Christian women on the battlefield

As most of my followers know by now, I am a veteran of the Army. I ran across a facebook page for women who have served in the Army. Most of the friends of the group were women who served in the military in the middle sixties and seventies. They were sharing stories of how women were once not accepted into the Armed Forces, what they actually did while in uniform, and how things have changed since they first donned their uniforms.

I served during the nineties and it was more acceptable to see women with weapons. I served in a field that was predominantly male. I worked on the tanks setting the crossfire on the lenses of the weapons attached to the canon to fire accurately hitting its target. My job is what is considered a frontline occupation. I was the one who kept the canons hitting targets and not causing collateral damage.

There were many men and women who did not like me in a heavy artillary job position. Women thought of me as manly and men thought of me as a incompetent woman. For about five months I received stares and off the cuff comements.

On my first trip to the field, where we simulated tactical battle maneuvers, the men operating the tanks refused to fire because I had worked on their tanks and they were afraid of not only missing the designated targets set up hundreds of miles away, but that my work would be so off until they may accidently hit a nearby village in the German communities.

Needless to say, this stance caused big trouble. A three star general came to the field to inquire why the tanks were refusing to do the training exercise. The men explained their anxiety. The general summoned me, my co-worker (who was the only other female in which worked with me [2 women and hundreds of men in a company!], our sargeant, and my officer to ask us was the work correct. With all eyes on me and my co-worker; we said yes. The general gave the command for the tanks to fire.

To say there was a lot of tension in the air is an understatement. I was visibly shaking waiting for the call back over the field radio that the hit struck its target. If there had been a misfire- there could have been a court marshall at the minimum.

"ORDINANCE HAS MADE CONTACT---------------A DIRECT HIT!!!!!" There were cheers and moisture in the eyes. From that moment on, me and my co-worker were treated with respect and the work orders began to roll in.

Even though I had passed my training with flying colors and knew my co-worker was even more competent than me, I still was shaken by doubt.

I imagine this is the way many women who preach feel. They are probably competent and have a support group aiding them that has wisdom of many years. But, in the shadow of the night they may feel:"Am I doing what God wants me to do or are all those who tell me women can't preach correct?"

I hope to have some encouragement for you.

Romans 8:5 states"...but those who live in accordance of the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." The Holy Spirit desires us to be a living example of holiness and to take up the command to spread the gospel. That is why Jesus said after he left the Holy Spirit would come to be a comforter and to help remind us of his words. God spoke to the woman at the well; making her the first missionary woman. He instructed her to go and tell her town about him. Not only to other women and children but to everyone who would hear.

You may say that there is so much opposition against you though. Paul was a man who should have faced every person he came in contact with not believing he was a Christian and a supporter of Christianity. Paul had a few words for those who may have doubted his assignment: "...if I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ (Galatians 1:10)" Those were strong words from a man who wrote most of the New Testament.

I am sure there were those convinced Paul was up to something sinister. But, we can understand why God would choose Paul (a persecutor of Christians) to be his servant. 1 Corinthians 1:26-31 states " Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were influential, not many of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things--and the things that are not--to nullify the things that are, so no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God--that is, our righteousness, holiness, and redemption. therefore as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." When male preachers, deacons, and elders declare that they are the only ones to teach or to give the message of God, they are not boasting in God, because God can send anyone for the purpose of shaming the strong and foolish.

Paul again explained to the new Christians about who he was in God and also who they were or should be in 1 Corinthians 3:5-7: "What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe-as the Lord assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow, So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who makes things grow."

Paul states we are all called to be seed planters, servants of God. Titles and positions are not needed, because it is God who is doing the real work of saving people. And if God takes the time to aid in the salvation process, I believe he will be a part of the maturing process. Servants are servants.

So what is the discouraged woman to do? "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth no to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15). You should move forward in your kindom work and "...Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind (Romans 14:5)." Paul explains that there are mature Christians and immature Christians who may not see eye to eye on sin. But what each does, if they are trying to please God and obey him, can be do so unto the the Lord as long as it does not create a stumbling block for each other (read the rest of ch. 14). The origin of the action is in the heart; which only God knows.

