[I received a free electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Brazos Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]
Summary and Review
The full title of this book is Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry. And I found it both fascinating and infurating. It was written by the author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth (a book I own but haven’t read yet.). Beth Allison Barr is an historian and a professor of history at Baylor University.
The book explores the very real phenomenon of expectations at many churches that the pastor’s wife, simply by virtue of her marriage, is the “free labor” bonus to the hiring of her pastor husband. A default volunteer, or pianist, or Sunday School teacher – despite her gifts or call or vocation as an individual. Barr discusses this phenomenon – something she has experienced as a pastor’s wife and something spoken about frequently in certain Christian circles – while also examining 2000+ years of history of women’s roles to and in the Church.
This was a “preaching to the choir” sort of read for me as a woman in a denomination/”movement” that educates and ordains women for service to the Church. She didn’t need to sell me on the validity of women’s ordination, but she did show me mountains of evidence that the QUESTION of women’s ordination and leadership has not existed throughout the life of the Church.
While I was reading this I was also listening to the mini podcast series called All the Buried Women, hosted by the author, Beth Allison Barr, and Savannah Locke. The podcast focuses specifically on the Southern Baptist Convention (a significant player in the discussions in the book), and what the two women found while doing research at the SBC’s archive. Again, a fascinating and infuriating look at history and harm to women done by the Church, specifically the SBC. The podcast is an excellent companion piece to this book (although the podcast does come with trigger warnings).
This book is thoroughly researched and historically anchored and shows centuries of evidence of women in leadership roles in the church based on their own gifts and calling, not only on marriage to a called or ordained man. I am not sure it would convince someone who is already entrenched in the idea that women should not be ordained, but it will provide evidence for those who are looking to back up the practice of ordaining women. This also could be a great resource for instructors who want to explore the issue with those studying for ministry.
Rating: ♥♥♥♥*
*♥♥♥♥ = Great! Might re-read.