By Bob Allen A North Carolina church credited with opening doors for women in ministry by ordaining the first Southern Baptist woman to the gospel ministry 50 years ago lifted its own stained-glass ceiling April 6 by choosing a female…
Blurry vision and how we got here: The ex-SBC, part II
By David Gushee Follow David on twitter: @dpgushee Given the wide conversation sparked by my last column, about the lack of theological clarity and identity found in that slice of the U. S. Christian community that became ex-Southern Baptist, I…
Called anyway: on being a Baptist woman minister
Since I am a Baptist woman with the abbreviation “Rev.” in front of my name, most people assume that I am an impassioned activist for women in ministry. They figure I have a big, mangy dog in the fight for…
Two for the price of one
By Elizabeth Evans Hagan Growing up in a male-centric church culture, it was not uncommon for me to hear the phrase growing up in relation to pastors and their wives: “Oh, wow, isn’t is great that the preacher’s wife is…
Nadia Bolz-Weber speaks at Baptist church
By Bob Allen Trends like the waning influence of denominations and rise of the religious “nones” don’t mean that churches should abandon their denominational identity, author and Lutheran church planter Nadia Bolz-Weber said Tuesday evening at Calvary Baptist Church in…
Confessions of a conflicted feminist
By Aimee Yeager Be independent. Go after your career. Don’t get married before 30. If you do marry, don’t let him think you want to be pregnant and barefoot in the kitchen. Fight for non-sexist language to describe humanity and…
Historic church calls woman pastor
By Bob Allen Elizabeth Mangham Lott, a Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond graduate who has served as associate pastor at Westover Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., since 2010, has been called as 19th senior pastor of St. Charles Avenue Baptist Church…
Conference marks 200 years of missions
By Bob Allen A three-day conference in November will celebrate 200 years of Baptist missions and explore the lasting impact of Ann and Adoniram Judson, the first U.S. Baptist missionaries to serve on foreign soil. “The Judsons: Celebrating 200 Years…
How much should we pay the pastor?
By Robert Dilday It may be one of the most uncomfortable — and sometimes contentious — questions in congregational life: How much should we pay our senior pastor? Ministers struggle between commitments to a self-sacrificial calling on the one hand…