Where are all the women pastors?

by Dr. Tim Moore


When I was in seminary 25 years ago women were in the majority of my school’s student population.  While I knew that Andover Newton’s northeast location made those numbers more female friendly compared to most seminaries and divinity schools across the country, I still felt I was witnessing the beginning of a great shift in the American church.  I imagined that by the time I crossed over into my 50’s women would be pastoring churches by the same numbers they were sharing seats in my seminary classrooms.

I couldn’t have been more wrong.  It’s been a trickle, not a shift.

Churches send their daughters to seminary and divinity schools.  They brag on them before the whole congregation.  Ask them to guest preach the Sunday after Easter.  They gladly ordain them into ministry.  They just don’t call one of their daughters to be pastor.

And these are the “progressive” congregations who will consider women for clergy positions.

Of course the Catholic Church still refuses to consider female priests and evangelical congregations remain opposed to female pastors (that’s a-whole-nother blog), but recently even the Church of England failed to approve a measure allowing women to become bishops.  And while women pastors are no longer a rarity in mainline Protestant denominations, they are often segregated to small congregations that can no longer afford to pay “a man.”

Where are all the women pastors?

Called but not recognized.  Ordained but not placed.  Affirmed but underemployed.

First, this was the mainline church’s shame, now it is part of it’s undoing.  Today’s young adults have little patience for a Church that preaches one thing and practices another.  They are leaving in droves.  The hypocrisy about women in ministry is just one of our preach-but-don’t-practice problems.

The Festival of Homiletics is possibly the premier preaching conference in the country.  To its credit keynote speakers annually include the likes of Barbara Brown Taylor, Anna Carter Florence, Lillian Daniel, Lauren Winner, Barbara Lundblad, and more.  They are some of the best preachers in the country, who also happen to be women.  But most of them work in jobs other than as a pastor to a church.  Since this is not true for the male preachers at the conference, I don’t think it is a coincidence.

The sexist questions about a woman’s competency for the role have long been answered.  The Biblical question about a woman’s place in the role has long been answered for mainline churches.

So, what will it take for congregations to more frequently call women to be pastors?

I’ve shared my duties as one of the pastors at Sardis Baptist Church over the years with two talented and exceptional female pastors and currently meet with a lectionary group of gifted colleagues where at times I’m the only male pastor in the room.  (In that way I’m living into my seminary experience.)  My friends are the fortunate ones.  Having been given the opportunity to pastor, they excel.  But recently I was in a conversation about vocational futures with one of them and she said, “It must be nice to feel like you have numerous possibilities.”  The words stung a bit, but they made me realize how much my long-term pastorate has been a privileged choice and not a vocational necessity.

What has been your experience?  Am I too pessimistic?  Is there more than a trickle of openness to calling women as pastors (and not just as minister to youth or children)?  What specifically should male clergy be doing for their female colleagues?  Or would such good intentions be counterproductive?

Tim Moore is the pastor of Sardis Baptist Church in Charlotte. This article originally appeared on his blog, Abelard's Workshop.

This Odd and Wondrous Calling – A Review

by Rev. Laura Barclay

This Odd and Wondrous Calling: The Public and Private Lives of Two Ministers is written by Lillian Daniel and Martin B. Copenhaver, two United Church of Christ ministers. In the preface they note that there are a plethora of books and resources on doing various aspects of books, but little to no writing about the various aspects of lives of ministers. This book is for persons trying to discern a call to ministry, laypersons who want an inside perspective, and seasoned ministers who need hope and a sense of renewed calling. These ministers tell tag-team vignettes about various aspects of their lives—their marriages, ordinations, first pastorates, family deaths, delivering sermons, nurturing budding ministers, hospital visitations, and practicing justice work in the community. These stories are delightfully insightful, while being funny, down-to-earth, and relational in tone.

I found myself nodding and laughing as Daniel talks about delivering sermons and then finding what the congregation heard is not what you thought you’d said. Several stories emphasize that while this can be either amusing or troubling, it can also be miraculous when the Holy Spirit works to give a comforting word to a congregant in a time of need. Daniel’s honest tone as she talks about the blessings and difficulties involved with two married, dedicated people following their callings is refreshing and encouraging to many younger ministers who can’t seem to find enough time in the day for their family. Her struggle to be recognized a minister in spite of her age or gender is also one to which many can relate.

Beyond relating, there are also great examples of how to do ministry. Daniel is involved with community organizing and confronts injustices in her neighborhood along with other ministers. Copenhaver talks about how he found hope when tasked with the difficult job of delivering a benediction at his father’s funeral. Daniel addresses positive and negative models for the working relationship between senior and associate pastors. Copenhaver discusses important lessons he learned while shaking hands after the sermon. These lessons can be remarkably helpful for practicing ministry.

