From the beginning pages of Scripture to contemporary ministries across the globe, women have had a vital & active role in the story of redemption. No matter what season of life you are in, gather together &uncover your distinct design, purpose, & mission for the glory of God.
Those in the SBC who think I no longer should have anything to say about the SBC profoundly underestimate the power of love. I’d served southern Baptist women for 40 years by the time I left. And when I left, I left directly on their behalf because it became disturbingly clear to me that the SBC as an entity was more interested in protecting shepherds than the sheep entrusted to their care. When protecting the pulpit from women becomes a far greater priority than protecting women (& children) from an abusive pulpit, something is wrong. Which has been the greater problem: women trying to become your senior pastors or pastors misusing or abusing women?
My biggest concern is that what happened with the CRT witch-hunt will happen now in regard to women. The overreach resulted in numerous pastors, teachers and professors dropping the immensely important biblical teachings against racism rather than risk being accused of CRT. I heard from pastors at that time who preached against racism and already had emails Monday morning from people in their congregation accusing them of CRT. Because the difference wasn’t clarified, they lumped all of it into the one category. The aim became: shut every mouth to shut some mouths.
I pled for SBC seminary presidents and leaders to please clarify to pastors and teachers and, thereby, to congregations & students what qualified as CRT and what indeed was the proper and deeply rooted and needed biblical approach to anti-gospel racism.
Crickets.
I see the same potential here. I have never once fought for SBC women to take over church pulpits. I have esteemed and supported the role of male senior pastors. My own pastors would tell you that. If you think I was in the SBC trying to lead a revolution against men, you are clearly not familiar with my materials. What I believed then and believe now is that God has called both men and women to serve their churches and communities and proclaim the gospel. He has poured out his Holy Spirit on men AND on women, calling them to broadcast the good news.
You have beaten the drum loudly about what women in SBC churches cannot do. So, what CAN they do? Clarity here is essential. What is a woman to do who has been gifted BY GOD to teach the Bible, especially if her church has moved to the community group model and there is no Sunday school to teach?
Here is what I see on the horizon. If you leave these matters involving women so vague that it becomes about pastoral roles/actions rather than the title of pastor, it will shift to the subjective rather than objective. I wish I was naïve enough to think that wasn’t the point to some of these leaders but, sadly, I’m not.
What if that senior pastor doesn’t allow a woman on the prayer team to pray over people at the end of the service because he deems she is acting pastorally? What if the pastor sees that a woman’s Sunday school class of WOMEN is getting, in his estimation, a little too big? Can he just decide she acting pastorally and remove her from the role? Can she counsel people with her God-given wisdom and knowledge or would she be acting pastorally? The examples could go on and on. And, of course, I realize many would not use their positions to disesteem women but surely you and I both know countless others would. God only knows how many unqualified, unloving, mean-spirited men are in pastoral positions but the obsession remains the women.
I have no desire to see SBC women leave the denomination. I loved and flourished in that denomination. I want them to be able to flourish in their spiritual gifts. I want them to be esteemed in their serving inside and outside their homes. I want them to be able to serve Jesus and proclaim his glorious gospel.
I know I’m going to get hit here. That’s fine. But you should know I will fight for them to the death. Because I love them. And, yes, whether they love me or not.
I've got a survey of 68K college students.
Two-thirds of the sample say that they never attend religious services.
Among this group, 67% are politically liberal.
3% of college students attend multiple times per week.
61% identify as politically conservative.
I don’t know what to make of prolific people on social media who appear to never have mixed feelings. Who take a certain side, defend a certain position down the line no matter what has occurred. I mean, nothing ever happens to make a person cry foul on their own team? Nothing?? Is there no point when our side has gone too far? I can’t comprehend it. Seems to me that is putting way too much confidence in humans. Nobody’s always right. The thing about straight lines drawn by human hands is how prone they are to get crooked.
It’s time to remember that the church is a place of learning. In an age of deconstruction, disillusionment, and distraction, we can and must disciple Christians into a historic, time-tested faith. My latest at @CTmagazine: https://t.co/VoPSE3FsTk
The discipleship gap:
“We have followed a discipleship strategy of lowering the bar on learning environments…We beg people apologetically to come to a 6-week study, promising it won’t have homework. Yet people want to do hard things.”
Read the article:
https://t.co/VoPSE3EV3M
“Formation always comes before function, and who we are becoming matters more in leadership than what we are accomplishing. Before asking what God is calling us to do this year, it's worth considering who He has been shaping us to be.” ~ Jacki C. King https://t.co/GViQflnc79
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Hi, friends. It came to my attn that the speaker bureau Gotham Artists had listed me as one of their speakers, quoting my speaking fee as $30k. Bonkers. We contacted them and they removed the listing. I do not have a speaker agent, and I do not have a set fee. (1/2)
Don't confuse the profound need and true beauty of deep therapeutic work with a superficial "therapeutic culture." There's a crucial difference: one leads us to redemption amidst brokenness; the other often elevates the self as the supreme end.
We are not our own.
Even the most hidden sin leaves a wake. No sin is truly private—its ripple brings brokenness, loss, and the shattering of innocence. How we respond to sin, in us and around us, shapes whether we sow life or allow death to spread.
The Lord is Jennifer Lyell’s Shepherd. She shall no longer long to see right made of wrong. She has walked through the valley of the shadow of death. She fears no evil, for he is with her and she, with him. His rod and his staff, they comfort her. He prepares a table before Jennifer in the presence of her enemies. He anoints her head with oil. Her cup overflows. Surely Goodness and Mercy have walked her all the way home. She now dwells in the house of the Lord forever.
Pentecost stands in contrast to Babel.
Babel was about the power of man.
Pentecost is about the power of God.
Babel brought division and confusion.
Penetecost brings unity and understanding.
#Pentecost is Babel undone.
The church was never intended to be an instrument of human politics. It was not established to exalt political parties, fallen persons, and social policies. Its one purpose is to exalt and make known Jesus Christ and him crucified. Those who use his name in vain will be judged.
I've been studying Exodus for over a decade. Chapter 23 is not written to offer 7 supernatural blessings to anyone who celebrates the Passover. Here's why: 1/