women in the pulpit

When I registered for classes for my second semester at Beeson Divinity School in the fall of 2000, I took a course taught by Dr. Robert Smith, Jr., called "The History of Women in Preaching." Having spent a lifetime worshipping in Southern Baptist churches, I honestly did not realize that there was a history of women in preaching. The objective of the course was to help students "understand the background, rationale, and creative aspect of the preaching experience of women within the spectrum of the American tradition." (Yes, I still have that syllabus in my files.) There were eight women in the seminar, which met on Tuesday evenings from 4:30-7:00 p.m. - nine if you count Dr. Smith, whom we declared an honorary woman.

The first time we convened, we each drew the named of a woman preacher out of a fishbowl. (Dr. Smith was famous for using that object to make assignments.) We were then required to write a write a reflection paper and lead a homiletical teaching clinic on our assigned preacher. In this manner, we learned about Edwina Hunter, Ella P. Mitchell, Barbara Brown Taylor, Vashti McKenzie, Elizabeth Achtemier, Lucy Lind Hogan, Christine Smith, Cheryl Sanders, and Carol Noren. Of course, since this was a preaching class, we also each had to preach, and it was in this setting that I preached my first sermon on November 2, 2000. I chose to preach about Dorcas, whose story is recorded in Acts 9:36-42.

I cannot begin to explain how I felt each time I heard one of my seminary sisters proclaim the gospel or listened to one of the sermons preached by the luminary female homileticians we studied. I felt cheated that I had lacked female role models in the pulpit, but I also felt encouraged - and challenged - as I watched women using their God-given gifts to share His Word. Preaching had never seemed within the realm of possibility for me until I took that course.

I felt the same way this morning, when a woman preached in the pulpit of my church - only the second time in the 14 years that I have been a member there that I have heard a woman preach on a Sunday morning. As I listened to Ruth Graham's sermon, I prayed that the girls in the congregation would recognize that God might call them to preach one day. Maybe one day seminary students will study one of them in a history of women in preaching class. 

In the beginning

Today is a day of firsts - my son's first day of his senior year of high school and my first day to blog. As Chaney gets back into the daily routine of school, I am attempting to get back into the groove of having a somewhat regular schedule myself. After hearing Barbara Brown Taylor speak about writing at the Festival of Homiletics in Minneapolis in May, I was convicted (once again) that I need to discipline myself to write every day - and not just when I have deadlines. 

I had thought that perhaps today would be bittersweet for me as my one and only child began the homestretch of his high school education, but, surprisingly, I was excited for him. It dawned on me this morning that even if he were packing boxes for college this week instead of loading a backpack for a day of high school, I would feel confident that he was ready for the challenge. Obviously, I am grateful that I still have another year with him at home before he heads to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, but he is a very mature young man, and I couldn't be prouder of him.

This morning, The Tennessean featured a front page story titled "Church for sale: no reasonable offer refused." The article discussed what happens to church buildings in Nashville after congregations decide to relocate to the suburbs or are disbanded. The reporter noted that former church structures in Nashville have been "recycled" in a range of ways, including: a strip club, a bar, a pawnshop, and law offices. I immediately recalled a mission trip that my family took to England in 1997, during which we spotted several former church buildings that were being used as bars. My thoughts also turned to another lecture I heard at the Festival of Homiletics - this one by Michael Slaughter.

Mike Slaughter is "the chief dreamer and lead pastor" of Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio (www.mikeslaughter.com). God is using this United Methodist congregation, which was founded in 1863, to radically change lives around the world. In additional to sponsoring a variety of ministries that serve "the least of these" in their local community, in 2005 the church initiated The Sudan Project (http://ginghamsburg.org/sudan). In 36 months the church has provided nearly $3 million for the Darfur relief effort. While I was inspired by this congregation's global vision and generosity, I was also intrigued by another facet of their ministry - an intentional effort to reclaim abandoned church buildings in their area and plant new congregations. Perhaps the most fascinating part of this process is the way the church develops leaders for these new churches: Ginghamsburg sends a core group of laypeople to "seed" the new congregation, and after a year one of those individuals becomes the pastor. Interesting concept. What congregation is willing to do something like this in Nashville?

Yesterday I do believe that I watched more consecutive hours of television than ever before. I have been captivated by these Olympic Games since the mind-boggling Opening Ceremony, and I just couldn't turn the TV off last night until the broadcast ended. Clearly, the U.S. team's breathtaking, gold medal-winning, come-from-behind finish in the 4x100 swimming relay more than compensated for my lost hour of sleep. My favorite relay team member is Cullen Jones, a Bronx-born 24-year-old. Jones is only the third African-American in history to qualify for the U.S. Olympic Swim Team. When Jones was 5 years old, he nearly drowned on a visit to a waterpark. When he capsized on his inner tube at the bottom of a water slide, he panicked. His father jumped in and pulled him out, and a lifeguard performed CPR on the unconscious boy to revive him. Rather than causing him to fear the water, this experience prompted Jones to learn how to swim, and now he is passionate about teaching African-American youth how to swim. After watching last night's relay, how many more children will be motivated to learn how to swim? This story brings Romans 8:28 to mind, doesn't it?