Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Talk with the Preacher

Home
Progressive Christian
And, also…

And, also…

Last updated on: October 14, 2015 at 8:00 pm by Amy Butler

And, also… 2015-10-14T20:00:05-04:00 Amy Butler

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.

Sometimes I write things down and they are not coherent.

(That is, usually I write things down and they are not coherent.)

I have many things swimming around in my head; I try hard to write them down in ways that make sense, but they don’t always fit together. And then Bob Allen fixes them. (Let the people say amen.)

This is one reason (among many) that I deeply appreciate the work of Associated Baptist Press editors, especially Bob. Bob regards the mess of words I hand him every two weeks with enough professional detachment and healthy cynicism to generally produce columns that make sense and even occasionally contribute something thoughtful to some discussion somewhere.

I wrote a column this past week about a subject that follows me around, about which I am asked constantly, about which I think a lot, and about which I have many winding and convoluted opinions. On the subject of women in professional ministry it’s hard to separate all these tangled threads to come to some thoughtful contribution to a multi-faceted and emotionally-charged conversation.

I think Bob helped me, again, say something that hung together with some sense of coherence.

But I also wanted to say a bunch of other stuff as asides, or further explanation, or other informing opinions, so I threw them in the initial draft, too. All these meanderings didn’t contribute to the clarity of message in my column, I know. But they’re still swimming around in my head.

And, sorry for you, Bob doesn’t edit my blog. So, here are some other thoughts, peripheral meanderings about gender, vocation, justice, equality, and being good at what you do. Bob’s right, they didn’t really fit in my column this week. But I wanted to say them anyway.

First, the fact of the matter is: the plight of women in the world overall is desperate. We are about two thirds of the world’s illiterate, impoverished, and enslaved. That’s a horrifying state of affairs and it needs to change.

I just need to say that because, while I am of the opinion that women (all??!?) pastors should do good work, I do not believe feminism is passé or irrelevant. On a foundational, societal, all-of-humanity kind of level, everybody should have the same opportunities regardless their gender. And that’s far from the case now.

And, the dismantling of systems that perpetuate injustice resulting in the appalling state of women in the world must be an urgent priority for anyone committed to justice and peace (and especially, if I may add, people of faith). Here’s a great place to read more about the state of things on this matter, and to find out what you can do about it.

Second, theological arguments supporting anything less than full inclusion of women in the leadership of the church are unacceptable.

I mean, we can go around and around arguing about this, but I’m not really interested in proving a theological point anymore. At the end of the day Jesus included everybody, and we should, too.

EVERYBODY.

In the Baptist world in particular there have been many women (and men) who’ve held this unrelenting opinion and practiced it in ways that cost them. A lot. And no matter how obstinate I prefer to be about my position on this issue, I am not ignorant of the fact that their sacrifice has allowed me the luxury to be so publicly convicted about this, while at the same time doing work I love and I feel called to do.

I want to be sure to say, in as many ways as I can, how grateful I am for the prophetic courage of those who made this possible for me and for so many others.

Third, I am in no way suggesting that it’s a cakewalk to be a woman in ministry, especially in a Baptist context. It’s difficult to be taken seriously, it’s hard to find a job, and people talk to you far more about what you’re wearing than what you’re saying. I get it. This is true and hard, and/but it’s changing (thanks be to God). In the interim, this is even more reason to be excellent at what you do.

Because, in fact, ministry itself is an intensely high-stress gig no matter who you are. That doesn’t mean other jobs aren’t stressful; it just means that pastoral work is hard. Many pastors feel extraordinary pressure in the roles they play, sometimes with devastating results.

If you’re a pastor, male or female, who is not handling the pressure of our work in healthy ways, please ask for help.

So, that’s pretty much all I have to say about that.

(For now, anyway.)

Uncategorized

Previous Post

November 11, 2013

Welcome New Calvary Interim Staff!

Next Post

November 19, 2013 Morality Tales, Proverbs 16: 18

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Answering the Call Being the Church Curating Wisdom Laughing Out Loud Living in Relationship Practicing Discipleship Reclaiming Baptist Speaking from the Pulpit Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 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 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

Search for:

And, also…

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta

According to Philippians, whose name is above every name?