Next week is Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly, the annual gathering for those affiliated with moderate and progressive Baptist churches, the group that famously split with the SBC 25 years ago. 25 years ago CBF formed as the Baptist that supported women in ministry and upheld historic Baptist principles. Next week in the midst of the …
This Sunday was the first Sunday since January that I haven’t preached or been a part of a morning worship service. I wasn’t preaching because I was in Asheville celebrating an almost 6-year old’s birthday and trying to wrestle an almost 7-month-old through a dance recital. Before the dance recital, we gathered at the girls’ …
Recently, I received yet another rejection from a pastor search committee. While I have become accustomed to these responses or no responses from submitting my resume to pastor search committees claiming to be supportive of women in ministry in my three years of ministry, there was something different about this one. In the short response, …
Spiritual Abuse Keeps Women Out of Senior Pastorates Read More »
Although many ministers called for the Methodist to make a decision about the LGTBQ question during General Conference this week, a group of bishops has been commissioned to study the LGBTQ issue and possible restructuring of the Methodist denomination. Putting this conversation on hold is asking those who are a part of the LGTBQ community …
Uncovering Spiritual Abuse: Avoiding Difficult Conversations Read More »
The process and journey of uncovering spiritual abuse is one that is fraught with fear. It’s fraught with fear because of the memories and interactions the journey brings to light. It’s fraught with fear because if we find spiritual abuse in our past, then we must identify as victims. It’s fraught with fear because it …
In the baptist church I grew up in, there were no women deacons. I remember noticing this and asking about why women weren’t allowed to be deacons, but as a child that question took on another form. I asked women in my life, don’t you want to be a deacon? And I received a variety of responses: …
Uncovering Spiritual Abuse: Why Do You Need to Talk? Read More »
Recently I was interview by a student who was working on a project about baptist women in ministry, in particular women who service as senior pastors. She asked me, “What was one thing you would tell a woman who is called to preach or be a senior pastor and is finishing school or looking for a …
I’ve spent the last two and half years worship planning almost every week. As part of that planning process, I asked people to participate in our worship service. It would easy to ask the people who are always willing to participate to lead, but it’s much more difficult to take the time to examine the …
This Sunday, I told my story to a faith community I had never visited before. As I shared about the moment I shared my call to ministry and received in reply, “We don’t believe that,” I saw some of their faces cringe. It’s a story they have heard, and they have experienced personally. Now, years …
I was recently at a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship event catching up with friends and explaining that I would be leaving Emmanuel. Although I don’t have the what’s next planned out yet, I am pursing full time pastorates. As I explained this, I saw the countenance on a couple of the faces change. I paused sensing there …
