Midwives of a Movement

Twenty-six years ago this month, my family headed west from Nashville on what would ultimately become a 5,717.6-mile road trip through 16 states. (I obviously kept a detailed travelogue.) On this ambitious summer vacation, we visited ten National Park Service units: Petroglyph, Pecos, Great Sand Dunes, Mesa Verde, Arches, Canyonlands, Dinosaur, Devil’s Tower, Mount Rushmore, and Badlands.

Between Canyonlands and Dinosaur, we spent a night in Salt Lake City, a stop planned to coincide with the national annual meeting of Woman’s Missionary Union. At the time, I was wholeheartedly involved in the work of WMU within my church, my association, and my state; I also wrote regularly for one of WMU’s national publications. Although I would not be able to attend the annual meeting in its entirety, I was eager to hear Tony Campolo speak at the Monday evening session. His prophetic voice was opening my heart and mind to fresh ways of thinking about Jesus and the radical mission of God.

In June 1998, I was still nine months away from sensing the Spirit of God’s call to go to seminary. Looking back, I can clearly see how my experiences in WMU as a young woman prepared me for what was to come. The women of WMU were the ones who not only helped me to recognize my spiritual gifts and leadership abilities, but also provided me with opportunities to use them. The women of WMU were the ones who taught me how to pray and serve others. The women of WMU were the ones who taught me to trust the Spirit’s prompting.

Making my way to WMU’s space at the Salt Palace Convention Center, I felt uneasy as I passed through the throngs of Southern Baptist men who were conversing in clusters in the hallways. Although I did not fully understand the dynamics of the conservative resurgence that was underway within the denomination, I was aware that the convention would be voting on an amendment to the Baptist Faith and Message the following day which would codify a patriarchal hierarchy within family life.

The theme for WMU’s 1998 annual meeting was “Peace Builders,” but I no longer felt at peace within the Southern Baptist Convention. When the SBC met two years later, messengers approved an updated version of the Baptist Faith and Message clearly stating that the office of pastor was limited by Scripture to men. In June 2000, I was studying Greek during my first summer semester at seminary. Although my stunted vocational imagination did not permit me to imagine that I might be called to serve in a pastoral role, I knew several Baptist women who did sense that divine calling. Where would they find places of service? Would they have to leave the denomination of their childhood?

This week when the Southern Baptist Convention gathers in Indianapolis for their annual meeting, messengers from churches across the country will once again be voting on an amendment that denies the pastoral gifts of women. This amendment calls for churches that affirm, appoint, or employ women as pastors of any kind to be disfellowshipped.

This morning Baptist Women in Ministry began streaming “Midwives of a Movement,” a documentary which recounts the stories of Southern Baptist women who were active in the early days of the women’s movement within the SBC in the 1970s and 1980s. This thought-provoking documentary provides a much-needed counterpoint to the restrictive narrative promoted by the SBC.

I have watched this documentary twice - at the premiere last fall during BWIM’s 40th anniversary celebration and at a screening at my church this spring. The first time I viewed the documentary, I felt inspired by these courageous women. Their efforts led to the creation of Baptist Women in Ministry, another organization that has helped me to live into my calling. The second time I watched the documentary, I felt intensely sad, because I was reminded how much work remains to be done to create gender equality among Baptists.

If you watch “Midwives of a Movement,” you will notice the impact that Woman’s Missionary Union had on many of BWIM’s founding mothers. As children, they participated in Girls’ Auxiliary, WMU’s mission education organization for girls. Through GAs, they learned to pray and to serve. Through GAs, they were empowered to be a part of God’s work in the world. When they grew up, they learned that there were limits to how they could serve within the Southern Baptist world. Their giftedness was denied. Their ability to “correctly” discern God’s calling was questioned. The Spirit was quenched.

At the beginning of a week where Baptist women will hear marginalizing messages, I give thanks for WMU and BWIM. I am deeply grateful for the women within these organizations who helped me to recognize my giftedness, who encouraged me to trust the Spirit’s prompting, who affirmed my God-given calling. May I do the same for others in the days to come.

Invitation to wonder: Who are your spiritual role models? What is the Spirit saying to you today?