Women and Church Planting

I have always thought of the Pepperdine Lectureship as being slightly more progressive than the other types of Church of Christ gatherings around the country. Needless to say that I was disappointed that the important series dealing with church planting was structured in the following way:

New Church in New Places for New People: A Symposium on Church Planting in America:
Session 1: Reaching Today's Lost Person
Session 2: Developing Your Church for Church Planting
Session 3: Church Planting for Women
Session 4: Strategies and Approaches for Successful Plants

Each of the sessions are made up of church planters from throughout the country. The symposium host and panels are made up of entirely males, except for session three. There the host and panel consist of all women. I am curious as to what aspects of church planting are so unique to women and to men that it would call for a gender specific class? I am sure some people think that this a great step forward because they are giving women their own opportunity to discuss aspects of church planting without any of the men around and that pesky doctrine of "headship" to deal with.

Despite good intentions I think that this set up strongly communicates that women have a seperate, "b" roll to play to the men. There are three sessions to deal with the theological, ecumenical, and programatic challenges for the leaders of church plants (the men). Then we have a session for the women to talk about what, I am not really sure, but being a woman is central to the topic. I don't understand why the women aren't given the same moderator, or incorporated on the panels of the other class sessions? Why must their experiences only be seen or understood through the prism of their gender?

I happen to personally know a woman who is one of the most thoughtful, insightful, and knowledgeable church planters there could ever be. She is excellence, but she can't be on the panel with men?! Why are her reflections only relevant on a day in which the topic and audience is geared mainly towards women and not men?

The sad part here is that these are the classes talking about CHURCH PLANTING! These are supposed to be the leading edges of the church. These are the people who are supposed to be thinking outside of old paradigms and seeking new ways to reach people and include them in the Kingdom of God. Instead, when it's time talk about how to be the effective planters they stick to some of the fundamental flaws of our particular church today.

Women and men are gifted equally and uniquely by God. If a woman's gift is teaching, she should teach. If her gift is serving in children's ministry she should serve. If her gift is singing, let her sing. If her gift is church planting, by all means, let her plant a church. To stand in the way of the gifts that God gives someone and prevent them from using that gift to glorify God because of their gender is to stand in defiance of the will of God and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.