Look at what the Lord has done. In 1995, with uncertainty and holy boldness, you answered God’s call to serve as pastor of your home church. In doing so, you became the first African-American female to lead an established Black Baptist congregation in Memphis and Shelby County, Tenn. You stepped right into history.
Scared? Certainly. Unsure about how your ministry would be received? Without a doubt. But God had already preordained you for the call and the work. And your pastor, the late Eddie L. Currie, saw in you what you couldn’t see in yourself. He saw in you a preacher, a soul set on fire for God. As he is recorded saying during a church anniversary service, “one of the great ministers of the word.”
Stacy Dandridge
I agree. You are indeed one of the great ministers of the word. But not only a great minister of the word of God, you’re also a great mentor.
I’ve heard countless stories from other women in ministry who meander through their call without spiritual guidance, wise counsel or ethical direction. I’ve heard stories from women who were thrust into ministry without a roadmap for how to prepare sermons, handle conflict or brave the sting of rejection.
But that has not been my testimony. You have been there every step of the way to model what it means to have a ministry and live a life poured out to God. You have consistently done what mentors are called to do. You have laid out the blueprint for ministry, not just with your words, but with the very witness of your life.
“You have shown me how to navigate sexism in the pulpit and in ministry, lean into my authentic self and lead with excellence.”
You have shown me how to serve communion, baptize new believers, visit the sick and write sermons. But your ministry has modeled what mechanics can never teach. You have shown me how to navigate sexism in the pulpit and in ministry, lean into my authentic self and lead with excellence.
Navigating sexism in the pulpit
You answered your call to ministry during a time when women in the pulpit were scarce. Certainly, there were some pioneering women who were fulfilling God’s call on their lives. Your friend and mentor, Shirley Prince, was one of them, but there weren’t many. You were navigating uncharted, male-dominated territory. It was a territory that displayed an invisible, and sometimes visible, sign that read: “For men only. No women allowed.”
Yet you let your gift make room for you. You don’t politic for pulpits or campaign for credibility. Instead, you preach with such clarity and anointing that even in spaces that resist your presence, your gift is undeniable. No prodding. No pushing. No convincing. Just persistence. Persistently saying yes to God’s call on your life despite the push back, the rhetoric and the skepticism that may meet you at every turn.
You, and women like you, have put on a masterclass on how to traverse the terra firma of sexism in ministry. You have taught us not to shrink back and how to endure under the pressure of heteropatriarchal systems without losing our faith.
Unapologetically female
And in doing so, you’ve shown me — and countless other women — our call does not require an apology or negotiation. You have demonstrated being a female in ministry is not a liability but a sacred gift.
I’ve seen so many women in ministry succumb to the pressure of emulating male preachers in their sermonic disposition and delivery. But you stand tall in your four-inch heels and preach the gospel with full authority in the body suit that God has given you.
“With the help of God, you stood tall in the face of patriarchy every time.”
I’ve witnessed you show up in spaces and mount platforms where the fragrance of misogyny was so thick you could cut it with a knife. But with the help of God, you stood tall in the face of patriarchy every time. And I love that for you — and for me.
Watching your mentor show up in the fullness of her authenticity somehow multiplies courage within you. It makes you feel like you can do anything. But that’s what good mentors do; they produce fruits of courage, boldness and tenacity within their mentees.
Lessons In leadership
Good mentors also show how to lead, not just follow. In a world that thinks women are too emotional to lead, you’ve consistently disproved this theory by leading with strength and building what others said couldn’t be done. When you faced an obstacle, you turned barriers into bridges.
I’ve seen you lead when you were tired, pastor when your heart was broken, bury members you loved and serve people who were not kind to you all while continuing to give God a recurring yes. You’ve been more than a pastor. More than a boss. You’ve been an exceptional mentor.
You’ve taught me how to lead with integrity and how to leave room for God. You’ve taught me how to let God open the door for me and how to serve with excellence. You’ve also taught me how to live with an ear that bends toward heaven; reminding me that apart from God’s guidance and direction, I can do nothing.
More importantly, your leadership, life and ministry have proven real ministry is not built on the courage of one yes. It is built on a succession of yeses. And if you’re ever in doubt about the impact of your yes, just know that you have blazed a trail that has shifted the trajectory for women in ministry everywhere, forever.
Well done, my mentor, and may the fruit of your yes never die.
Stacy D. Dandridge serves as pastor of digital ministry and technology at Christ Missionary Baptist Church in Memphis.
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