and so I ask you to confirm me as your president with your prayers. And I hope that such prayers will also be the first of many.”

His humble request reveals a profound truth about leadership and faith we desperately need to reflect on today.

The U.S. presidency often has been called the world’s toughest job, and for good reason. Every day brings decisions that ripple through millions of lives, from economic policies to health care reforms, from international relations to matters of war and peace.

When was the last time you considered the weight of responsibility that rests on the shoulders of the person in the Oval Office?

In our sharply divided country, when the president’s name can spark conflicts, leading to rifts in friendships or heated arguments at family gatherings, the real challenge is whether we can put aside our political differences and earnestly pray for leaders with whom we may not agree.

What if, instead of protesting, we approached our political differences with a spirit of prayer?

The possibilities of prayer

The Apostle Paul’s advice to Timothy is remarkably relevant today: “I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession, and thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1-2 NIV).

Consider the context: Paul wrote these words during the reign of emperors who actively opposed Christianity. He understood what we often overlook: God’s sovereignty transcends our political preferences.

But in a democracy where we have the right—and duty—to choose our own leaders, what does this mean for us? Imagine the spiritual impact if believers, regardless of political affiliation, committed to pray regularly for our president. Think of the transformation that could come from millions of Christians joining together in faithful prayer rather than political division.

Does praying for our leaders mean we endorse all they do? Absolutely not. Prayer is about recognizing God’s sovereignty and relying on his guidance, not endorsing specific policies.

As Billy Graham wisely noted, “Heaven is my home. I am just passing through this world.” This perspective helps remind us our true citizenship goes beyond any earthly nation.

Consider this: If you spent as much time praying for the president as you do discussing politics on social media, how might your prayer life change? What if you chose prayer over posting as your first response to a controversial policy decision? How might this shift in perspective affect your attitude and influence others around you?

A challenge and steps

So, here’s my challenge: Will you commit with me? Let’s decide to pray for our president, whoever that person may be, out of faithful obedience rather than political allegiance.

Here are some practical steps to get started:

• Set a daily reminder on your phone to pray for the president at a specific time.
• Join or create a prayer group dedicated to our country’s leadership.
• Keep a prayer journal focused on national issues.
• Whenever you feel compelled to criticize, refocus that energy into prayer.

Never forget: When we pray for those we disagree with, we demonstrate the love Jesus commanded us to show. Instead of building walls, we’re building bridges. Instead of fostering division, we’re choosing unity. We acknowledge God’s thoughts are higher than ours, and his ways are greater.

The question isn’t whether our preferred candidate is in office. The true question is: Will we remain steadfast in prayer, regardless of the outcome? Will we rise above political affiliations to embody what it means to be a Christian in a divided society? The choice—and challenge—is yours. How will you respond?

Joshua Longmire is assistant professor in leadership at Dallas Baptist University. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.

Three of four women of working age who sit in pews on Sunday go to work on Monday. They spend their weeks as physicians and politicians, educators and editors, bankers and business leaders.

According to U.S. Census data, 75 percent of women between ages 25 and 55 work outside the home.

As Millennial and Gex X women turn 40 and 50, they enter leadership positions and their peak earning years. Conversely, the younger women in churches recently began their careers.

McKinsey’s 2024 Women in the Workplace report reveals their priorities. Gen Z women want an equitable workplace and will leave for better opportunities—especially when they see more veteran women do the same.

In addition to quitting inequitable employers, Gen Z women have no problem leaving their religion. They depart church at higher rates than their male counterparts, according to a recent report from the Survey Center on American Life.

Women tell institutions what they value—with their feet. They reveal what they cannot stand by walking away. Workplaces and churches are left to ponder and communicate about gender roles—and they do so in vastly different ways.

Disorienting differences

Women encounter disorienting differences between their Baptist churches on Sunday and their workplaces on Monday.

For example, most Baptist churches proclaim men and women as equal before God and created in his image (Genesis 1:26–27).

Churches who hold to the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message go on to decree, however, restrictions on those same women: “The office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture,” and a wife “has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.”

Meanwhile, secular employers increasingly embrace diversity and champion gender equality for all positions of authority. Apple, for example, commits to “inclusion that reflects the world around us” and publicly posts statistics for accountability.

Comparing Sunday to Monday

Church leaders that want perspective on women’s experiences on Sunday would do well to peer into their lives Monday through Friday.

Sunday

Let’s imagine one woman’s journey from church to work. We’ll call her Lydia, after the wealthy businesswoman in Acts 16 who financed Paul’s church in Philippi.

Our modern Lydia walks into church on Sunday morning, eager to worship God and minister to his people. She grabs coffee in the lobby, then enters the sanctuary where men greet and seat her.

She worships, led by a worship team consisting of men and women, her heart lifted along with the corporate praises to God. She receives both the offering plate and then a sermon—each given by a man.

Lydia “should” attend a Sunday school class, but she struggles to find her place there. She longs to use her gifts of wisdom and teaching in an adult class, but leadership instead encouraged her to volunteer in the nursery or children’s program.

Lydia leaves church unfulfilled, feeling like a consumer of her faith rather than a partner with God to minister to his people. She navigates a veiled and nuanced set of rules, barriers and taboos for women she finds—in the words of Lewis Carroll—“curiouser and curiouser.”

Her church places no restrictions on her attendance and greatly encourages tithing out of her weekday earnings, but then limits her areas of service and leadership simply because of her gender. Other than singing and small talk, she is silent on Sunday.

Monday

At work on Monday, Lydia manages a small team and budget. She started out with her company years ago as an individual contributor. Her employer noticed her skill, tenure and effort and promoted her to a manager position. From Monday to Friday, she now meets with her boss, her customers and the individuals on her team.

She ponders her gender about as much as she thinks about the air she breathes. Perhaps because her company builds a culture of equality and prioritizes diversity and inclusion in their core values. Perhaps because she has work to do and simply sets about doing it.

She works alongside capable colleagues, both men and women. Fewer women than men hold positions at top levels of leadership, but her company views the discrepancy as an opportunity to further strengthen their multifaceted leadership. They measure and report on this statistic annually.

When she does think about her gender, she does so because her employer creates intentional and safe spaces for diverse discussions. Monday through Friday she lives and moves within systemic equality.

Different experiences

A closer look at the definition of equality aids our synthesis of the story of Lydia and women like her. Oxford Languages defines equality as “the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities.”

For working women, the different experiences from Sunday to Monday boil down to opportunities. A church that limits opportunities on gender-specific lines, by definition, does not practice equality.

Even if that church views men and women as equal in dignity before God, the practice of “equal (dignity) but separate (opportunity)” ends up feeling both separate and unequal.

As reported in the Baptist Standard, “Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of young women said they do not believe that churches treat men and women equally.”

Unequal treatment—or the perception of it—on Sunday followed by equal treatment on Monday raises a dissonance women both young and old cannot resolve.

A more level path

What might a more level path look like? In an age of reimagining, perhaps we simply need to remember.

Lydia of Acts 16 proves women can speak with and to their brothers in Christ in God-honoring and persuasive ways. Acts records Lydia’s enterprise, resources and leadership of her entire household, all without revealing her marital status or number of children.

Like Paul did with Lydia, churches can recognize women as immensely capable and invite them into a partnership that builds Christ’s church. If churches chase that vision, they will offer women integrated lives with meaningful opportunities—on Sunday as well as Monday.

Lauren Roberts Lukefahr is a life-long resident of the Houston area. Her household currently includes a handful of beloved pets, plants and people. She is a senior director at Alvarez & Marsal, a student at Dallas Theological Seminary and a member of Houston’s First Baptist Church Sienna. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.