| (Copyright 2023) by Sue Hyatt (Grapevine, Texas) |
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| I am a true introvert. That is how God fashioned me. And lately, I’ve been asking Him and myself if an introvert can be a change-agent, and if so, how? So, I’ve been spending a lot of time just reading and thinking with God. Not only am I an introvert. I am also an outlier. An outlier is one who does not fit within the norms of culture. I don’t fit because, thanks to a great elementary and junior high school education, I was taught, not to mimic, but to think and to think critically. It’s hard for a thinker to conform to a box, including a church box! In fact, I’ve learned that you cannot be a thinker and fit within the confines of church culture. One passage that the Lord brought alive to me when I was 17 years old, was J. B. Philips’ rendering of Romans 12:2: Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within, so that you may prove in practice that the plan of God for you is good, meets all his demands and moves towards the goal of true maturity. I know that God has called me to be a catalyst for change and that He has given me an important assignment. For at least 50 years I’ve given up all to follow Him and to carry out the purpose for which He created me. Yet, I don’t yet see the change in culture—church culture—that I know a Message proclaimed in kairos time is meant to produce. That “change in culture,” I believe, is synonymous with a clause in the Lord’s Prayer: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10; Lk. 11:2). Truly, the Gospel changes culture from one that is governed by human rules to one that is permeated with God’s ways. And the general commission that I received from the Holy Spirit at the Urbana Missionary Convention in 1973 is found, in part, in Psalm 67:1-2: God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause his face to shine upon us; Selah. That thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health among all nations. (This includes the commission found in Matthew 28:18-20 and the empowerment found in Acts 1:8.) As I literally gave up all—family, beloved job, horses (my life), pets, brand new car, job that I loved, and my country—and followed Jesus, walking out the specifics of His will for my life, I encountered a culture in the church world that not only surprised and stifled me but that also almost killed me physically. But God! Yes, despite all, God never abandoned me and He used that 8-year pastoral experience (and beyond) to open my eyes to the ungodly character of fallen culture that tends to rule the Christian community. In this culture, I was expected to function according to the roles designated by fallen culture, rather than by the unique gifts and personality that God had created in me to fulfil His plans. So, with my eyes now open and with considerable life experience under my belt, I was sent back to school by God for additional, formal education, first in an undergraduate Christian college, and then on to a seminary followed by graduate school and doctoral studies. During those many years of study in Scripture, Church History, Theology, and Ministry, I received many awards and was encouraged by most of my professors. Yet, that element of discrimination remained in some teachers who expressed their bias in their efforts to discourage me. Yet I excelled and through my research, I discovered the Biblical truth that had, for centuries, been terribly distorted by humans who dared to act as mediators. How arrogant of them! Did they not understand that Jesus is the Only Mediator. For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men [i.e., people], the man [i.e., human being] Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 2:5)? The culmination of my research is summed up in my book In the Spirit We’re Equal—The Spirit, The Bible, and Women, A Revival Perspective (1998, and 2022). The thesis of the book and of my doctoral dissertation is that, according to Scripture accurately understood and evidenced by the work of the Holy Spirit throughout Church history, men and women are equal in substance and value, privilege and responsibility, function, and authority in all areas of life and leadership, ministry and marriage. This is what the Bible teaches. It is not what the Church teaches—not yet! So, I ask, “When will Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven (Mt. 6:10; Lk. 11:2)? So, this introvert and outlier is continuing to walk with the Lord and do His bidding. These days, I’m reading and studying more than ever and I’m continuing to think with Him. And I am asking for your participation as never before. No one of us can do the job alone. Even as Paul had his Timothy, each of us must have those in our lives who will function together as a team and amplify the Voice of the Message of Jesus in its various components—including what the Church should be teaching about men and women. Will you help me spread the Gospel “Good” News about men/women and Biblical equality? For surely, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [us], because he hath anointed me [us] to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me [us] to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised…. Will you help me spread the message for which God equipped me and has asked me to articulate in In the Spirit We’re Equal? Would you give copies as seed to people with whom you rub shoulders? If you cannot afford a copy or copies, I’ll believe with you and as God provides, I’ll give as many as you can spread as seed. Also, I welcome your suggestions as to how you believe God would have me advance. ————————————————————————————————– See Sue Hyatt’s other articles at: Hyatt, Sue – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) Reprinted with permission from: God’s Word to Women http://www.godswordtowomen.org/ ————————————————————————————————– |
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