Jun 15, 2012 | Challenges in Calling
I may as well have been born in a church building. It is where I have spent the majority of my life. I grew up on the mission field in a loving, Christian home, attended a Christian university, and could not wait, after graduating, to set off to Mexico, to be a...
May 17, 2012 | Being a Minister, Challenges in Calling
I was sitting in the carpool line listening to NPR when I heard the story of a Methodist pastor who left her parish and later announced she was an atheist. As I listened to her story, I quickly experienced a dozen reactions: judgment of her for not discussing any of...
May 1, 2012 | Being a Minister, Challenges in Calling
It’s been a busy few months. On February 5, 2012, I accepted the call to be the pastor of Sharon Baptist Church in Smithfield, North Carolina. I spent February and March transitioning out of my position in campus ministry, a ministry I’d been a part of...
Aug 12, 2011 | Adventures in Seminary, Challenges in Calling
Semper fidelis has been the motto of the United States Marine Corps since 1883. It is a Latin phrase that means “always faithful.” The phrase has been on my heart a lot lately because of two journeys–one that is my sister’s and brother-in-law’s and one that is...
May 19, 2011 | Being the Church, Challenges in Calling
I remember sitting in the office of a friend in ministry six months ago when she looked me in the eye and said, “You know, Susan, there is no way you can do this . . . only God is capable of doing something this grand.” In my cynicism (not really...
Mar 24, 2011 | Challenges in Calling, Preaching
I remember the first time I heard a woman preach. I was a freshman at Georgetown College. To be quite honest, I didn’t really like her. Based on what I’d been taught growing up and the male models I had seen as preachers, I felt that she was trying to be something...