And finally, servant Christian women, remember when times are hard and you are plagued by doubts from outside sources "Where sin increased, grace increased all the more (Fromans 5:20).

Education has its price

This is the last night before I face having an empty nest. My husband and I knew this day would come, but it seems to have come too soon.

The last couple of months we have been reminicing about when our kids were small. Once, while visiting a Baptist church with my three year old child, the minister hit the point of his sermon in which the climax was to begin. Organs started as he began to wipe the sweat from his brow and his voice became volumous. With a shout he began launching into the "Amen-hallelujah" part of his sermon, when my daughter sat straight up in her father's lap and shouted: "THAT'S THE MAN WHO KILLED JESUS!!!"

To say the least, we had to get her out of there because she was yelling for everyone to hear that she found the man who killed Jesus. We reassured her in the parking lot that the preacher had not killed Jesus to her satisfaction. Why she believed that we do not know accept for the fact that that was her first time at a Baptist church and she was not use to the dramatic flare of a Baptist preacher.

The other day while attending a funeral, the young well groomed preacher took the pulpit and asked the congregation to bow their heads as he prayed. I bowed my head and as I have done for the past five years, began to pray my own silent prayer:

"Dear Lord allow my ears and heart to receive a word from you today. May I not critque the minister's words but be open to learning something new. Let not me be of those who count themselves too righteous, but allow me to submit with a humble heart to the words of your servant and my fellow laborer. Amen."

With an open heart and mind I began to listen attentively to the young preacher. Without fail I began to run his sermon through my mind: how I would have begun, how I would have approached the theme, which Scriptures I would have used, what background information he should have left out, and of course to know, unlike him, when enough was enough.

I exited the church feeling a little crummy. Why did I continue to do that? Why can't I just sit in the pew and enjoy whatever the minister is delivering? It is as if I cannot control myself no matter how I try.

I discussed it with my family and answered my own questions finally.

When a doctor watches a medical program on t.v. he knows when the writers gets things wrong. This is the reason so many doctors refuse to watch medical shows, because they go on and on about this or that not being right.

When a musician listens to another musician, they recognize every missed note by a performer where the not so musically inclined has the freedom to just listen to the music being played and enjoy.

I have gone to college many years to study God and the Bible and invested countless hours in study, so there should be no surprise that my mind kicks into overdrive when I listen to a sermon. My education in the field of religion has made it impossible for me not to notice a mistake. I am thankful to God it has nothing to do with my character.

I honor any minister that enters the pulpit. He is standing there saying I am responsible for the care of souls. What I tell you and what I do not tell you will be counted for or against me by God. That is a major undertaking and I have to acknowledge it and I owe the minister my attention.

I do not believe there are too many ministers who completely stand in the pulpit with the intention of misleading others. Each minister and denomination believes that their beliefs are correct and others have it wrong. With all this said, I have heard the most ridiculous ramblings in the pulpit.

Education has its price. Once you know better you are expected to do better. Religion has been opposed to the education of its ministers due to the fact that they are afraid that the guidance of the Holy Spirit will become irrelevant. But we see in the book of John Jesus promising the Holy Spirit: "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26). This Counselor, Jesus said would be with us forever as the Spirit of truth (v.15).

To be put in remembrance of what Jesus said, you first have to KNOW what Jesus said and this can only be accomplished through deligent study of his word. This of course can be accomplished in or out of school. But if you are serious about knowing God and his will, school will not be abhorrent to a minister.

So back to my three year old and her exclaimation of "THAT'S THE MAN THAT KILLED JESUS." There are many ministers unknowingly killing the word of Jesus. Some sermons are based on style and flare, others on control and ego trips. But, for these few who refuse to study and grow in their knowledge of Jesus, they may or may not be committing murder but they are guilty of malpractice.

