Over the past four years, I have been working towards a Doctorate in Ministery. This degree is different than a PHD in that it is designed to do alongside your fulltime ministry. For three summers and three January's, I spent two weeks on site at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, and then followed up with extra papers throughout the year. I am nearing the end of my dissertation process and over then next week, I am hoping to finish with at least a 120 page document!
This congregation has been so supportive and many of you have sent me messages of encouragement, so I thought I'd share a little bit about my paper and some of my favorite quotes so far.
I am writing about the radical nature of the intersections between motherhood and ministry. The thesis guiding my paper is that these vocations develop the virtues wisdom, patience, charity, courage, and faithfulness in such a way that contributes to the strength and effectiveness of the mother and the pastor. Early in my doctoral degree, I did a sketch and then watercolor of a self-portrait based on a picture that a congregation member had taken of me while we were practicing the set up for communion. I was struck by the parallel of this photo with the many artistic renderings of Madonna and Child. In this image I am both mother and pastor. Writing this paper has been about discovering how God is forming me through and for these callings placed upon my life, and hopefully sharing stories that will encourage and empower ministers in the years to come.
Looking back at historical women preachers, I was surprised to find so many these women were also mothers. Of course, I had read lovely facts about Susanna Wesley (1669-1742), and how she scheduled time during the week for 1 hour of personal time with each of her many children, but I did not know that she also found the time to host Bible Studies of mixed company (men and women) in her kitchen, and she also opened her theology lessons geared towards her children, so that anyone who was willing could hear. Ann Marbury Hutchinson (1591-1643) also taught Bible Studies out of her kitchen and served as a midwife on the side. She had learned the craft and some medicinal techniques from her mother, and she helped deliver many of the children in the young Boston community. She was banished out of the Massachusetts Bay Colony for her heretical teachings, but she and her followers ended up establishing the settlement of Portsmouth, Rhode Island.
My favorite so far has been Catherine Boone, mother of the Salvation Army. I may not agree with her on some issues, but she put a lot of her speeches on paper, and so you can actually read her sermons and lessons. She explains her motivation for evangelism in her Papers on Aggressive Christianity published in 1880 saying, "Satan has got Christians to accept what I may call a namby-pamby, kid-glove kind of system of presenting the Gospel to people." Her words make me laugh and shiver, thinking of the harm that some aggressive preachers have done in pushing people away from Jesus. And yet to that position she says, "Go as you like. Go as quietly and softly as the morning dew. Have meetings like the Friends if you like. ONLY DO IT. Don't let your relatives, and friends, and acquaintances die, and their blood be found on your skirts!!!" This was written in a document read by men and women. Even though I disagree theologically about the spiritual blood spilt, I am empowered and encouraged by her use of a feminine piece of clothing. Her humor and sensational speech was intentional to grab people's attention. She walked the word she talked and people loved her for it, and they changed their lives, men and women, by coming to Christ. She lead with confidence, because she knew who she was and relied on the love God had for her.
Intersectional Theology explores a pathway away from duality towards multiplicity, recognizing that individuals and communities do not reflect identities structured around opposites like black and white, male and female, or slave and free. Each human and community reflect a prism of intersections between personal experience, social structures, and privileges. Grace Ji-Sun Kim, a Korean American Theologian, says, “It is a confluence, a juncture point where identities, locations, institutions, and power flow together creating something new.” Whether I try to switch back and forth between my many identities or interact within the overlap of roles, my preaching and teaching reflect my experiences and perspectives. The work of intersectional theology helps me serve as a whole person instead of feeling scatter brained like a “mad-hatter” constantly changing hats.
Thank you for supporting me through these crazy "mad-hatter" days as I am attempting to complete my dissertation, be your pastor, and tend to my family while utilizing the full extent of my one brain, body, and spirit. As Catherine Booth said, when remarking on the challenges of managing a family and preaching on Sundays, "I did not see in advance, but the Lord, as He always does, when His people are honest with Him, and obedient, opened the windows of Heaven, and poured out such a blessing, that there was not room to contain it." May the Holy Spirit blow through us with grace, mercy, gentleness, and radiance, that we might catch a glimpse of Jesus, mothering us and sending us out to serve.