This one's for the girls.

I’ve been following Rachel Held Evans’ series on egalitarianism- what she has dubbed the Week of Mutuality- in the past week, over on her blog (http://rachelheldevans.com).

But before you stop reading, or cheer, or slam your computer shut angrily, or say “egali-what?”, hear me out: This post is not about egalitarianism. Or complementarianism. Or whether one or the other is right or wrong. There are people on both sides of the debate who have my friendship and respect, and while I may be a pot-stirrer sometimes, this is not the time or place. If you want to know my thoughts on egalitarianism and complementarianism (flexible and still-being-worked-out though they may be), we can have that conversation some other time.

No, what I want to say, what I’ve been inspired to say, as a result of following this blog and other related posts is this: Women, girls, listen to me- you have a place in the church. And it is beautiful, and it is valuable. And you should not let anyone, ever, convince you otherwise.

You are called to ministry every bit as much as your male counterparts are. Will it look the same? Maybe, maybe not. But you are a daughter of God and a co-heir with Christ, just as he is a son of God and co-heir with Christ. You are the salt and light of the earth, a branch of the true Vine, one chosen and appointed to bear fruit. You are a minister of reconciliation and the temple of God. Sisters, these things are already true of you (credit due here to Dr. Neil Anderson)! And whether you are a mother, a wife, a single woman, a homemaker, a working woman, whatever- you belong in the Body of Christ, and indeed, you have a crucial role to play.

Whether it’s to your husband and children, to your friends, co-workers, teammates, or to your specific church body, you have the privilege of bearing witness each day to the resurrected Christ. Who was the first person Christ revealed his resurrected self to, the first person charged with sharing the earth-shattering news? It was Mary Magdalene (see John chapter 20)- a woman, and a sin-stained woman at that. I sense God’s tenderness as he chose to bestow upon her that precious gift. Women of God, that legacy is ours! As she bore witness, so do we, every single day.

I beg you to study God’s Word, to know it, to have it be part of your very being. I am on this road- not always good at studying the Word, but hungry for it, longing to know it better, aching for it to shape my thoughts, words, and actions. If you’re not hungry for it, ask him to make you so, and I believe he will faithfully answer.

I think maybe it’s easy for us to sit back and be a little lazy, not really feeling the full weight of responsibility that is ours as his witnesses. We sometimes think that our church's stance on male leadership in the church is our get out of jail free card. Single women, we often (instead of being equipped by the church to serve God with strength and diginity) get nice pats on the shoulder from church people, telling us that one day our time will come. I say no! My time is now! Service to God does not require a ring on my finger or a man by my side. Would that be nice? Heaven knows, yes. But it is not a requirement.

I love Joel chapter two, verse 28: And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, and your young men shall see visons. That Spirit has already been poured out. So daughters, prophesy. Prophesy and bear witness, in whatever way God calls you.

That is your heritage. Own it.