go to rhett's blog
Btw- I've heard it said before by friends that "something bothers (them) about women preachers... I mean, I may be inclined to think it's ok for them to preach, but I've never heard a good one, so...it's hard for me to think that they're actually called to preach."
Yesterday in my preaching class we watched various sermons on tape from some of America's top preachers. We watched three males to start... and then Barbara Brown Taylor, a (now former) Episcopalian pastor came on the screen... and it was the most powerful sermon out of the bunch, easily. The room laughed uproariously when Jeremiah Wright (African-American UCC pastor) cracked jokes; it chuckled nervously at Tom Long's wide-eyes as he preached... but it sat in stunned silence as Rev. Taylor spoke of the quiet, unpretentious ways the church actually sometimes manages to do its job by reaching out and loving others, in spite of itself...mostly by telling simple, compelling stories.
I'm not gonna lie... my eyes welled up a bit. She can be my pastor any day...esp. if her pastoral capabilities are half as good as her preaching abilities.
(She's an adjunct prof at Columbia... I hope my friend Whitney gets to take her homiletics from her.)
Posts
3 comments:
Now you know why I was always so enthusiastic about Columbia and why I am doing my D.Min. there.
BBT teaches D.Min. students at Columbia each summer. I have not been able to have a class with her as they fill up quickly as you can imagine but having lunch with her each day gives you the sense that what makes her a great preacher is that she is authentic and integrated in her preaching and self awareness in ways we men never can be.
BTW, I believe BBT is still an ordained Episcopal priest. She just isn't serving in a parish at this time.
So, I don't get to take a class from BBT (as she's lovingly referred to here), bc she mostly teached DMin classes, but I have seen her around campus a bit. My friend dressed up as her fro Halloween (what a seminary thing!) and enfed up having coffee with her. Her newest book 'Leaving Church' is amazing.
Also, a little feminist sidebar: many (BBT inccluded) would argue with your friend's comment and say that a woman's call to the ministry in not determined by the greatness of her sermons or her pastoral care, but by God. A man's call wouldn't necessarily be questioned based on his proficiency as a preacher, and so a woman's call shouldn't be either. I really take issue with the need to "masculinize" the church, as your friend said, because the church is already part of a largely patriarchal system. I don't think the worship of God is at all threatened by "femininity."
Post a Comment