“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” — John 17:20-21 John 17 often is labeled as Jesus’ “high-priestly prayer.” This…
Baptists, football and women who changed the game
Baptists love football. How many college and pro football illustrations did I hear in sermons preached in my childhood Southern Baptist church? How many Baptists are just as likely to don college colors and spend Saturdays watching the game as…
My ordination is precious to me
When the Southern Baptist Convention voted last week to reaffirm its expulsion of churches with women pastors on staff and to begin the process of amending its constitution to make sure any member congregation “does not affirm, appoint or employ…
Juneteenth: Moving from symbolism to substance
When President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation Jan. 1, 1863, it changed the legal status of more than 3.5 million enslaved Black people in the Confederate states from enslaved to free. It was two-and-a-half years later, on June 19,…
SBC annual meeting reveals little progress on sexual abuse, not even ‘bare minimum’
When a pace of change is so glacial as to resemble inertia, it means people don’t really care about change. This is what we are seeing in the Southern Baptist Convention with its reform efforts for addressing clergy sex abuse….
The cost of being comfortable is too high
“Men are the primary theologians in their family.” The words sent a jolt through my brain, and my back straightened as I stared up at the guest preacher behind the podium. I scanned the room. Heads were nodding in agreement,…
In support of women in missions and pastoral leadership
“Nonsense,” the disciples exclaimed as the Spirit-filled women ran from the empty tomb to preach, “He is not dead, he is risen!” I am a preaching woman too. I am so glad that prophecy had it that the Spirit will…
Jesus said it: The ministry of women is good news
This week, certain disciples of Jesus Christ called their meeting to order and promptly forgot themselves — bad news! At this summer’s annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, messengers voted to forget their fundamental Baptist value of congregational autonomy….
Embracing the slippery slope
I was that kid. You know. The one who asked questions. Questions the teacher really didn’t want to answer. Questions like, “Did God really create the world in six calendar days? Don’t you know science tells us that it took…
We’re helping women and churches hear God’s call in Texas
I’ve been gone from Texas 15 years. Fifteen years of moving about the country and experiencing life in different churches and in different communities. Before I left Texas, I lived all over this great state — East Texas, West Texas,…
A 1984 prediction comes true for the SBC
In 1984, Sarah Ann Hobbs, director of mission for the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, offered some predictions for women in ministry over the next 30 years. She rightly noted that as women took on more roles in the workforce,…
Watching the Tonys, thinking about church
The presenters sound like ministers winging the announcements. I am watching The 76th Annual Tony Awards, celebrating the best of Broadway, and missing the writers. The Writers Guild of America is on strike, so they came up with a curious…