A Stolen Pic from Reynoldsfam & a Rant for Women Pastors

So my friend Kate is leaving and it sucks. I wanted to write about her, but I didn't have a picture. Consequently, I have stolen a picture from my good friends (and friend-thieves) Gene & Juli. I figure it's cool. They stole Kate away from us, so they owe me a friggin' picture. But anyway...

I want to take this opportunity to sing the praises of the smartest girl I know. Kate Zuccarello scares the hello out of me. She also inspires, challenges, & humbles me.

Since I have had the honor of knowing her, she has proven to me the utter inanity (if not insanity) of evangelica churches not allowing women to be in a teaching role. This is not an indictment against one church (I swear, you two) because when it comes to women & leadership- I can't think of any church that really practices what it may preach. The Wesleyan church boasts of being the first to ordain women (techinically the United Church of Christ had them beat by 47 years though), but how many senior pastors do they have today? According to George Barna, only 6% of all Protestant senior pastors are women (and its even less for Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox! ba-dumbum) Yet, on the same website we see these stats:
Activities
49% of women have read the Bible in the past week, compared to 38% of men who report reading the Bible in the past week. (2004)
Women are more likely than are men to attend church on a given Sunday (47% to 39%, respectively). (2004)
Women are more likely than men to attend a Sunday school class at church (25% to 18%) or to participate in a small group (22% to 18%). (2004)
In general, women pray more often than do men, with 89% of women versus 77% of men reporting that they have prayed in the past week. (2004)
Faith
Women are more likely than men to be born again: 62% of women have accepted Christ as their savior, compared to 38% of men. (2004)
Women are 62% of the adult born again population. (2004)
Women are more likely than are men to believe that the Bible is totally accurate in all of its teachings. (51% versus 36%). (2004)
Women are more likely than are men to believe that God is the all-powerful, all-knowing, perfect creator that rules the world today (76% to 62%). (2004)
78% of women compared to 66% of men say that their faith is very important to them. (2004)
Self-Descriptions
66% of women describe themselves as “deeply spiritual” compared to 57% of men who say that “deeply spiritual” describes them accurately. (2004)
I know my wife certainly is more in tune spiritually than I am. She has more faith than I do. I've learned more from Patty Bray in a long ago Sunday School class & Kate Z in our talks than in any recent church service I've been in. So why this ban? ? Chauvinism? Sexism? Mysogyny? It's clear from scripture that women did have leadership roles. Deaconess? (Romans 16:1) Prophetess? (Acts 21:9) Church leaders? (Philippians 4:2-3) Come on! Let's give women like Kate the place she deserves: a pulpit!
jefe
PS- I'll miss ya, Katie.