Mar 10, 2011 | Being a Minister, Encouraging Words
I’ve had the remarkable privilege to serve as one of two senior pastors. Mark Grace, my husband, is my co-pastor at Bill Harrod Memorial Baptist Church—Iglesia Bill Harrod—for almost five years now. Our church is in Dallas, Texas, and we work as bivocational ministers...
Mar 3, 2011 | Encouraging Words
“Hi. I’m Jennifer. And I feel called to be a pastor.” Funny how ministry discernment can feel like the intro to an AA meeting (or at least how they are portrayed in movies and TV). Last week I flew to Atlanta to meet with other Baptist Women in Ministry leaders. In...
Feb 9, 2011 | Being the Church, Encouraging Words, Preaching
I was called to ministry during my junior year in college at a Baptist Student Union conference, and I said, “Yes!” The only problem was that I had no idea what a woman minister looked like. I had never seen a woman pastor, or even a woman deacon, and I certainly...
Jan 27, 2011 | Encouraging Words, Great Women in History
One of the legendary practitioners of Celtic Christianity I have encountered in my class with the Oates Institute is St. Brigid of Kildare. An early leader of the church in Ireland, much of her history is based on hagiography (writing that testifies to the saintly...
Jan 13, 2011 | +Pam Durso, Encouraging Words, Preaching
For five years now, Baptist Women in Ministry has sponsored the Martha Stearns Marshall emphasis–asking churches to invite a woman to preach in February. Last year we had 106 churches in the United States and one in Cuba participate. This time around I have had...
Jan 7, 2011 | Being the Church, Encouraging Words
My daughters, ages four and seven, were playing quietly. Too quietly. As I peeked around the corner, I saw Audrey, my youngest, wearing her sparkly high heels while standing on her step stool. From a big book, she was ‘reading’, “Jesus was born. Mary was his mother....
