Such an honor to be mentioned in this powerful article by my friend Mitch Carnell on the Southern Baptist Church’s refusal to ordain women.
Still.
In 2018.
Here is an excerpt:
“Growing up Southern Baptist, my experience with women pastors is limited, but I have been blessed by hearing some of the best: Linda McKinnish Bridges, Amy Butler, Molly Marshall, Joan Brown Campbell, Cynthia Campbell, Julie Pennington-Russell, Susan Sparks and Martha Brown Taylor, to name only a few.
Not only have I been blessed by hearing these women, I have gained so much insight from them.
I regularly listen to and read Sparks, pastor of Madison Avenue Baptist Church in New York City.
She places God in the center of our every action and has a sense of humor and such an awareness of God’s presence in the ordinary that you are compelled to listen and take notice.
. . .
How can you say that God rejects the work of these ambassadors of hope because they dare preach to men?
. . .
All of these women were gifted by God with talents far greater than the ones given to me. I think God brought me into contact with them because they had been given a message I was intended to hear.
I ask myself, “Where would I be in my spiritual journey if these women were not a part of my life?”
Complementarianism belongs on the ash heap of history along with separate but equal.”
AMEN Mitch!
Please take time to read the entire article linked above. It offers a powerful argument supporting women in ministry.
Mitch Carnell is a member of First Baptist Church of Charleston, South Carolina. He is the author of “Our Father: Discovering Family.” His writings can also be found at MitchCarnell.com.