For such a serious job of caring for souls, we require no proof of compentency. Doctors and lawyers have to pass tests to prove they are knowledgeable and competent. Ministers do not. No man can approve another man's calling as a servant of God. But the servant should take it upon himself to make every effort and use every available tool to ensure that he/she is teaching sound doctrine.

Black and White: Kids on Race

"Mommy, I want my hair to be like my friends hair."

"You do? How is your friend's hair honey?"

It's long and blows in the wind."

"Is your friend a little white girl or a little black girl?"

"She's white and she is so pretty. Her hair is soft and long and blows in the wind. I want hair like hers."

At the beginning of this conversation I knew in what direction it was going to go. I wasn't prepared, but I was prepared. I had been there myself long ago.

It is what happens to little preschool black girls all across America. Many people will not admit it and a lot of little girls know through covert signals they better not even ask their parents the question "WHY AM I BLACK AND MY FRIEND IS WHITE WITH LONG HAIR?"

Tonight I watched Anderson Cooper as he so valiantly tried to tackle the race issue head on. He asked several young black and white children a group of questions using cartoon like figures of little girls ranging in color from white to dark brown.

The kids were asked which kid was bad, ugly, dumb and who do adults think are bad, ugly etc. Overwhelmingly the darkest brown child cartoon drawing was considered ugly, bad, and dumb by both groups of children. To say my heart sank is an understatement. One of my daughters was watching the show with me and we remembered her phase of wanting to have "good hair" when she was in preschool.

I remember having the straight hair talk on three separate occasions because I had three daughters. I looked into disappointed eyes and began to explain why people had different types of hair. I reenacted what I believed it would be like for my African ancestors to have lived in the hot African climate, baking in the high noon sun and how wise God was to give us hair and skin for our particular need in our particular part of the world. I told them how amazing it is that we are encoded with that great gene that causes our hair to curl no matter where we choose to live. I drew pictures on the chalk board of the different shapes hair follicles have and which one was for black people. I explained to be my children they had this genetic gift passed down to them and they would pass it on to their children.

I pointed out different races and made a game of finding the differences that made them belong to a particular group. Then we pointed out all of the similar characteristics we all shared. Each child remembers this point in their life, because it was fun. I did not try to tell them their hair was better or worse, because it wasn't. And not one of my girls was swayed, at that time, into not wanting flowing hair, but they knew the "why" and it opened up a window for a dialogue that would continue throughout their childhood. They understood some things make us different but more makes us the same. I told them it was fine to like the flowing hair and it was fine to like their kinky hair done up with rubberbands and bows. But when it came down to it, whatever hair they had; it was attached to the head of a person I knew was perfect in every way. I told them as they grow older they will want other things changed about themselves. It was a normal part of life for many children. Black, white, red, or yellow you are you and I think that is pretty darn good.

We always talked about why and who may like or not like their features and the features of other ethnic groups. I let them know that their difinition of what "pretty" is; is all that matters. I could not tell them what "pretty" is because it is different for each individual-subjective. But I made sure they were exposed to beautiful black, red, white and yellow people. Seeing and knowing that there is not one true standard of beauty helped them to find their own beauty.

My 5 year old niece said "I want hair like my friend Bobby." Why? "She is white and her hair is long and blows in the wind." I saw a tear form in my middle daughter's eye who thought her little cousin was the most perfect, beautiful smooth dark brown skinned black girl on earth.

I nodded a knowing head signaling to my daughter: "I got this," and it began again.

At first I thought it was very sad; my black child wanting white people's hair, but I had the opportunity to talk and teach my daughters to give them a firm grounding on what beautiful can look like inside and out.

I look at them now, and we laugh. They can't imagine feeling that way once upon a time in their life.

I question how does a child raised in a black household suddenly want to be white? Is it the media's fault? Or is it society's fault? I don't know the answer. All I know is that it happens.

So it happens, but it doesn't have to remain. I challenge all of you out there to help all of our young ladies, at an early age, to appreciate beauty in every ethnic group. Make it a point to show your daughters how lovely people are across the races.

