Welcome to the new “LifePoint Women” blog! One of the goals of LifePoint Women is to provide an opportunity for women of LifePoint to use their talents, gifts, and abilities to worship, grow, connect, serve, and share with one another. Yes, you may have recognized the five priorities of our church as a whole.
I am excited and honored to be co-leading this new ministry of LifePoint Church. Our goal is to encourage women in their faith and empower them to serve others in the best way possible. I think of Ephesians 4:12-13a: “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God...”
I’ve been serving in women’s ministry for about the last 30 years or so (most of my Christian life), been involved in 5 church planting teams, have served in churches as small as 15 and as large as 5,000, lived in the Southwest, Midwest, and the former Soviet Union! Yet, among all of that diversity, one thing has been constant in every church and in every women’s ministry – women have a need for relationship. They have a need to serve, and, yet, can so easily not get along with one another. We tend to let our emotions and feelings cause us to feel inferior to one another, or allow our insecurity force us to compare ourselves with one another, as well as other issues, that cause there to be disunity among the body.
This is certainly not a new issue. We read from Paul’s letter in Philippians 4:2, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” Women have not really changed much over the centuries. Regardless of age, culture, race, etc., we are all created in the image of God with a role He assigned to us back in the Garden of Eden. If, at times, I find myself getting irritated at a sister in Christ, I try to remind myself that she is not the enemy. Satan wants us to be divided; God wants us to be unified. I try to remember that she is my sister, and just like a real blood sister, we are going to have disagreements, but, at the end, we are the same family and love each other deeply. I would die for my sister, so I need to be willing to lay down MY desire, MY preferences, MY opinions, and show grace, mercy, and love, to my sister in Christ – just as God showers me with His grace, mercy, and love.
My prayer as we start 2016, is the LifePoint Women will be an encouragement to all women of LifePoint and that all women know that they have a place to come and encourage and be encouraged, to serve and be served, and to love and be loved.
Becky Gluff
LifePoint Women Co-coordinator
Oh Becky, that is so true - we are FAMILY and need to love one another as family. Or should I say, in most cases, better than we love our family! Jesus remarked when told his "mother and brothers" were outside waiting for him, "Who are my mother and brothers? Those who hear the word of God and obey it." Our Sisters in Christ are fellow BRIDE. We are to be one for eternity and we need to start practicing that NOW. Thank you, and thanks to all who serve with you, for caring enough about that to respond to God's call in our fellowship at LifePoint to help our women to grow closer in love and unity, to connect, grow, worship, serve and share.
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