It's a Girl!!!!

On July 27, 1995 my life changed forever. On that day I became a father to a daughter. Scooter entered our world and not much of the world has remained the same. In addition to the typical changes I expected: wailing and crying, projectile vomiting, volatile mood swings (and that was me!) I underwent one change that I never expected.

I caught a glimpse of the world through female eyes.

On those evening when I was rocking her to sleep or walking her around the neighborhood, I realized how gender-specific my viewpoints had been. I began to wonder about the larger world and what it has to say to and about women. I began, to take one example, viewing beer commercials a bit differently. I found myself thinking “These women were once someone’s little girl.”

On those occasions when I advise female students, I think about how Scooter and Skeeter will one day be seeking advice and guidance from a professor in college.

I have also become more sensitive to how men talk about their wives, especially in public. Whenever I hear a disparaging or hurtful joke from a husband, I cringe and wonder what is said in private. I think that becoming a father to a daughter has made me a better husband.

It has also affected my preaching. I have often used Mother’s Day as an opportunity to have honest dialogue about the role of women in the New Testament and in the church today. Such conversation is necessary because the church has all too often become a place of difficulty and pain for many women.

Some of my interest has filtered through the blog a bit. The most-searched phrase that has brought people here is “minister’s wives” going back to this entry. I take it as a point of pride that at least one Christian women’s group links to this blog. I also expressed my concern about the view of women by society here.

All of these things are reflected in my concern for Dr. Klouda and her family.

I wish that Dr. Klouda and her husband were not going through this difficult time. But I especially regret that her daughter has to go through this. In the ABP article, Klouda is quoted as saying:

As a mother, Klouda said, she teaches her daughter to “think for herself” and
“look at what God’s Word says in light of herself.” But that doesn’t always
assuage the feelings of the 15-year-old who had to switch schools during her
teens because of the family's move.

“She’s a young person and has her own opinions,” Klouda said. “To her it’s just an injustice. She thinks it’s unfair. She thinks it’s wrong. She thinks this should have not happened. She thinks, ‘They ruined my life too….’” “I just don’t see how the decision was really thought through about the implications for me and my family,” she said. “It was really a decision made on principle, but it didn’t take into consideration many other factors."

Shortly after Scooter’s birth, my Methodist aunt gave me a sweatshirt with the logo from the picture above. She gave it to me, certain I would never wear it because I would find it too offensive. But I’ve worn it with much pride and enjoyment. She thinks it’s subversive, but it actually reflects paternal pride. The greatest gifts I have ever received are my kids and my first two are girls.

Above all, what concerns me about the Klouda affair is what it says about the SBC’s view toward women in general. I do not believe that women should be pastors, but I believe passionately that women will continue to contribute greatly to the cause of Christ long after the last SBC church has closed its doors.