Take a minute and read the following statements.  If you’re like me, you’ll be puzzled to notice the trajectory of the Bible’s theology of men and women and how far afield our second century Church father was with his message:

So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  Gen 1:27

-       Moses, ca  1440 BC

Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.  Mark 5:34

-       Jesus, ca 28 AD

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  Gal 3:28

-       Paul,  ca 50 AD

You are the devil’s gateway.  You are she who destroyed so easily God’s image, man.  On account of you the Son of God had to die.

-       Tertullian, 197 AD  On the Apparel of Women

It would be one thing if Tertullian were some heretic preaching his own radical brand of misogyny, but this is Tertullian!  Tertullian, formulator of the doctrine of the Trinity!  And while very few people inside the church (or out for that matter) could tell you anything significant about Tertullian, his theology of gender has ripped through church history shaping contemporary evangelicalism far more than we’d want to admit.

This Friday at Gathering, Cheryl and I will be dealing with the tough question of women and Christianity.  It’s a question that you don’t have to pry very hard around to rouse a lot of strong feelings – from women and men.  How could a faith that is in it’s theology so pro-female, have such the opposite reputation in the modern world?

Come join in the discussion as we open this potentially dangerous can of worms at Gathering.  Check out the details on the newsfeed or hit on this link to the Gathering info page on our website.

Check us out on Facebook as well!

I met Deannie, a lover of Jesus and Christ Community Church worshiper, at my first chemo session November of 2008. Both of us had been diagnosed with breast cancer in September and both of us were patients of the same Oncologist. Chemo sessions are long and we soon discovered several common aspects of our lives. During one session, Deannie boldly asked me if I had faith and I said “not yet” without realizing what I had just said. We know now that our meeting was divinely arranged.

On May 12, 2009, sitting in Deannie’s kitchen, I asked Jesus into my life. Deannie led the prayer to God that has changed my life. I feel truly blessed, at peace and I feel that he is constantly watching over me. I continually study His Word and was baptized last June; my journey to grow deeper in Christ continues….

- Carol

I became a Christian one summer at Bible school.  I was in 6th grade.  I prayed with my teacher and accepted Jesus as my Savior. My parents gave me a white Bible with my name in gold letters on it. I started going to Bible Study on Wednesday nights.  Many years passed and I’m going to a Bible study every Monday night. It is a very good study and teaches daily Bible study and prayer.

Now it’s 2011 and I’m still studying my Bible, but I’m so tired [depressed] and don’t get up to go to church anymore. My husband still goes every Sunday. Finally I begin to go again. My husband suggests that we should go to a Journey Group.We did that and now are eager to get to church and meet with our friends to worship our LORD. Every day I walk with Jesus!     My devotional is Jesus Calling and it helps me stay close to Jesus.

- Velma

All of my life I attended church, taught Sunday School, but always felt

empty.  In 1992 I was listening to Charles Stanley and realized what was

missing was Jesus.  I accepted Him into my life as Lord & Savior &

immediately felt changed.  My church taught nothing about a relationship

with Jesus, so I floated along.  Some time later this restless feeling came

over me and would not leave.  Finally  I asked God what was wrong

with me.  He let me know I was to leave that church and He showed me the

church where He wanted me to be.  Ever since,  my relationship with Jesus

has become the most important part of my life, not because of the “church”

but because of the teaching. 4 years ago I moved to Omaha and attend CCC.

I am truly blessed.

- Judy

I grew up in a very traditional Catholic Italian/ German family. My dad was an alcoholic and my mom was very domineering. We were a very religious family. My sister was a nun and my uncle a priest. Every morning before school began, our class would start our day going to mass. As I looked around, I often thought and felt how dead these people were and this place was. I felt very alone, depressed and empty. I began to question.

On the weekends we would go to our cabin in the country. It was there that I think I first encountered God. I would go up on a hill back some distance behind the cabin where I would lay in the tall grass and look up in the sky and marvel at the clouds. I often wondered who this God was that made this vast sky. I would spend what seemed like forever looking and wondering. I didn’t want to come back down from my “mountain experience”. There was such a peace and serenity that I felt. Life continued on and I was a freshman at UNO.

In biology class as a student at UNO, a girl I had never seen before came up to me and asked me if I would like to study with her. I agreed. About three months into our friendship she began to share about Jesus. At that time on the weekends we would go to a coffee house called the “Eklesia” where college aged kids would meet together to play music, sing and listen to the gospel message. I knew something was missing in my life and I continued to wonder and think about things.

One weekend a group of us went to a christian concert up in Blair, NE. After the gospel message an invitation was given. I prayer along in prayer asking to receive Christ. I wasn’t certain if anything really had happened but when I returned home everything seemed different. As time went on it seemed that I couldn’t get enough of the bible. All I wanted to do was read the word. The teachings became alive to me and I was understanding the truths of scripture and identifying with them. All I wanted to do was be with others who knew the Jesus I knew and to talk about him. Jesus was my all in all. When you meet Jesus you are never the same. I knew that my life had changed forever.

- Janet

I grew up in a Christian home in a small town, but never really understood grace. I was baptized as a teenager out of obedience but I didn’t really understand what it meant to follow Jesus.

My grandpa wrote me a letter before he passed away, part of it was about making the Bible a daily part of my life – I read it at the time and said “that sounds like grandpa!” and forgot about it. A few years later I came across the letter and decided to give it a shot – all of a sudden the Jesus I heard about as a kid and read about in the scriptures was REAL! I had a friend at work that would speak the Good News to me everyday, and soon I got on my knees and sincerely gave my life to the true King.

At a young age I accepted Jesus into my heart at an altar call in my home church.  In my teen years life was full of fun & everything seemed to be good.  That is, everything was fine as long as it had to do with me.  It wasn’t until later on in life I finally discovered that it wasn’t about me.  I started drawing myself closer to the Lord. Thanks to much needed prayer, I found that I couldn’t do it on my own & very much sought out Jesus to take control of everything.  My relationship with him is growing at a rapid pace each day.  I live day by day in reference to Proverbs 3: 5&6

-Roger

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. (Pro 3:5-6 NIV)

My family was considered the “perfect family” at church.  I deeply loved Jesus. However, I cannot say I had a relationship with Jesus.  As I grew older I still loved God, but I became selfish and made some bad choices. Just like the Lost Son, I wanted to do things my way. It all culminated with me becoming a single mom in 2008. After her birth, I started church shopping and found CCC.  I learned about a relationship with Jesus, and His love and forgiveness.  I obeyed him, and was baptized as a believer in December 2011.

- Danielle

I always knew something was missing in my life. As a child I felt unwanted – like a failure even though I had loving parents, Grandparents and extended family.

I was introduced to the Bible at a Grandmothers funeral as a sixth grader.  It was then I began to receive a David C. Cook paper and realized what I was missing. I received and cherished an I AM HIS ring. I really felt loved, even though I knew my parents and Grand parents loved me. It was a different kind of love. A deep love!

My parents were raised in the “Church” and supported the Church but did not attend. I know without a doubt, it was the prayers of Grandparents that opened the doors to Christ in my life. They were all deceased before my walk started. My parents later started attending Church. I am still praying for my brother and three of my Grandchildren, knowing those prayers will be answered.

- Carol

I was not raised going to church.  I was however given a bible and invited to church as a child by very kind, Christian people.  I loved GOD and prayed to him often as a child.  As an adult I have relied on Jesus during many difficult times.  My faith has gotten stronger over the years.  Every time I have been in a place of pain or distress I pray to Jesus and talk with him about what is going on.  I always feel comforted after these talks.  I think of my life as a continuing walk with Jesus.

- Brenda