Women in the Church

I received this e-mail from an old co-worker of mine who thought I might be interested in reading it. Don't really know why but it is kinda interesting. What do you guys think? I'd like to hear other perspectives. "Dear Pastor My name is H. G. I am a Christian, I live in Santa Barbara and I had the privilege of attending the Global Day of Prayer on Sunday, May 27 at the Sunken Gardens .. Through prayer and a lot of consideration, I feel a need to write this letter. To start, I want to say that there is no self-serving motive behind this letter except the hope of God blessing the city of Santa Barbara in a more powerful way. The reason I'm writing this letter is in regard to what the Word of God says in contrast to the fact that, on the Global Day of Prayer at the Sunken Gardens , a woman spoke to the ( Santa Barbara ) congregation. 1 Corinthians 14: 33-35 states: "As in all the congregations of the saints women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must remain in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in church." From Dictionary.com, the definition of disgrace is: 1) the loss of respect, honor or esteem; ignominy, shame 2) a person, act or thing that causes shame reproach or dishonor or is dishonorable or is shameful 3) the state of being out of favor; exclusion from favor, confidence or trust 4) to bring or reflect shame or reproach upon 5) to dismiss with discredit; put out of grace or favor; rebuke or humiliate To begin, I understand this is a controversial topic, however I question if it really should be that way.. As I have grown as a Christian I have evolved from having little understanding of this passage (and, really, having an opposite belief) to having a much better understanding and honoring of it. Personally, as a Christian man, my desire and intention is to "raise up" (lift-up), both, men and women to all of the rights and authority they have in Jesus Christ and Gods Kingdom . As such, my intention is not to undermine or belittle the capability of a woman to speak in church or in front of a Christian congregation. However, in my judgment, when men are walking in righteousness (and in that, striving for unification and being in accord with other men) and have righteous knowledge and wisdom of the subject matter regarding the Christian faith, then there is no need for a woman to speak to the congregation. As such, if there was a subject matter (e.g. the subjects spoken at the sunken gardens at the Global Day of Prayer) for which none of you men had an authority or knowledge to teach, then I wouldn't mind hearing what I need to hear from a woman who has knowledge and authority in that particular subject. However, in my judgment, that absolutely was not the case from this past Sunday evening at the Sunken Gardens . Furthermore, and in spite of the fact that there are certain semantics or nuances which might defend the possibility of a woman speaking in church, in my judgment (and particularly in regard to this verse), the Word of God MUST be taken more serious and more literal than what it is being taken. That said, I believe that the Word of God - as always - is infallible and correct. As such, in regard to this past Sunday at the Sunken Gardens , it was a disgrace for a woman to speak (at church) in front of the congregation. I also feel the need to say that my experience of the last two women (the previous one being an African-American woman) who have spoken at the Global Day of Prayer at the Sunken Gardens , were that they spoke with a "hyper-assertiveness" and "hyper-boldness". To me it didn't embody a gentleness, it felt "fleshly" and I was uncomfortable with it. Furthermore, I have a curiosity, concern and caution of pastors or Christian leaders (both male and female) who emphatically desire to place women in front of the congregation to speak; that, in contrast to the Word of God (1 Corinthians 14: 33-35). To reiterate, my desire is to see both men and women righteously "lifted-up", and for Gods will to be done. However, in my experience with the Christian church (including YWAM, etc) I've seen some mind-sets, in particular regarding - and in contrast to - this verse, which to me have been "worldly" and utterly ridiculous. In my judgment (and from personal experience and observation) the devil wants Christian men to think that they are chauvinistic pigs for taking this Bible verse seriously and literally, or to believe that it's not fair that a woman isn't being represented as a speaker; that, not to mention, how the devil is trying to influence Christian women. In my opinion, it's easy (at least for myself) to fall into a "worldly" frame of mind, particularly the way the world operates and is trying to influence us as Christians. To me, there's nothing wrong with - and there's everything right about - men embracing a righteous (Godly) pride about themselves as men. In other words, being proud of being men and being proud of where God has placed men as the covering of the church (reference to 1 Corinthians 11: 3-16 which, to me, implies an aspect of linear-ness and an aspect of hierarchy: God - Christ - Man - Woman). So, if the Word of God says "it's a disgrace for a woman to speak in church", then we should honor the Word of God, the verse, and honor what God desires from both men and women. As I stated before this letter does not have a self-serving motive. However, I do have a great desire to see and experience the Father's glory manifest itself in Santa Barbara . I'm certain that all of you (us) are in "one accord" with this. In my opinion, for this to happen, in many ways it starts with you men, as senior pastors in Santa Barbara, coming together in unity and in one-accord. There was a scene in the movie Gladiator which I want to speak on. It's the scene at the Coliseum with the chariots. Maximus yells to his men, "Come together, come together!!!", so that they would survive the battle. I really believe that the Lord is yelling this to Christian men -- "Come together, come together!!!”. I believe He is saying this in boldness and urgency. To end, I don't want to come across as condescending (or even as overly macho) but, in my opinion, as I'm talking to the men, if you as the senior pastor's stand strong and unified as men then both you and the Christian community in Santa Barbara will experience the Father's heart and His glory in a deeper, more beautiful and more powerful way. I'm open to feedback from this letter, but that is not my intention. My hope, really, is that greater dialog and unification would come between you men. I believe that Santa Barbara is counting on it. Sincerely, "