The Thoughtful Christian

Today my first blog post for TheThoughtfulChristian.com went live. Here's what I love about this weekly assignment I've signed up for over the next six months: I have to be thoughtful - not always an easy task for someone as impulsively flippant as I - and I have to be Christian - which means seeing the ethics of the world in light of God's creation, forgiveness, and redemption. Neither virtues are my strong suit.This week I wrote about Dating Church. You can read the post here. While I argue that church shopping is a lousy analogy for the belabored work it takes to find a new church home, I am for creating a sort of theological check-list. It's forced me to ask, "What are my (or ahem, hopefully God's) essentials of Christian community?" #1. Women are not just supported but celebrated as leaders. I've always been sure of this one - I think - until now.Don't misunderstand. I have a hard time believing that a Christian community who says that either (a) God has not gifted a whole sex with leadership abilities or that (b) God has simply asked a whole sex to hide their gifts under a bushel for the sake of order is living out the abundant life of the Gospel.But what I have been questioning lately is must I worship in an environment that agrees with me on this theological point? Would such a place allow me to flourish? Or should I also consider worshiping with folks who aren't following my train of religious thought? Would I wrongly be trying to evangelize them to the dark side of feminism whilst singing "Who is this King of Glory" for the ninth time?I'm not sure yet. I'm trying to listen to God. But I'm also trying to trust the Holy Spirit at work within me. Maybe it's just a matter of chocolate vs. vanilla and God can use either one to fatten my spiritual belly. Here's hoping I get sprinkles, too.