by Kelly Pelton (written 24 Jan 2020)

The institutional church has its ugliness;
biblical language is used to communicate lies.
Ignoring the Bible principles of justice, 
the "complementarian" convincingly denies

the bias of practices that show partiality
to men; "equal worth but separate roles for women," 
they say. But the Bible has a role hierarchy:
Elders who rule well are doubly honored, even

if only in conversations of the laity,
who talk of how challenged they were by the preaching
from men whose "crown of glory will never fade," surely
in part because they've been allowed to be teaching!

An unintended consequence, then, of such
ungodly restriction is the communication 
of a hierarchy of value. Females suffer much
from being barred from honored roles; their conviction,

if they feel called, that scripture has been misconstrued
is countered by those men who want to stay in power.
Traditionalists claim that God only imbued
the man with authority; women will flower

by serving in supportive roles, staying quiet.
But denying our sisters equal honor makes
men seem like they're clamoring to be first; why, it
reminds me of Jesus' warnings for all our sakes.