Heat Wave

It has been so hot in Mississippi until I started posting "It is so hot" jokes. My husband has said they are corny. Corny is good. My kids would call my jokes lame.

I guess I will let you all decide.

It is so hot, my glass of water begs for ice.
It is so hot my fan said "I quit."
It is so hot my shoes said "I'm not going out there!"
It is so hot, hell is sending people to Mississippi now.
It is so hot the shade was trying to come inside to the air conditioning.
It is so hot my sweat refused to come out in the heat.
It is so hot my deodorant went on strike.
It is so hot break dancers are melting on the sidewalks.
It is so hot breast feeding moms are producing condensed milk.
It is so hot the thermometer reads: medium rare to well done.
It is so hot the devil wouldn't vacation here.


Those are all I have. If you can think of another one please feel free to share.

COVENANTS: food for thought

I have always tossed around how I felt about people saying marriage is between man and God. As we know all people who get married are not Christians, so how could mariage be between God and man?

Marriage is an agreement and sanctioned by God because he commanded it many people will state. I just could not believe all marriages are ordained by God.

Looking at the word covenant it is defined as a formal binding agreement - a contract. God made a covenant with Noah after the flood instructing him to build an altar, to take some of the clean animals and birds to be sacrificed as a burnt offering and with this sacrifice God promised that never again would he curse the ground. Covenant part 1:
"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Covenant part 2:
"Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood, never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth... this is a sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come. I have set my rainbow in the clouds and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth (Gen. 9:1-16).

In this covenant agreement a sacrifice was offered, blood ran from the sacrificial offering.

Abraham and God made a covenant that required a shedding of blood as in the Covenant of Circumcision. Circumcision was required of all of the Jews: "As for me, this is my covenant with you: you will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram: your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations." God requested that every male amoung him be circumcised as a sign of the covenant between them. (Gen. 17:1-14).

This spilling of blood led also to a name change. There is a pattern of spilling of blood in a true covenant agreement. Fast forward to the last ultimate sacrifice of Jesus. "The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus and then those of the other, but when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spere, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water." (John 20:33-35). We know Jesus had already spilled blood as he was whipped before he was on the cross, but in this covenant agreement; allowing man to come directly to God in prayer and worship, blood had to be spilled and Jesus truly became the saviour of man.

So there are several instances of blood being used as the binding part of a covenant agreement.

Now to marriage. Blood is spilled in the marriage agreement. The woman was supposed to remain a virgin until her wedding night. The marriage was only valid if there was proof of the spilling of blood."If a man takes a wife and after lying with her dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name saying, "I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity," then the girl's father and mother shall bring proof that she as a virgin to the town elders at the gate...her parents shall display the cloth before the elders."(Deut. 22:13-29) The cloth is the cloth placed underneath the couple on their wedding night which was the custom. The cloth should contain the stains of blood from the breaking of the hymen which each virgin should have on their wedding night. If the woman was not a virgin she was to be stoned.

Virginity was so important as the covenant tie between the man and woman until there were even more rules. "If a man happens to meet a virgin who is not pledged to be married and rapes her and they are discovered, he shall pay the girl's father fifty shekels of silver. He must marry the girl, for he has violated her. He can never divorce her as long as he lives." Notice the woman's name change in marriage.

In all of these instances of marriage, we do not hear God making a statement of his part of a covenant agreement as with all of the other covenant agreements he made with others. It is the two marrying parties who make agreements to one another to leave their families and to become one until death. The agreement is done over a sacrifice of blood. If a woman is not a virgin there cannot be a covenant agreement.

So to my own satisfaction, through my own biblical study, I have come to the conclusion, under threat of being a heretic, that marriage is a covenant agreement between a man and a woman and not between the couple and God.

Now, for the shocker.

Many women who have married were not able to enter into a covenant marriage because there was not a blood sacrifice to make the agreement binding. In fact, I go as far to say that the legal husband, according to the teaching of the Bible, is the first person that a woman had sex with. SHOCKING!!!!!!

