By Elizabeth Evans Hagan Five years ago now, I found myself in a position countless said I’d never be in. I was installed as the pastor of a Baptist congregation. I was 28. In response to this new call, I…
Marriage in the New Testament
By Miguel De La Torre The concept of marriage in which women were relegated to property evolved from the Hebrew Bible by the time we get to the New Testament. The New Testament discouraged marriage, placing it secondary to a…
Woman minister baptizes father
By Barbara Francis A baptism is always cause for celebration in a Baptist church, but Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., witnessed a rare spectacle recently when a daughter of the congregation returned to the baptistery where she was immersed…
Recanting the Baptist Faith and Message
By Brian Miller In June 2000, I was on my way to a convention in Florida. I only had a vague idea of where I was going or what was happening there. I grew up as a Southern Baptist in…
Baptist church sign wows NYC, media
By Jeff Brumley “Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape.” Thus read the sign recently in front of Madison Avenue Baptist Church, a New York City congregation whose pastor is all about convincing folks…
What does the Bible say about women in ministry?
By Terry Maples God created males and females as equals. Adam and Eve enjoyed a partnership of equals until the fall. Male domination evolved and led to broken relationships between men and women. So, I believe we can surmise that…
Why I advocate for women in ministry
By Terry Maples I grew up in a conservative Southern Baptist home in rural Alabama. At church I was emphatically taught God cannot and would not call a woman to vocational ministry. The reason offered for this belief was “It’s…
Vivian Nielsen, former DC Baptist leader, dies
By Bob Allen Vivian Nielsen, 86, a past president of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention and leader in Washington’s Calvary Baptist Church, died Jan. 4 at Greenspring Village retirement community in Springfield, Va., after a battle with cancer. In…
Former DC Baptist woman leader dies
By Bob Allen Vivian Nielsen, 86, a past president of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention and leader in Washington’s Calvary Baptist Church, died Jan. 4 at Greenspring Village retirement community in Springfield, Va., after a battle with cancer. In…
CBF nominee termed natural choice
By Bob Allen Parties involved in the nomination of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s next executive coordinator termed the choice of Texas Baptist leader Suzii Paynter an embodiment of core values of inclusiveness that have shaped the moderate Baptist movement since…
CBF nominates woman leader
By Bob Allen Suzii Paynter, the first woman to serve as director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Christian Life Commission, has been nominated as third executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. If elected, Paynter would join Sharon…
Book shares struggles of Baptist women
By Jeff Brumley Growing up Baptist, Jennifer Harris Dault says her calling into the ministry was clouded by comments and assumptions along the way that the pulpit was no place for women. “I had this feeling as a kid that…