What struck me throughout the book was the playful, yet deeply thoughtful tone. These are two ministers, who, despite facing difficult times in their ministry, have fallen deeply in love with their calling. Daniel and Copenhaver present a hopeful and encouraging view of the church and ministry, while being realistic about the challenges of congregational ministry. Copenhaver reflects thoughtfully on the idea that people find God in nature. He states, “Given the demands of being in community with people, this should not be surprising. It is telling that the settings that we tend to describe as “peaceful” are invariably places with few, if any, people.” He goes on to challenge this notion by saying that the

“wonder is that God can be found inside the church, among quirky, flawed, and broken people who may have little in common and yet are bound to one another…But the Christian God seems to like to surprise us by showing up in the most unpromising of places, like a man from Nazareth and in a motley gathering of people known as the church” (232).

This is a beautiful statement that underscores the necessity of the hard work of reconciliation amongst church members. Only in reconciling in God can we learn to reconcile with our fellow church members and members of the community. Church is where we can learn to love our neighbor, welcome the stranger, and learn to forgive. It is clear that these ministers can clearly see and foster the ongoing work of God at hand in their congregations and community, while also having learned to set boundaries to give them time for rest and reflection. In that balance, ministry can be a truly wondrous thing, where liminal time is loosed and one has the refreshed eyes to see the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God in their church and community.

Check out the book on Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/This-Odd-Wondrous-Calling-Ministers/dp/0802864759

"This Is What a Preacher Looks Like" - A Review

by Rev. Laura Barclay

This is What a Preacher Looks Like: Sermons by Baptist Women in Ministry is a wonderful compilation of sermons from amazing female ministers. The book, published by Smyth and Helwys and edited by Pamela R. Durso, is divided into two sections. The first section, entitled “Sermons by Baptist Women at Historic Moments in Baptist Life” has homilies by noted women who gave courageous sermons during crucial moments in our Baptist history. Nancy Hastings Sehested’s sermon, “We Have This Treasure,” was delivered in 1983 at the first meeting of Baptist Women in Ministry. She likens the path of women in that moment to the Israelites being freed from Egypt, and needing the faith, fortitude, and courage to keep moving forward.

The most compelling sermon in the first section, however, is a sermon that was never given. F. Sue Fitzgerald was an alternate to give a sermon at the 1996 Baptist State Convention, entitled “The Kingdom of God Is Among You.” The elected male preacher, while having many personal difficulties, attended the convention and gave his sermon instead, leaving this inspiring homily to remain unpreached. Fitzgerald implores us to hear that the Kingdom of God is among us, rather than inside us, which encourages hard communal work over the individualism of personal spirituality so indicative of American culture. She attempts to heal the wounds of the time by encouraging listeners to acknowledge their pain and choose the love and power of God over “the power rooted in our desire to make something happen a certain way” (23). Her healing way with words, charming personal anecdotes, and deep rooted wisdom leave the reader sad that sermon was not preached.

The second section, entitled, “Sermons by Women from Beginning to End” contain sermons preached by women from texts throughout the Bible. Humorous, powerful, and challenging, these sermons demand the reader’s attention. Amber Inascore Essick’s text from Genesis 18 calls us to make time for strangers and make room for hospitality, despite our fears and of vulnerability. Essick states, “To open ourselves to the other is scary and risky. But it just might hold redemption and life for us” (37). Amy Butler delivers her Exodus 14-15 sermon as Moses’ sister, making the message of God’s eternal presence all the more realistic and meaningful. Isabel N. Docampo connects the Luke passage of the hemorrhaging women, oppressed by societal views on cleanliness, to her chronic illness and the treatment of minority women in society in “Women: Beloved, Brave, Bridge Builder.” She encourages listeners to tell their faith story, which will build bridges to peace and progress. Molly Marshall pushes us to proclaim truth, faith, and freedom from fear in a post-9/11, MTV generation world in “Living in Our Own Time…Wisely,” as she weaves together texts from Chronicles and Matthew. Lisa Thompson encourages us to participate in God’s redemptive story in, “Yes, God,” grounded in Isaiah 6:1-13. Bonnie Oliver Brandon shares the good news of “A Homeless Jesus," preaching from Matthew 8. The good news keeps on coming with sermons from Pamela R. Durso, Andrea Dellinger Jones, Suzii Paynter, Julie Merritt Lee, Joy Yee, and others.

From beginning to end, this book brought me on a journey through the faith and strength of these ministers. My only wish was that this work was published years ago before I ever went to seminary (I’d never heard a women preach before my years at Wake Forest University School of Divinity), so that I could be more confident in my path. I hope that many of you will get to enjoy this fine book, and that our notions of what a preacher looks like are continually expanded. In my lifetime, I have found that God has no limits for who God can use to bring a message of salvation, renewal, and announcement of the kingdom of God, if we are willing to have faith and listen.