Women Preachers and News Anchors

Last updated on: December 11, 2019 at 6:16 am by Scot McKnight

Women Preachers and News Anchors 2019-12-11T06:16:06-06:00 Scot McKnight

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

By Kelly Edmiston

Women Preachers and News Anchors

I’ll never forget my first job as a Youth Pastor in 2006. I had just graduated from college with a social work degree and I moved to Cairo, Egypt as a youth ministry intern at the largest English-speaking Evangelical Church in the Middle East, at the time. After six months in the role, my boss asked me come on staff and I committed to stay for two more years. We developed a youth program with small groups, weekly programs, special events and the whole nine yards. It was awesome. I came alive during those years. I found myself, in the best and healthiest sense of the sentiment. I was affirmed in my gifts and I received what I now believe to be a “call” to vocational ministry. Over the course of three years I grew as a communicator. I preached in youth group settings every couple of weeks. I led prayers, announcements, communion and baptisms for the larger church almost every week. I will never forget the day that my lead pastor sat me down and told me all of the ways that he believed I was gifted. He told me that I brought energy and passion to public communication. And then he said to me, “Kelly, you should be a preacher.”

By the end of my three years there, I decided that while I didn’t want to be a preacher, I was ok being a Youth Pastor who sometimes was invited to preach. There was one thing that I knew for certain, I wanted to spend my life, using all of my gifts, for the sake of the local church. I figured there were lots of ways that I could use my energy and passion and public communication skills but the church was what I cared the most about and what I believed the most in.

Fast forward to many years later. I was a guest speaker at a youth retreat in the U. S. After the last talk was over, a prominent leader of that church pulled me aside and began to tell me many of the same things that the Lead Pastor in Cairo had told me. He told me that I brought great energy and passion to the task of communication. He gave me specific encouragement about the way I presented my talks over the course of the weekend. Then he paused and said, “Kelly, you should be a news anchor.” He went on, “Seriously, you are just so good, so articulate and expressive…” My heart felt like it dropped to the bottom of my stomach. “A news anchor?” I clarified. And inside I began to scream, “I don’t want to be a news anchor!” I want to be a youth pastor who is sometimes invited to preach.

Here was the message I received from him, a prominent leader in the church, “Your kind is not welcome here.” The message I received that day was one that women in patriarchal environments hear over and over again. “You are too talented to be here where these skills won’t ever be fully utilized. But if you will re-direct your course to a secular, non-church context, I am sure that you will find great success.” But here is what the patriarchal church doesn’t understand about women in ministry. We don’t want to be in a secular job. This is why we have pursued a career in ministry. We took this job because we want to use all of our gifts and talents and abilities for the building up of the Body of Christ, the local church. We, women ministers everywhere, believe so deeply in the mission of the church and her potential to impact the world for good that we have endured the funny looks, the inappropriate comments and the confused critique of those who believe that we should remain silent and become news anchors instead of pastors.

Suggestions like these are hurtful and harmful, not only to the women who receive them, but also to the church. I know countless women who have left vocational ministry for secular jobs or to be stay-at-home moms because the fight was too great. And the church is losing. Our pulpits are losing. Our youth ministries and children ministries and connections ministries are losing. The more we tell women that “your kind is not welcome here” the more we lose. It’s time to wake up. It is time to start cultivating church cultures where talented and gifted women are encouraged to be pastors, preachers and prophets. It is time for her gifts to be seen as blessings to the church, not liabilities. It is time for women to step in to all that God has gifted and called her to do for the community of faith that she so deeply loves.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 11, 2019

Reframing "Justification" by Expansion

Next Post

December 12, 2019 Context, Context, Context

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Acts of the Apostles Adam Advent Anabaptism Angels Anglican Apologetics Atonement Baptism BCP Prayers Bible Biblical Studies Birds Blogging Bloglossary Bonhoeffer Books Calvinism Christianity Church Church History Coffee Colossians Commentary Recs Conversion Creation Creeds Culture Death Ecclesiastes Economics Education Embracing Grace Emergent Emerging Movement Eschatology Essays Ethics Eucharist Evangelicalism Family Fasting Fathers Fellowship of Differents Footsteps Tour Fun and Whimsical Gospel Grace Happiness Heaven Hell Holy Spirit Irenaeus James Jesus Jesus Creed Job Justification Kingdom of God Law Lectures Lent Liberalism Love and Marriage Mabanteneni Manhood Mary Miracles Missio Alliance MissioLife Missional Missional Jesus Movies and Film New Perspective Northern Seminary OneLife Origins Project Orthodox Parables Pastor's Spouse Pastoring and Leading Pastoring and Preaching Patristics Paul Paul-John Tour Pharisees Pietism Political Theology Prayer and Formation Preaching Problems for Faith Psalm 119 Psalms Public Issues Purgatory Religions Resurrection Revelation Romans Rule of JCreed Science and Faith Sermon on the Mount Sports Ten Commandments Theology Third Way Top Ten Lists Translations Uncategorized Universalism University Ministry Way Out Weekly Meanderings Wisdom Women and Ministry Work Worship Writing & Blogging Youth Ministry

Select a Month July 2021 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 0000

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What city did David capture and make his capital?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Bethlehem Gibeon Hebron Jerusalem