My daughters wanted the door between the chicken yard and the duck yard fixed. I meant to get around to it. I intended to ask my son to work on it. I thought fixing it was probably a good idea. But the door worked, sort of. And there were a lot of other items needing attention like fixing the pump in the fish pond in my green-house, transplanting the roses in my flower garden and working on our recalcitrant tractor, which we need for pasture maintenance. Then my wife and daughters went out of town for a week. I had to feed the chickens and ducks. I fought with the door between the pens. The second day I fixed it.

My wife and I sometimes disagree on the relative importance of various repairs and improvements around our house. Some of those differences are rooted in her femininity and my masculinity. Others result from our different experiences. There is not a distinctly feminine perspective on broken doors between chicken pens and duck yards unless women are the only ones who use the door. There is not a distinctly male perspective on a broken heater fan unless the male never drives the car in which that fan does not work.

My own projects will always receive a disproportionate amount of money and time unless I embrace the discipline of attentive listening. On the other hand, if I cultivate a high regard for the women in my home and listen to understand and not simply as a prelude to rebuttal, my wife and daughters are more likely to receive my help.

In the Adventist Church, the highest offices are all held by men. Most ecclesiastical decisions are made by individual men or by committees of men. This means the unique concerns and insights of women will likely play a secondary role in assigning money and personnel and in making policy.

I am not opposed to male leadership. I smile indulgently at those who argue that if we simply replaced the males in these positions of influence and authority with females, the subsequent decisions would be better. The decisions would be different, for sure. But better? Maybe. Women are not better than men, but they are different. We see the world through different eyes. We experience God, church, marriage, parenting, and education in distinct ways. If those who make decisions are going to adequately serve the whole church, they must somehow attend to what God reveals through women as well as through men.

The best way to include the wisdom of women in the decisions of the church would be to increase the percentage of women in the circles of power. We need more women with the credentials of ordination and the status of denominational executives. We need more women on committees charged with major decision-making.

Adventist Today advocates including more women in the formal leadership of the church. While we work toward that end, we are committed to helping the church hear the voice of women.

This issue of Adventist Today features four articles by young women from Union College. Theirs were the best of more than fifteen articles submitted by students at Union College. (A special thanks to professor Chris Blake for encouraging his students to write for publication.) We also include articles by women who have been shaped by professional education and broad life experience. These women address significant issues in personal spirituality and church policy. Their professional expertise and life experience can help the church see more clearly. Their counsel points toward higher fidelity in following Jesus, if we will listen.

Until more women are seated at the committee tables and in the executive chairs of the denomination, the least we can do is listen attentively. Together, we can make the church better for all God’s sons and daughters.