Everyone being equal in the kingdom does not change what God has decreed in the key verses. Pastorships or church leadership positions are not the pinnacle. It is just a different calling. Is double honor due? Sure, but they are also held to a higher standard. Saying my sister can be a prophetess, or provide comfort, healing, knowledge, or anything else God wants to use her for is not me treating her as an inferior. Stop sowing division in the body! Let me show you how ridiculous this idea is. Mike Bickle had no issue with female pastors and preachers! None! Heidi Baker, Lisa Bevere, and even his own sister all preached at IHOPKC. That still did not stop him from abusing multiple women, including minors, over a forty-year period. Heck, Bickle even shared the wife of one of his administrators with his son. They both had affairs with the woman. There is no compelling connection between abusers and not allowing women to lead in God's church. None. Women are fellow heirs but that does not change what God has commanded. Bicklegate, Ravi Zacharias and all of their ilk has far less to do with male domination then it has to do with sin, accountability and people like Grady, who enable the behavior to continue.
"In some cases, men in the church"including pastors and other ministers"raped women, lured women into sexual relationships, touched women inappropriately, made sexual comments to women or requested sexual favors. Yet God calls men in the church to treat Christian women as our sisters and mothers "in all purity," according to 1 Timothy 5:2 (NASB). We repent for viewing women as sexual objects instead of valuing them for their character traits, personalities, intellect and spiritual gifts. We ask for forgiveness. God wants men to be strong, but our strength should be in our character, meekness, courage, fatherly care and protective love"not in cruel domination, abusive words, immature bravado or lustful exploitation. May God break our hard hearts and make us more like Jesus.{eoa}- J. Lee Grady
I used to read J. Lee Grady. He used to stay true to scripture but as time has worn on, he continues to pick unbiblical wars to wage. Like many on Charisma he is fond of the false arguments for disallowing the key verses today. This piece seems like a poorly disguised attempt to use the Bickle drama to prop up those failed arguments. What Grady is saying here is of course true. The problem is that he uses these facts to somehow pretend that all men are guilty of the same sins and that Mike Bickle's predatory behavior is somehow due to all of us. Absolute nonsense. Mike Bickle is guilty of Mike Bickle's sins. Perhaps the conviction Grady is feeling stems from being associated with enablers like Steven Strang and Dr. Michael Brown. Perhaps disassociating himself from such compromised men would be wise. Either way, Bicklegate did not happen because of a male dominated society but rather the male dominated society enabled the coverup and continuation of abuse over decades. It was rooted of course in poor theology, cult of personality pastorships, and refusing to hold people accountable. None of that changes the key verses. None of that changes what God has already decreed.
Reverend Anthony Wade - April 24, 2024
