132 FEMINIST VIEWS THAT UNDERMINE SCRIPTURE
She encourages other women to follow God’s calling no matter what
critics may say:
It is not Anne Graham Lotz’s spiritual obligation to sit down with the
leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention and convince them that
God gave her as a preacher.... If God gave her as a preacher, then
she is a preacher, even if someone claims that that’s impossible....
You are who you are no matter what.... God decides your calling.
God decides your spiritual giftedness.... If the Spirit of God has
given you as a pastor, you are a pastor, even if you’re not employed
as one.^3The following statement from a personal letter is typical of many
that come to the office of the Council on Biblical Manhood and
Womanhood:
What will they answer, when before the throne of God, as to exactly
why they didn’t permit one that the Lord Himself called to teach, even
a woman?... Am I any less called by God to do according to His
purpose in my life because I am a woman?Is this argument persuasive? Does God actually call some women
to preach and teach his Word to men and women alike? Does he call
some women to be pastors and elders?
God never calls people to disobey his Word. Our decision on this
matter must be based on the objective teaching of the Bible, not on some
person’s subjective experience, no matter how godly or sincere that per-
son is. This egalitarian claim is another form of the question, Will we
take Scripture or experience as our ultimate guide?
I agree that people may have subjective experiences of God’s pres-
ence and blessing that are genuine and real. But it is easy to make a mis-
take in understanding the meaning of those experiences. If a woman
finds God’s blessing and anointing when she preaches, then does that
mean God is calling her to be a pastor, or does it mean that he is calling
her to teach the Bible to women, in accordance with his Word, and that
he will give much blessing in that task? If we had only the subjective
(^3) Ibid., 318.