Part 4 of our series on what we’re learning about women and men leading together in the church. We interview Emily and Ron McGowin, who are both ordained as Anglicans, on their life and leadership together. The McGowins recently moved to Chicagoland because Emily was offered a position at Wheaton College as an Associate Lecturer in Theology.
This is an interesting episode, in that we do some realtime learning as it regards women and men leading together! We ended up recording an introduction to talk about an embarrassing moment in the episode, and why we kept it in the recording. We really are learning this stuff as we go 😉
Links and resources:
- Prayer School with Brian Zahnd | New York City, Sept 14-15
- Gravity Leadership Academy | cohorts are always starting – this is where we train in the practical, on-the-ground skills needed to navigate tensions like the one we discussed today.
- More about Emily’s academic work and writing.
- Some short videos from Emily on the purpose of the family, how families relate to the church, and 3 practices to help families grow as disciples on mission.
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So much percolating from this series… Thank you, Emily and Ron for your voices and commitments as a woman and a man trying to follow Jesus in your relating to one another and navigating the nature of our genderedness in this time in history.
I keep being struck by a subtle comment Ben makes in this podcast: “we have so much repenting/work to do (paraphrase).” I could not agree more.
The listening posture of this series is such important work. Just imagining sitting with the women Emily describes telling their stories one after the other of injuries and insults suffered brings sorrow and also longing. I long for more of those spaces– for women I know and love, for myself, for men who need to hear those stories and let them sink in and do a work. There’s a work that happens in that space (if it is truly safe and spirit-tended) that would bring more healing and change than months of counseling sessions that can’t see past these walls we’ve put up in fear.
Thank you for pressing in to this crucial stuff and for holding out the challenge that Jesus’ church is the place where hope for gender reconciliation should be born.
Peace,
Rich
Thanks for this comment, Rich! Amen!