BY JESSICA LANDMON
Can I just say that I love being a pastor? I really do. I’ve been ministering to women for over 15 years now, and I still thank God for the opportunity to stand with other women in their journeys to become like Christ. I love walking through life together, sharing stories of success and victory, and simply standing with those who are walking through the most difficult seasons of life.
But as you can imagine, being a woman in ministry is not easy. If you were on social media this past week, you know why. And in light of this recent attack on women preachers, I really began to reflect on some of the challenges that I have endured over the years, challenges that men don’t necessarily have to contend with, like being judged on how you look or what you are wearing as opposed to the content of the message you carry. Or, people calling your work “cute” rather than understanding the importance of empowering women to be strong in Christ. And my favorite is having people walk out of church while I was preaching because they don’t believe women have a place in ministry.
And as troubling as all this is, I have been most shocked by the lack of sisterhood I sometimes observe in ministry. Some women don’t know how to support one another without feeling threatened. Some women don’t want to promote another woman because they fear that it might take an opportunity away from themselves. We need to remember that someone else’s success has nothing to do with our own. We are not in a competition, but rather a personal journey to walk out our own individual callings. We should be building each other up, encouraging one another to find her purpose, and helping her walk it out. Sadly, this is not always the case.
Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. – 1 Thessalonian 5:11
However, I just recently worked with an amazing group of women at my last conference. It was the perfect picture of women supporting other women in every way. There was such a mix of different gifts and talents all being used for God’s purposes. No one was threatened as we all kept our eyes on bringing glory to the Most High.
How refreshing it was to do ministry in an environment like this! I truly felt a heart connection as we stood together arm in arm and took ground for the Kingdom of God. This is a picture of what God intended for us, not women fighting for the spotlight.
Ladies, we need to stop the madness. We need to stop the comparison game. We need to stop thinking that someone else’s success will somehow impede your own. The Biblical measure of success is not how the world measures it. We are all part of a bigger picture. Our goal is to bring glory to God, not ourselves, which is a major shift in the world’s thinking. It changes the nature of how we are to operate.
With that in mind, here are some questions that I encourage you to pray on:
· Are you helping other women along or just focusing on your own progress?
· Do you have someone in your life that you are mentoring or pouring into?
· Are you feeling alone without any support?
· Who can you reach out to?
Ladies, this doesn’t just apply to working in ministry, but in all areas of our lives – the corporate world, the classroom, the PTO, and the gym. Let’s stand arm in arm and build one another up. We are stronger together.