How I Really Feel

Having observed public worship services in various Churches of Christ my entire life, I have seen and heard many things that have caused my worship experience to be less than ideal.
Here are a few examples:

Songleaders who were:
Flat, sharp; too slow, fast, loud or soft; unable to read music, without rhythm, unable to read English; children.

Scripture readers who were:
Inaudible, expressionless, unable to read, without understanding; children.

Communion speakers who:
Forgot our standard procedures, made the communion sound like a funeral and not a celebration, included the offering as a commanded part of worship, spoke longer than the preacher; were children.

I have heard the following from our own pulpit:
A funeral sermon denouncing our congregation as unscriptural and unsound.
Paranoid rants.
An invitation that instructed converts to pray in their seats and accept Christ into their hearts.
A sermon about evangelism that included a cartoon showing African cannibals boiling a missionary.
Several unsolicited testimonies. (Usually a good thing, but not always.)

What I have not heard or seen is one well-qualified female serving in any of these capacities.

The question I am usually asked at this point in my tirade is, “What do you want?”, as if somehow my simply wanting change is a failure on my part. It’s simple; I want a public acknowledgement that failure to use the talents of our female members in public worship is wrong.

We have ladies in our fellowship who are excellent Spanish speakers and translators. We have young women who are trained vocalists. We certainly have women trained in food service. We could serve communion. We wouldn’t have to say a word, and we could wear burqas.