All right, there's four things I want you to hear me say as we begin again tonight.

First, whatever your interpretation of Scripture is on this topic, you are welcome here, and

I really mean that.

Second, I hope you'll form the way you view all of life through the lens of Jesus, not try to

reform Jesus to fit a preconceived lens. Three, it is my prayer that you will be curious and

self-reflective about the baggage that you carry into tonight's topic, because we've all got baggage,

and the only unhelpful way to carry our baggage is ignorant of the weight that we're dragging

behind us. None of us are starting this conversation with a clean slate, and without acknowledging

the baggage we're carrying, it then becomes the lens through which we view everything that we see

and think. So acknowledge what you're carrying. Fear, anger, demand, hurt, frustration, suspicion,

pride, projection, acknowledge what you're carrying, and prayerfully entrust it to Jesus.

Now, it's still going to be one of the primary factors in your thinking, but it will not get to

rule if you are willing to humbly name it and as best you can, set it at the feet of Jesus.

And instead, you can then become curious about Jesus' view of tonight's topic and about what

makes that good news, because tonight is about what it's always about when we're opening his word,

good news. And sometimes good news lands instantly, and sometimes it takes processing and chewing on

before it's revealed as good, but it's always good news. And then fourth and finally, I'm assuming,

as we begin part two of this four-part lecture series, that you have the context of last Wednesday's

lectures in mind. If you do not, you are missing some key content and context that is essential

for fully understanding what we're covering this evening, and I would strongly suggest that you

go back to our video or audio podcast and pick up what is missing. So in very brief review of

where we've been thus far, the general range of views on women and eldership is summarized in

...