In the fall of 2024, we embarked on a spiritual journey of discerning God’s call upon us as a congregation. The resulting big-picture clarity of being called to be a church that radically pursues loving like Jesus has served as the core impetus for what we have been and continue to strive to do in the world. If you need a refresher on that whole journey, you can check out more here: https://fbcaiken.org/about/bold-faithfulness/.
We did not just leave things at one big-picture statement, however. We dug down and tried to discern who God was calling us to be in a variety of specific places in our church life. There were many things that we named in that process, but one that has been on my mind these past couple of weeks has been the following statement:
In telling the story of who we are as a different kind of Baptist church, we will not be consumed with naming who we are not, but will become better at claiming who we are as a church that affirms women in ministry, that honors diverse theological and political perspectives, that sees questions as beneficial to growing in faith, and that affirms the human dignity and image of God within all people.
I am certain this statement has been on my mind because a certain denominational entity that we are no longer a part of has once again been litigating the place of women in ministry. However, in line with our sense of call, I’m not going to waste a bunch of energy there. Rather, I want to take a moment to celebrate some of our history of affirming women in ministry and in all areas of church leadership.
Our church has called women to serve in key roles since 1960, when Sara Posey began twenty years of service in professional support for Christian Education. She was followed ably by Vicky McCullough and Ellen Looper as consecutive Directors of Children’s Programs. Women were hired as Ministers (or Pastors) beginning in 2000 when Rev. Sheree Jones was hired as Associate Minister (2000-2006), and then Rev. Mary Carol Anderson (Associate Minister for Student Programs 2008-15), Rev. Amy Sterz (Associate Minister in Christian Education, 2008-15), Rev. Megan Doud (Minister of Students and Missions, 2016-21), and Rev. Sarah Laurence (Minister of Youth and Pastoral Care, 2021-Present).
Since 1995, our church has affirmed the right of women to serve as Deacons, with a change in the By Laws to that effect in September, and the election of Jane Talbert as the first woman in December of that year. A number of women have ably served in that role in the ensuing years and have long served on all committees and as committee chairs. Our church also joyfully ordains women who are called to and equipped for ministry, most recently ordaining Rev. Holly Strother to gospel ministry. Additionally, we have offered Bible studies on the topic of women’s leadership along the way to remind ourselves that this is not simply a social issue but is a calling we can trace in scripture together.
As I said in a sermon recently, “we do not prize men over women or women over men, all are equal in God’s kingdom and called to live out the gifts that God has given them, whatever those gifts may be.” I am grateful to be the pastor of a church that not only believes this but seeks to live it out as we do our best to love like Jesus!
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