When I dropped my son and his mother off on Wednesday I had my cellphone on silent. I had to go to the conference dinner — where the room was so noisy I could not hear my neighbour and missed a phone call. It was my son. He had been caught in the police reaction to an alleged bomb threat.

And he was not impressed with my explanation.

Now, in the last twenty years or so women have moved into the clergy and into positions of leadership throughout Protestantism. And the church is becoming… less effective.

Among the Catholics, women are now administrating much of the church. The number of priests dropped away (it is not returning to reasonable) and the church became feminized. This was part of the error of Thyatira, because with this has come a laxity of ethics (mislabeled as tolerance) and an acceptance of syncreticism.

REVELATION 2:18-29
18″And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze:
19″I know your works — your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. 20But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. 22Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; 23and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. 24But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ‘the deep things of Satan,’ to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden; 25only hold fast to what you have until I come.

Now, this may not be a consequence of women in leadership. It may be that women moving into leadership is a consequence of taking a low view of scripture and a higher view of the wider society. But that is called fornication.
It might be that this lower view of scripture and a lack of moral courage has led to a tolerance of living together. That is also called forniation. And it might be that this soft headedness about the implications of the gospel has led to a loss of the power of the gospel as the only means of salvation.
But the consequence of all this is that the church is no longer different, and no longer powerful. And that is the problem of Thyatira. For we are judged by our fruits. We may be doing well externally: we may be rich, we may have power, we may be doing good… but if we are not faithful it will turn to dust and ashes over the next two or three generations.
And this is starting to happen within denominations. If I go to church with my musical friends — it is loberal, and the heads are silver. There are few children. If I attend my usual congregation (which has much lower quality music and meets in a local hall) The silver heads are fwere, and are outnumbered by the children.
For God will honour or faithfulness.