Guest Blogger Lisa Pope on Women in the Church

From Esther to Ruth to Priscilla, I grew up learning of the strong, inspirational women of the Bible. And looking around my Baptist church as a child, I saw women teaching Sunday school, directing the choir, preparing communion, leading mission organizations, and even serving as deacons. But I didn’t see them in the pulpit. Women often seemed to be the backbone of the church and many times were the spiritual leaders of their families, but never were they the spiritual leaders of the congregation. The women’s movement and its concerns may have seemed light years away from the Nation’s religious institutions, particularly as a conservative Christian mindset gained prominence in the 1980s and subsequent decades, but yes, even in our churches, we’ve come a very long way.

Today, as I continue to worship in the church where I grew up, I sit in the pew on Sunday morning and look up at our new female pastor. She is our pastor not because she is a woman, not because of the need to make a statement about change, but because she was the best person for the job. Because she makes people excited to come on Sunday mornings. Because she believes our church is open to all. And because even those who had opposed the idea of a woman pastor began to change their hearts and minds once they heard her preach and came to know her as a person.

To me, the most exciting thing about the change at my church is how natural it was. No one left the church. No one voted against calling her as pastor. And no one has protested since she began her ministry. By recognizing the talents and gifts of more than half of our population and opening the doors of ministry to them, our churches can only benefit. When today’s children sit in the pews, look up, and see a female face, it will be unremarkable. More than 40 years after the women’s movement entered our national discussion, that’s the best kind of progress of all.