THE VIRGIN A MAN FIRST HAD SEX WITH IS ACTUALLY HIS WIFE BY COVENANT AGREEMENT.

Isn't this a scary conclusion? No, I do not go around teaching and telling people this. It is just my own meditation and Bible study. But, as a mother of daughters, I shared this with my girls to show them the beauty and importance God put on marriage. All of his covenants, which he filled and continue to fulfill were sealed through blood. This first time sexual experience, at one time in human history, was valuable. Today, it is of no significance or even thought about. Who values the first person we have sex with anymore? VIRGINITY HAS COME TO BE AS LESS BINDING AS A HANDSHAKE, YOUR WORD, AND A LEGAL CONTRACT.

I wish I had had an opportunity to value my virginity. I was told not to be promiscuous and only bad girls had sex, but I was not told how valuable and honorable my virginity was. I never was told that my virginity was my word, my bond, that I choose "you" by the prescence of the spilling of my blood as the one I want to be with until death. If I had, I do not believe it would have been some sex starved boy who was thankful for sex, not necessarily for me for the rest of his life.

Couples stand before a minister and a church filled with family and well wishers promising love forever. We give a ring as a symbol of our never ending love in the place of blood. How serious would we take marriage if the couple said I give my blood word to you and you accept my blood sacrifice and will spend your life meeting that blood sacrifice I offer you. THAT'S SERIOUS.

I don't know if this would affect the divorce rate any or the problem with teen sex, but I believe it would boost the girl's self esteem and help the hormonal boy to learn this is nothing to play with.

Maybe this is all wishful thinking, covenants and all. But I do not think it would hurt if the church changed its approach in its view of sex from "its bad" to it is a glorious gift, empowering women to love their blood sacrifice to a deserving man.

Office of Deaconess

Many theolgians have debated if there is such an office of deaconess and if it is does it carry the same responsibilities as the office of deacon for a man. Pheobe is usually brought into this debate as many scholars deny she was a deaconess or in the position of pastor. There has come to the forefront documentation as to the office of deaconess being acknowledged by one of the apostles, Bartholomew.

"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted and they came to him. He appointed twelve - designating them apostles - that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preachand to have authority to drive out demons. These are the twelve he appointed: Simon (to whom he gave the name Peter) James the son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them he gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder) Andrew, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James son of Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed him." Mark 3:13-19.
From: Upcoming book - "When Will Eve Be Forgiven?"

Bartholomew, one of the twelve disciples, wrote protocol concerning ordination of a deaconess within the church.
CONCERNING THE DEACONESS – THE CONSTITUTION OF BARTHOLOMEW.

XIX. Concerning a deaconess, I Bartholomew, make this constitution: O bishop, thou shalt lay thy hands upon her in the presence of the presbytery, and of the deacons and deaconesses, and shalt say”



THE FORM OF PRAYER FOR THE ORDINATION OF A DEACONESS.

XX. O Eternal God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of man and of woman, who didst replenish with the Spirit Miriam, and Deborah, and Anna, and Huldah; who didst not disdain that Thy only begotten Son should be born of woman; who also in the tabernacle of the testimony, and in the temple, didst ordain women to be keepers of Thy holy gates, -- do Thou now also look down upon this Thy servant, who is to be ordained to the office of a deaconess, and grant her Thy Holy Spirit, and “cleanse her from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, that she may worthily discharge the work which is committed to her to Thy glory, and the praise of Thy Christ, with whom glory and adoration be to Thee and the Holy Spirit for ever. Amen. Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume VII, Constitution of the Holy Apostles. Book VIII, Section III.

In the above writing one of the original 12 apostles wrote how a deaconess is to be ordained. High honor is given to the position of a woman as a creation of Christ. She is viewed as a fellow worker in the kingdom of God. I was very pleased to have run across such an account, not so much for the knowledge of a position in the church for women. But because there was a time in which they were seen as capable of being a servant along with men in the church.

