oh good golly, I'm a feminist...
Is it truly so inconceivable that I could be training to be a ministry/spiritual leader in my own right?! That I am not attending seminary simply to buffer a man's ministry or to be better equipped to serve behind a future husband?? (don't get me wrong, those are still amazing reasons to go to seminary) Is it such a strange concept to believe that I could study Leadership Development because God has already equipped me to be a leader in my own right? Without a man beside me holding my hand or validating what I say and do? Is it so strange that God would choose to use me to further His kingdom, as a LEADER, as a minister, as a teacher.
I know that I will continue to encounter people who cannot see past their stereotypes as I pursue a seminary education. I know that I will face opposition and continual frustration as people refuse to see the greater purpose. But I am not pursuing this education and this vocation because I think I am smarter than anyone else or because I think God has equipped me better than others, male or female. I am pursuing this because of the desires of my heart, the heart I pray every single day is lost in Him. I pursue this future because I KNOW I don't have enough knowledge, because I KNOW I do not have the skill, and I wish to be better equipped to follow Him. So why should my gender play a part in that? Why does the fact I am a female immediately put me out of the running to be a spiritual leader? Why does the fact that I'm a woman automatically bring the assumption that my main purpose in ministry will be to support my husband? I am a seminary student. I am a servant of God. I am training to be a teacher of Christian Doctrine. I am a woman. I am a daughter of God and my name is Danielle.
