\n<\/p>\n
Will you speak up with me and claim your newbirth right?<\/p>\n
It was in Jerusalem in 2006 that I made a stand for my own equality. Don and I were on vacation in Israel and equality was the farthest thing from my mind. But later, I realized that what happened there was the beginning of my journey that has led to writing this blog, and publishing my books advocating for women\u2019s equality in the church and home.<\/p>\n
The story begins this way:<\/p>\n
Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon lay in a coma in a room near where Don and I stood at the Hadassah Ein Keremin Hospital in Jerusalem. We were standing at the same spot that Shepherd Smith of Fox News had stood just a few days before while he sent back a news report of the Prime Minister\u2019s condition. But we were not there to see Ariel Sharon. We were there to see the synagogue where the famous artist Marc Chagall had created the 12 stained glass windows of the 12 Tribes of Israel.<\/p>\n
As we prepared to enter the synagogue, Don was told to put a small hat on his head so his head would be covered before he entered the synagogue. He picked up a homemade hat made of black construction paper that had been stapled together to form a hat. This gave compliance to the head covering rule. A young man of 14 or so who was entering the synagogue for a brief visit, raised his arm and spread his hand over his head to form a cover for his head. I did not have to cover my head.<\/p>\n
Don sat on one side of the synagogue while I sat on the other side. Our tour group consisted of Brenda who was our female tour guide, Don, another man, and me. We four were the only ones there, two men and two women, sitting on opposite sides of each other.<\/p>\n
Another day we went to see the tomb of King David. It was in a small room, separated down the middle by a curtain. Men go through the main entrance, so my husband Don entered on one side while I had to enter on the opposite side which was the woman\u2019s entrance. Men enter the \u201ctomb\u201d while women see the covered box through an opening in the wall, over which a curtain hangs. There was a woman under the table-covering lying prostrate on the floor, praying. I could see her feet moving under the ornate tablecloth.<\/p>\n
Our next visit was to the Wailing Wall, a place of prayer, and a must-see for tourists when they are in Jerusalem. There is a courtyard where people mill around; down at the end is the Wall. We could see many men lined up against the wall praying, and rocking back and forth as they often do. Many were Orthodox Jews dressed in traditional black clothes and black hats. There was a section screened off which we learned was the women\u2019s section. I was told that I had to go over there to a separate entrance if I wanted to stand by the Wall and pray. It was on a slight decline, and I could see chairs up against the screen barricade. Those chairs were placed there so the women could climb up on them to see.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo!\u201d<\/p>\n
Thus began my protest. I stayed in the courtyard, refusing to be separated from the Prayer Wall. Proud. All alone. I was a Christian woman, and this is the 21st<\/sup> century. I will not be treated as if I am a Jewish woman. I have been saved by grace and given the freedom through Christ that He gave all his children, male and female.<\/p>\n Will you join me in standing\u2014alone if necessary\u2014in protest against the separation of men and women? Will you stand with me against assigned roles that men want to give women? Will you stand with me against the separate entrances where women are allowed to go only so far, and where women do not have the full relationship with God that many men feel is their \u201cbirthright?\u201d<\/p>\n Will you speak up with me and claim your newbirth right?<\/p>\n I hope that as you read, you did not become too comfortable because you will likely see separate leadership roles in your church.<\/p>\n It is my hope that this will give you insight as to how prevalent this teaching is, how it is done, and how it affects your church. The good news is that it doesn\u2019t have to be that way. You will be encouraged\u2014no, you will be commanded\u2014to get up and do something about it.<\/p>\n See Shirley Taylor in\u00a0Baptizing Feminism Documentary Trailer<\/a>.<\/p>\n