Women are large and in charge

Founs this article and found it enlightening. I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I did.

FEMALE PASTORS: The stained glass ceiling
by Galen Holley/NEMS Daily Journal

The Rev. Cheryl Penson had ben preaching up a whirlwind , but halfway through her sermon she paused and drew a deep breath.

Like a mother gathering her children, Penson seemed to pull the spirited words and expansive gestures that carried the first part of her sermon in toward her, compressing them into a warm, staccato whisper. She began speaking in a measured cadence, making sure every member of Lane Chapel Christian Methodist Episcopal Church could hear the point she was about to make.

“Mark, in his gospel, as does the Apostle, Paul, uses the body as a metaphor for the Christian community,” she said.

Just before she took the pulpit, Penson’s husband and co-pastor, the Rev. Charles Penson, prayed that God’s anointing would be upon her. “Like Yahweh’s blessing upon Aaron in the Old Testament,” he said, in a deferential, loving voice. As his wife preached, he handed her a towel, and the congregation clapped and waved their hands in recognition of the nuptial gesture.

Today in America there are twice as many women senior pastors as there were a decade ago. Women like Penson are providing capable leadership in many denominations, but females still haven’t assumed the larger pulpits in the same numbers as men.

According to the California-based research institute The Barna Group, one in 10 U.S. churches employs a female senior pastor. That’s a remarkable increase in a short time, considering that, until recently, women in the pulpit were an anomaly.

Those numbers are encouraging for people who see the issue of females in ministry as one of equality and justice, but even the optimists admit that women have a long way to go in terms of reaching parity with their male colleagues.

Mainline success

Despite decreasing membership and ongoing internal debates over social issues, mainline Protestant churches have opened new horizons for women in ministry in the second half of the 20th century.

Today, 58 percent of women ministers, as compared to only 23 percent of their male counterparts, work in mainline Protestant churches. Until recently, however, those women were mostly relegated to serving as associate pastors or as children’s or music ministers.

Among those churches with the longest-standing traditions of ordaining women is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America which started almost 40 years. Today, two of the four female ELCA ministers in Mississippi are senior pastors.

The Episcopal Church has ordained women since 1976 and it is currently led by a woman, Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefferts Schori. Thirty percent of priests considered senior pastors in the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi are women.

The Presbyterian Church USA started ordaining women in 1956 and over the past decade the number of women serving as ministers of word and sacrament within the church has increased by 75 percent to just under 1,200. Today, four women serve as senior pastors of PCUSA churches in the Magnolia State.

When the Rev. Sandra Sisson left homemaking to enter the seminary in 1983, she was afraid people would laugh at her. At that time female ministers in the PCUSA were still rare. Sisson eventually became the first female teaching elder ordained in the Presbytery of St. Andrews.

Sisson, who today pastors Okolona Presbyterian Church and First Presbyterian Church in Aberdeen, is convinced that women’s history of teaching religious education and directing ministries has paved the way for them taking over as lead pastors.

“Women were the primary educators for a century or more,” she said. “It just makes sense that we’d eventually start leading congregations.”

Mainline churches, like the PCUSA, are often criticized for being too liberal, and those who oppose women serving as senior pastors see it as another concession to contemporary culture.

However, one church with a conservative pedigree has ordained women as fully commissioned officers and assigned them as senior pastors since its inception. Women in 19th century England were instrumental in starting the Salvation Army.

Major Sue Dorman has been the ranking officer and senior pastor of the Tupelo Salvation Army for three years. In addition to her administrative duties, each week Dorman preaches and ministers to a congregation of around 80, as well as countless transients. The Salvation Army mostly utilizes husband and wife teams, but Dorman is the only single female serving as a senior pastor in the region that includes Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana.

“There’s such a great need in the world today, both in terms of social justice work and in terms of preaching and spreading the gospel,” said Dorman. “We have to use every resource, every person we have, in order to succeed.”

