Mr. Abbott,

I think it is both pitiful and tragic that people get all twisted-up in the issue of authority and feel threatened by the idea of women in leadership roles because that completely avoids the far more important issue of all of us needing to be co-workers laboring in harmony under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, who should be our supreme authority. Satan celebrates when he is able to distract us with illusions like authority and create divisions in the church because that renders the church spiritually impotent. I prefer instead to be a co-worker under God's guidance and laboring in His power as He directs instead of worrying about who He has put in leadership over me. I prefer to be growing the church instead of killing it. Please, let go of the issue and focus instead on being a co-worker under God's authority.