By Bob Allen
A pioneer among Southern Baptist women in ministry and early supporter of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is stepping down as pastor of First Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga.
Julie Pennington-Russell, announced April 29 in an open letter to church members that May 31 will be her final Sunday at the flagship CBF congregation.
Pennington-Russell, 54, who was called as the first female pastor of the historic church located in the Atlanta suburb in 2007, cited “persistent tensions and divisions within our fellowship” for leading her to what she termed “a difficult decision.”
“After months of prayer and contemplation, Tim and I have discerned that for the sake of my own mental, physical and spiritual health, I must step away from First Baptist, Decatur,” she said.
The “first of several challenging seasons,” she said, was a decision in 2011-2012 to restructure the church budget, which resulted in the departures of some staff and numerous church members.
“During these difficult times, I have done my best to listen for God and to lead this congregation according to Holy Spirit’s guidance,” Pennington-Russell said. “However, I’m afraid that today our church has become ‘stuck.’ The sticking point for more than a few appears to be me, and my leadership.”
First Baptist deacons accepted Pennington Russell’s resignation “with great sadness,” said deacon chair Lou Ann Brown.
“Through her leadership, this body of believers has grown in faith, practiced radical hospitality, mentored many seminarians for vocational ministry, welcomed thousands of people through our doors and worked to make the kingdom of God more evident at home in Decatur and throughout the world,” Brown said. “We are praying and trusting that God will reveal new doors for us and Pastor Julie as we continue to strive to be His responsive servants.”
Pennington Russell said she is proud of the church “for taking courageous and difficult steps during these past eight years.”
“In truth, they’ve done most of the heavy lifting and are today a wonderfully diverse bunch of Christ-followers with a positive reputation in Decatur,” she said.
Pennington-Russell said her decision “has been more than a few months in coming,” and follows a spiritual discernment process she and her husband began during a sabbatical last summer.
A native of Orlando, Fla., and graduate of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, Pennington-Russell first attracted national attention in 1993. After Nineteenth Avenue Baptist Church in San Francisco called her as pastor, the California Southern Baptist Convention refused to seat messengers from the congregation because it was led by a woman.
In 1998 she became the first female senior pastor of a church affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas — Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas — prompting protestors to picket the church’s Sunday morning worship service.
In 2009 the Georgia Baptist Convention ended its 148-year-old relationship with First Baptist Church of Decatur, finding the decision two years earlier to call a woman as pastor outside the parameters of the Baptist Faith and Message statement adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2000.
Pennington-Russell has been active in denominational leadership, serving on groups including the CBF Coordinating Council and the board of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. In 2008 she was a featured speaker at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, a multiracial national Baptist gathering spearheaded by former President Jimmy Carter.
Pennington-Russell preached at the 2002 CBF General Assembly in Fort Worth, Texas, a time when not all CBF churches were comfortable with seeing a woman in the pulpit. Most recently she preached a sermon at the 2014 General Assembly in Atlanta.
For several years First Baptist Church in Decatur has provided meeting space for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, and in 2013 the Fellowship relocated its offices from Mercer University’s Atlanta campus to an office building across the street from the church.
Pennington-Russell said she made her decision to resign “with sadness but without bitterness.”
“In truth, my prevailing emotion is gratitude,” she said. “Despite the challenges we’ve faced, I’m enormously grateful to have answered your call to serve as your pastor. These eight years have brought a wealth of ministry experiences and blessed my family with loving relationships that we will cherish for the rest of our lives.”
Pennington-Russell asked friends on Facebook to “join me in praying for the remarkable First Baptist Church of Decatur as they lean into God’s good future together.” She also requested prayer for her family “as we pray for guidance about our own future.” Her husband, Tim Pennington-Russell, serves on staff at Smoke Rise Baptist Church as social media and publications coordinator.
“The way forward is unclear at this moment, yet I feel at peace about that,” she wrote in her letter to the congregation.
“For 30 years, with three extraordinary congregations, Tim and I have been (in the words of an FBC friend) ‘running errands’ for God,” she said. “We trust that God will reveal our next steps in due time.”
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