Dorman believes women in ministry tend not to get hung up on issues of gender. As long as a person is able to do the job effectively, it doesn’t matter whether they’re male or female.

Small churches

Although female pastors have achieved unprecedented success, the Barna study showed they still haven’t taken the pulpits in the country’s largest churches. For example, Sisson’s two congregations, in Okolona and Aberdeen, are of small and moderate size.

Across denominations, churches led by male pastors average 103 adults at Sunday worship, compared to 81 for female pastors.

The United Methodist Church recently celebrated 50 years of ordaining female ministers, yet today only about one tenth of women shepherd the denomination’s largest churches.

Bishop Hope Morgan Ward, who became the first female bishop for the Mississippi Conference in 2004, said getting women into the senior clergy positions of the largest churches is the new frontier in building the kind of diverse church Methodists want.

The UMC recently launched the Lead Women Pastor Project which combines researching leadership styles and building mentoring relationships to try to figure out how to get women ministers into bigger churches.

Ward said the project makes sense given that over 50 percent of those enrolled in master of divinity programs at Methodist seminaries are women. That confirms findings from the Barna study which show that females in ministry are better educated than their male counterparts. Seventy-seven percent of female ministers earn a seminary degree, as opposed to 63 percent of men.

Although being relegated to smaller churches presents a glass ceiling for female senior pastors, Ward said that as young women see more females leading congregations it will create momentum and inspiration.

“I find that a church’s openness to accepting any minister is in direct proportion to the minister’s experience,” said Ward. “If there’s a minority or a female minister that people can see, it opens people’s eyes. We have so many people out there doing good work – so many women – and, as a result, I think resistance to accepting female ministers is decreasing.”



Minority experience

Black women are also taking the pulpits in greater numbers. Twenty-three percent of the congregations in Mississippi are historically black churches. That’s the highest percentage in the country. Female ministers in the black church are a fairly new phenomenon but their ascendancy represents an affirmation of the strong matriarchal currents that have always been present in the church.

Denominations like the African Methodist Episcopal Church have led the way in ordaining women as presiding elders and today almost 30 percent of AME ministers are women. In 2000 the AME Church elected its first female bishop, Vashti Murphy McKenzie.

The Christian Methodist Episcopal Church started ordaining women in 1976. Today, about 5 percent of senior ministers in the CME are women.

Penson and her husband at Lane Chapel shepherd the largest CME church in the area. She’s pleased with the progress her denomination is making, but she’d like to see her sisters elected to the highest positions in the church.

“We’re gaining new responsibilities all the time,” said Penson. “Right now we have to be faithful servants and stewards with the opportunities we have.”

Even women who stand outside the pale of possible ordination are finding inspiration in what they see as the long-overdue historical progress of female senior pastors.

In her office at St. Christopher Catholic Church in Pontotoc, Sr. Soledad Mendoza sat counseling a young Hispanic man who often comes to her for advice.

Fr. Tim Murphy didn’t hesitate to say that, in a very real sense, Mendoza is the shepherd of the sizable Hispanic community at St. Christopher. The Catholic Church doesn’t ordain women, and with so few priests in the area Murphy is hard pressed to keep up with everyone who needs his attention. As a result, Mendoza and women like her often perform many of the pastoral duties in taking care of a congregation. They’re providing a critical pastoral presence, particularly at smaller, Catholic mission churches that don’t have full-time priests. Some say they’re keeping rural communities alive.

Mendoza isn’t angry that she can’t be ordained, instead she takes heart that women are increasingly being seen as equals in ministry, and, like her, they’re taking the lead.

She walked out of the counseling room, whispering in Spanish, telling the young man that she’d be right back.

“This is a matter of justice – yes, I think it is,” said Mendoza. “This work is not easy, but women have gifts, as do men.” She smiled, and leaned forward. “Perhaps one day I would like to be a priest, too.”

Contact Daily Journal religion editor Galen Holley at 678-1510 or galen.holley@djournal.com