FireFall Vol.4: A Prayer for Margin
Preaching Forgiveness in an Age of Contempt, an old Fuller Magazine, Women in the Evangelical Covenant Church, Conferences + Cohorts Galore, Fun in Outer Space
Tip: Clicking links amplifies women!
It’s a small way to propel women - a digital version of the amplification tactics women staffers strategized when they were being drowned out in the first Obama administration. Takeaway? Amplification strategies take “conscious effort” - but there’s “strength in numbers.”
Even if I don’t have time at the moment to read, watch, or listen, I try to click the link, like, open, or follow - even if I’ll have to revisit it later.
Why? Clicks, viewers, subscribers, open rates all matter to my colleagues professionally. It matters to publishers, event planners booking keynote speakers, and digital marketers monitoring webpage visits. In an “attention economy,” we communicate with our clicks, sending the message that a resource is valuable, this scholar is sought-after, those voices are important.
So: amplify your sisters, click links! Even if you have to wait until later to read it.
For my brothers: Tithe whatever platform and influence you have. One out of every ten posts, re-post, share, comment on, or link to women whose scholarship and leadership you appreciate.
This week’s prayer: God of enough: You tell us Your yoke is easy, Your burden, light. The Psalmist whispers that You set his feet in a wide, broad place, not a narrow, heart-poundingly precarious one. Let us see; receive; live; and protect the margin You want to give us in our lives. Amen.
Preaching Forgiveness & Reconciliation Conference with Mark Abbott Lecture keynote speaker Rev. Dr. Joy J. Moore: “Preaching Forgiveness in an Age of Contempt”
If you’re in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, Seattle Pacific University is hosting this great one-day in-person conference on November 7th (2023) including Rev. Peter Chin, Rev. Mike Thomas, Dr. Joy J. Moore, and others (register to attend in-person).
Put the free public livestream keynote address on your calendar now (November 7th at 6:00 PM PST/7 PM MST/8 PM CST/9 PM EST) because – this keynote title…
“Preaching Forgiveness in an Age of Contempt”
Oof. Rev. Dr. Moore is a gifted communicator and absolutely the right preacher and scholar to tackle this subject that seems pressingly urgent every single day. She names what you struggle to put your finger on, sparking recognition: “Ah! Yes! That’s it!” – then draws your response into God’s story, reshaping it in the context of God’s story. What a gift. (Catch her discussing lectionary readings with colleagues on the weekly Sermon Brainwave podcast and check out this impactful two-minute video of her sharing how calling can grow.)
The evening keynote livestream link will be available soon. (If other conference sessions are recorded or livestreamed, I’ll share them. Hearty thanks to Director of Seattle Pacific Seminary Rev. Ashley Skinner-Creek!)
Browsing a Fuller Magazine spread: Beautiful, Informative, Honoring
If you’re a certain age, you remember the heyday of magazines: thick, good-quality paper packed with adhesive strips of luxury perfume samples – the magazine aisle had its own smell. One good magazine could fill your mailbox with its aroma.
This old digital issue of a Fuller Studio publication makes me long for a mailbox full of magazines. It’s so beautifully, artfully designed that I want to hold it in my hands. It’s from 2014, but the majority of the issue celebrates women in church leadership with evergreen relevance. (Some portions are in English, Spanish, and Korean.)
Celebrates women: there’s a sense of honor conveyed when time, money, artistic talent, translation effort, and editorial savvy are poured out – for women. It doesn’t feel incidental, accidental, leftover, manufactured, or like an afterthought.
That is powerful.
Take this quote, from a pastor who wrestled with self-image and calling after encountering painful hurdles, who eventually established a low-income neighborhood community garden: “Now I know that God has given me my own unique voice,” Deb says. “I tell others who question their leadership: ‘Look at your life, look at the fruit, and let that speak for itself.’” (p.13)
Other compelling reflections include Dr. Zaida Maldonado Pérez on challenges for Latinas in church leadership in North America, Dr. Priscilla Pope-Levinson on women’s roles as institution builders, Dr. Charlene Jin-Lee on women in ministry in the Korean American church, Dr. Catherine A. Brekus on the history of women preachers in the U.S., Dr. Alexis D. Abernathy on women leading in the African-American church; and more, about hurdles women have faced in denominations, women in the Pentecostal movement, and women in chaplaincy and disability ministries.
It's a thoughtful, visually engaging resource. I’m so glad it’s digitized and online – a gesture communicating that most healing of postures: honor.
Are you a paper-and-ink magazine-lover or an e-reader all the way?
Spotlight – Evangelical Covenant Church: Small, Mighty, Anointed
The ECC offers a number of thoughtfully implemented resources on women in church leadership, and the results are powerful. The ECC an American denomination associated with Pietist/Moravian/Revivalist roots; their website also points out, “The Covenant was founded by some of these adventurous Swedish immigrants in 1885 and has become one of North America’s most diverse racial and ethnic denominations.”
A few years ago, the ECC produced this short video celebrating 40 years of women’s ordination:
The Advocates for Covenant Clergy Women (ACCW) “works to help women clergy fully live into their calls. The women and men of ACCW work in advocacy, education, resources, and fellowship to move toward a stronger and more egalitarian Ministerium. ACCW meets at conference and national Covenant gatherings. Women clergy are found in increasing numbers in the Evangelical Covenant Church. As of February 2021, there are 487 active credentialed women (26% of 1858).”
