When the search committee from Monroe Corner Baptist Churchย first phoned, Martha said to herself, โThis is never going to happen.ย They are not going to call a woman!โ Nevertheless, she took a riskย and entered the search process with them. To her surprise, she and theย committee โhad a wonderful experienceโ and they โclicked.โ Armedย with worries from her friends that only dying churches call womenย as pastors, Martha wondered what might be โwrong with a churchโย that would call her. Although she looked around and saw โmanyย better preachers, better qualified people,โ somehow the โright placeย and timingโ converged, and the church called her as their first femaleย pastor. Despite the demise of local industries, and the churchโs decliningย membership, Martha still rejoiced: โI knew for women in ministry inย 2001, this is great! I mean this is as good as itโs going to get.โ
–from the introduction to Anatomy of a Schism
Martha’s story is oh so familiar to many new pastors. It’s an emotional roller coaster of doubt and joy, questions and confirmations. Being called to a church for the first time is exciting and ground-breaking forย Martha, a “wonderful experience.” But it is also something less than wonderful when she sees the decline of the community, and she wonders what would be wrong with a church that mightย call her, a woman.
Anatomy of a Schism is about the split that Southern Baptists negotiateย in the closing decades of theย twentieth century. The bookย is also about women who experience the divisions of Baptist life in an immediate way — in their own relationships, stressing their family loyalties, and even in their own minds and bodies. When social bodies are rent apart, the experience is not merely felt byย the organization or institution. The fracturing is also experienced by the individuals caught up in and shaped by those institutions.
Martha’s brief story of calling by Monroe Corner raises questions beyond the Baptist context. What is happening in rural congregations across the US, which are struggling to keep their doors open due to changes brought by economic decline and growing mobility? Why do more and more of these churchesย find themselves pastored by women?
To learn more about Martha’s story and the questions it raises for contemporary pastors, read chapter two of Anatomy of a Schism. And share with us howย your experience resonates or challenges her story here in the comments.
Join us for the launch of Anatomy of a Schismย on May 15 2-4PM at Scarritt Bennett Center, Nashville, Tennessee.
