I am a feminist.

I own it and I declare it. The mistreatment, the neglect, the opression of women has lasted too long. Too long. The church has not taken a stand. The church has been silent. The church has promoted it rather than healed it. It is wrong.

In Nicaragua 70% of church members are women. Virtually no women are pastors, though ironically in this machismo driven society I have encountered more women pastors than I ever have seen in the states. I have learned there is room for the word "pastora" - "pastor" doesn't have to be only a masculine word. 70% of church members are women, yet women are not in church leadership. Is there something wrong with this picture? Yes.

In Nicaragua infidelity in marraige is the norm rather than the exception. Women have told me this. They have pleaded with me to make their voices known. I have told men. They have told me it's not true. They have told me my sources are emotionally involved and unreliable. This is wrong. I know women who are raped by their husbands. They can't do anything about it. They know that if they left their husband the chances are too strong that they would never find anyone different, anyone better. This is WRONG.

I have sat in meetings where decisions are being made about what we consider a "healthy church." I have seen the parts which speak specifically to women's issues be disregarded and thrown out. The parts I insisted we put in on behalf of those women who pleaded with me to make their voices known. I've sat there silent and helpless as no one took a stand. I was the only female in a roomfull of powerful men.
So this is what it is to not have a voice.

What are we going to do? I am going to start by telling you:
I am a feminist.
Do I love men? Yes. And I believe they should be treated well too.
Do I think women must work outside the home? No. That's not what it means to be a feminist. I plan to be a stay at home mom for a good chunk of my life, if the Lord permits, and I think it's a wonderful and respectable job (as is being a stay at home father).
Do I believe we need to fight for change? Yes. I believe it on behalf of my Nicaraguan sisters. I believe it on behalf of all of the unheard voices - of minority races, of the poor, of the two-thirds world. I believe it when I see that the church is the most exclusionary institution in the United States, when I admit to my pastor here that there is a difference between how women are treated in the church and how they are treated in the rest of society. I am admitting this, not happily reporting it as I should be if the church is really the agent of change it is called to be.
I have sat in a room of powerful men as they made a decision not to hear the voices I have heard. I have cried over this.
I pray: Come Lord Jesus Come.