“What’s in a name?” the guest preacher asked as the sermon began. The message was taken from the Lukan account of the Gerasene man suffering from demon possession, the man who was called Legion. The reverend addressed the biblical significance…
At an ordination, a reminder that Jesus remains agonizingly relevant and radical
On June 20, 1971, I was ordained to the gospel ministry — so the ordination certificate reads to this day. I reread it from time to time, still wondering what in the world it means to be a gospel minister….
A Christian feminist response to Baylor
When the Pepper Hamilton summary report was released revealing major failures by Baylor University to comply with Title IX requirements, I read the entire document and was not at all surprised with its findings. It’s not that I thought Baylor…
Author says women’s narratives shed new light on SBC conflict
Scholars have analyzed and dissected the turbulent period of 1979-1990 in the Southern Baptist Convention known collectively as the conservative resurgence, fundamentalist takeover or SBC holy war from almost every angle, but until recently most have focused on only half…
Pope Francis: Let’s study idea of ordaining women as deacons
In an opening with historic import, Pope Francis has said he wants to study the possibility of ordaining women as deacons, a step that could for the first time open the ranks of the Catholic Church’s all-male clergy to women.
Freedom and fear: Preaching as a young woman
What does it mean to affirm women’s leadership in church in 2016? A conversation between high schooler Jillian Mitchell, who preached her first sermon recently, and the pastor, John Jay Alvaro, of her Oklahoma City congregation.
And the women were there
In her memoir Mighty Be Our Powers, the Liberian grassroots activist and 2011 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Leymah Gbowee said: Modern war stories often resemble each other, male commanders are quoted offering predictions of swift victory, male diplomats make serious…
In most faiths, especially Christianity, women are more faithful than men
One of many paradoxical things about religion is that its founders, administrators and gate-keepers have generally, with important exceptions, been men. But its most loyal practitioners, including and perhaps especially in times of adversity, have been women.
Why Bible believers are not really Bible believers
A good number of evangelical Christians self-identify as Bible believers. It’s a peculiar way for a Christian to self-identify when you think about it. A Christian is someone who has some kind of relationship to Christ. After all Christ is…