Additional groups engage denominational structure at various levels:
The Commission on Biblical Gender Equality works to “educate people in biblical gender equality; to advocate for justice in the structure of the church regarding gender; to equip the church to articulate the truth about biblical gender equality; and to advocate for the modeling of women in ministry and leadership in all possible venues within the church.”
Women in Leadership “is committed to fully elevating and empowering women in leadership for the benefit of the whole Body of Christ, through authorizing women leaders, advocating alongside survivors of abuse/harassment, and advancing women of color.”
For the congregational level, there’s Project Deborah resourcing as well as the Called & Gifted nine-week study.
“Who are the women in your congregation called to lead? In the book of Judges, God raised up Deborah to lead the people of Israel as a trusted judge, prophet, and military leader. Through Project Deborah we seek to move the Covenant to a place where we recognize, mentor, and celebrate called and gifted women in our midst.”
Project Deborah includes short testimony videos, a study guide, and downloadable workshop discussion questions. Intended to start conversations, access the free Project Deborah workshop video (great for *any* district, board, or congregation) here:
The Called & Gifted Study by Sharon Cairns Mann is a nine-session study shaped toward small groups, classes, church boards. Participants explore “where their own view of women in ministry came from, understanding principles of interpreting scripture, and careful examining of relevant passages.” (Click here for a preview.)
What’s been the outcome of consistently implementing these multi-level initiatives? The Evangelical Covenant Church has comparable U.S. membership and attendance to denominations like The Wesleyan Church – either of which is smaller than the Church of the Nazarene’s U.S. presence.
But women comprise 26% of the ECC’s active credentialed clergy, whereas in 2019, only 9% of women in the Church of the Nazarene are senior or solo pastors (up from 2.6% in 2000).
So while the ECC hasn’t ordained women as long as some other revivalistic denominations, their intentionality and systematic engagement seems to be yielding really healthy fruit.
For more, check out He Nacido Para Este Tiempo (I Was Born for Such a Time as This), a lovely ECC Spanish-language year-long biblical study created by women in Colombia and Mexico. Currently, it is solely available in Colombia.
Conferences, Cohorts, Coaching, Podcasts, Webinars Galore!
Jo Saxton, Danielle Strickland + Cheryl Nembhard, Cynthia Hale, Christine Caine, Andrea Coli, and Kadi Cole + Katie Allred
These are a few of the women who’ve been launching conferences, workshops, mentoring cohorts, podcasts, online communities, preaching cohorts, and networks to equip women for leadership.
Jo Saxton: The Ezer Collective, “a two-day intensive dedicated to investing in women leaders – in all industries and roles – equipping them to use their voice and step into their God-given calling.”
Podcast: Lead Stories: Tales of Leadership and Life with Jo Saxton and Pastor Steph O’Brien
Danielle Strickland + Cheryl Nembhard: Women Speakers Collective, “liberating the voices of women around the globe,” including speaker bootcamps, preaching academy, soul care retreats, a monthly Zoom prayer call for women in challenging global contexts, cohorts, and coaching.
Podcast: Together We Rise with Cheryl Nembhard and Danielle Zapchenk
Cynthia Hale: The Women in Ministry, Inc. Conference, “a 501c3 nonprofit organization…to develop, coach, and mentor Christian women in ministry for the 21st century. The conveners are passionate about the impact mentoring has on the lives of individuals, the communities they serve, and the organizations they transform. They are also motivated by the conviction that ministry is a vocation of public and social significance.” Conferences are held every September.
Bibliography: Digging Hard Ground: Women in Ministry
Christine Caine: Propel Women, “a Christian ministry that comes alongside women as they develop their leadership and potential, helping them to go further and take on new challenges,” including Ecclesia cohorts and coaching developed by Caine and Rev. Tara Beth Leach; leadership webinars, an online leader hub, and discounted enrollment for Propel Women who enroll women in Wheaton College’s M.A. in Evangelism and Leadership program.
Kadi Cole + Katie Allred: She Leads Church, including an annual virtual two-day summit free for those registered (video library of past talks for members) along with an online Facebook group community, cohorts, and fun downloadable lockscreens.
Andrea Coli: Lead Bold, offering conferences (including bring-a-friend discount) and cohorts, welcoming participants of varying theologies, featuring speakers that include ordained women, and working with egalitarian partners like Northern Seminary.
Podcast: Lead Bold
Interdisciplinary Fun: Outer Space! Women at NASA! Psalms! Wonder!
Sometimes, I don’t need to hear about my life. Sometimes I flourish when I soak up wisdom from other disciplines.
If you need to think about something else – if you need space for wonder and awe – this is exquisite:
A few years ago, former Hubble Lab director and NASA astrophysicist Dr. Jennifer Wiseman and Rev. Dr. David Wilkinson, astrophysicist and theologian, presented “Awesome Universe, Awesome God” together to a non-scientist audience at the World Methodist Conference, beautifully blending science and faith, exploring images from space alongside Psalms.
Don’t just listen, you need your eyes for this: let it spark wonder, gratitude, worship.
Here’s the transcript for Awesome Universe, Awesome God. For more on faith and science, kids might enjoy this from the Faraday Institute.
For a deeper dive, aka calling all nerds, check out Rev. Dr. Kara Slade’s book, The Fullness of Time: Jesus Christ, Science, and Modernity, with a foreword by Willie James Jennings; Dr. Slade worked at NASA and she’s an ordained theologian. (Doesn’t the cover feel a little…Gallifreyan…?)
This week, whatever is swirling around you, I pray God creatively stitches margin wherever you most need it - and that you see, and welcome it.