As the Mutuality editor, I pride myself on keeping the publication organized by planning ahead. Each issue follows a series of deadlines — dates when articles are due, editing is completed and the issue is published. This planning also applies to the themes addressed in each issue, as these are determined about a year in advance.
Except this time.
When I e-mailed writer J. Lee Grady about addressing one of the pre-selected themes, he responded by asking, “Does every article go with the theme?” He went on to explain that while he was willing to write about one of them, something else was really stirring his heart — getting the message out to the nations.
“That is becoming my focus,” he wrote, “planting the seed in other nations and helping to release women from cultural and religious oppression so they can be used by God. The women who preach the glad tidings are a great host, and they aren’t all white Americans!”
Around the same time, I received a letter proposing an article about a CBE member from Finland who, in a leap of faith, journeyed to Uganda. An evangelist had invited her to speak about biblical equality at a conference there. God blessed her courage, and she was able to share the message with the conference attendees, as well as with 6 million people in a radio broadcast!
I’m so grateful that God’s direction sometimes comes so loud and clear we can’t ignore it. The connections between the two articles were so strong that we realized God was prompting us to tell the story of past and present women who have taken incredible risks to serve God. What a beautiful message!
The articles in this issue have also encouraged me personally, as I am preparing to embark on an adventure of my own. I will be moving to Indiana this fall to attend graduate school, a dream that has been unfolding for many years. I discovered biblical equality because of two college professors who invested in me, and since then I’ve wanted to study to become a professor to help other students who are at such pivotal times in their lives.
God, who is so faithful, provided an experienced writer and editor named Jaime Hunt to serve as Mutuality’s new editor. Her passion for biblical equality can be seen in an article she wrote to explain her decision to work for CBE: “[CBE’s] cause has been mine since the day I discovered my call to ministry wasn’t tainted because of my womanhood. … I want to make a difference.”
I believe God will bless that desire.
Thank you for the encouragement and support you’ve shown me over the last few years. My prayer is that God will continue to bless this ministry and open hearts around the world to biblical equality.
