You Got to Get Out There - episode 173
He believes in partnerships. Professionally he’s worked for some big-name women launching their shoe divisions. Personally Gene Berkowitz believes you’ve got to get out there and make the best of this life. He not only says it, he does it. Work hard, play hard is his motto. And after putting in the years in a very successful fashion career it’s time to pivot and to play.
Gene and Dwight have bought a home in the California desert so they can enjoy their down time. With dog Diesel that will be easy to do. He’s looking forward to some new challenges as he wants to continue to learn and grow. One thing on the bucket list is to volunteer for causes he believes in. That’s one of the ways you can get out there. Gene will continue to look for ways to make things better.
Honest. Integrity. Driven.
— Gene Berkowitz
Two Big Beefs
Thoughts from You Got to Get Out There
I recently was going through some writing I had done ten years ago and came across a piece titled Sharing About Shaun wherein I wrote about my acceptance of our son coming out as gay. Now this had been written as a presentation to give to a group of Christian women. (I do identify as Christian with a gajillion caveats - see prior blogs. As Jen Tamman says, She’s a spicy Christian. I like that.) I am hopeful Shaun can one day have a strong union the way this week’s guest Gene and Dwight do.
I was wondering what I thought of this writing years later. There are some things I would say differently today than I did then yet I appreciated the depth of my grappling and the process I had in coming to terms some 20 years ago. And I did. Remember in this talk I was speaking to a specific audience and I knew I was probably pushing some boundaries. Long story shorter I was permitted to share with the leaders group of about 20. After that I received beautiful private messages of support and encouragement, yet was told I would not be able to share with the larger audience of about 100 after all. Reasons? Controversial. Dividing. Fear? Yes. I was opening up a can of worms and I knew it. If nothing is impossible for God then let people use the free will he gave them and choose who they love. (As an aside, I believe in monogamy in relationships, hetero or otherwise.)
Still there is this big divide within the Christian church. There is more than this one to be sure. The debate is whether being gay is biblically permissible or not. I’ve done some studying on this myself. I recommend UnClobber by Colby Martin for starters. I imagine most of you are very accepting of those who are gay, and the younger ones likely aren’t very aware this was a huge issue back in the day. It was. Through time it has softened as more people embrace the core message of love as taught by Christ whether they believe in him or not. Of course there are those who are vehemently opposed and often that shows up as anger, even hate. This is an ugly reaction and does nothing positive. And they do that in the name of Christianity. Yikes!
That is beef number one.
And beef number two?
Well that’s easy. Again, according to a literal interpretation of certain passages, many have concluded men have certain roles and women have certain roles. As in, only males can be pastors and females cannot. This view is called complementarian.
Gender roles are not based on passion, talent, skill but on whether you are male or female
Patriarchal view of man as the head of the marriage, family
Wife submits to the husband
By contrast egalitarian.
Both men and women can hold pastoral/other leadership roles
Both are equally responsible for the family
Two equal parts submitting to each other
Roles are not gender based but ability based
I recently heard Tim Stafford of Voxology podcast say, I cannot belong to a church that sends the message my daughter is not as good as her brother. Bravo! And that is why more and more there is an increase in the egalitarian view. The easy part is I am right there with Tim. The hard part is finding a church with these views.
Ron and I recently had a conversation about these two views. As a longtime believer he hadn’t realized there was even a debate around this. As we talked about it, I appreciate how he keeps things simple, rarely getting bogged down in the muck of it all. God created us. We are equal. Do what you love, and love what you do. Love God, love others, love yourself.
Pretty simple, right? Let’s keep it that way.
In conclusion I have always been grateful for this story: Billy Graham was asked what he would do if he found out one of his children was gay. With no hesitation he gently replied, “Why I would love that one even more.” Full stop. No beef there.
I cannot belong to a church that sends the message my daughter is not as good as her brother.
— Tim Stafford of Voxology Podcast
