In a blog post this week, founding pastor of Quest Church and executive director of One Day’s Wages Eugene Cho commented boldly on the absence of strong female voices in the church after observing the “amazing” speeches of women in the political conventions. Cho says he’s not particularly a political activist but rather has an interest in “the issues of the world” as they relate to the Kingdom of God and has therefore been watching the conventions, calling them “educational, infuriating, confusing, and at times inspiring.”
But Cho also observed that he was impressed with the “amazing voices, words, leadership, and speeches from…the women” from both political parties. He referred to the speeches of Condoleezza Rice, Ann Romney, and Michelle Obama as particularly riveting. “This isn’t my attempt to say that women are better than men, more articulate than men, more intelligent than men, or any other nonsensical comparisons,” Cho explained. “Rather, I want to simply communicate how incomplete the conventions would have been without their voices, words, challenges, and exhortations.” He then added, “Imagine if only men were allowed to speak.”
Cho went on to lament the inability of women in some religious contexts to lead or speak, especially from the “main platform.” “Not having the voices of women in the Church is not just sad for women but even worse, it’s sad and a deep loss for the Church,” he wrote. “We’re missing out on the stories, convictions, and challenges from the Ann Romneys, Condi Rices, and Michelle Obamas within our churches…The amazing speeches of women in the conventions makes the silence of women in the Church that much more deafening.”
