Gifted for Leadership: A Pink Flamingo in a Sea of Blue Herons

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February 13, 2011

A Pink Flamingo in a Sea of Blue Herons

One woman in preaching class

by Suzanne Burden

Entering the room, I looked up to view this semester's preaching class. I mentioned something about the lack of estrogen, to which the professor replied: "You'll need to assert yourself in class." It was then that the truth became evident. I was the only woman in a preaching class of 20 men.

I felt myself becoming unglued. God, you led me to this seminary. It's hard enough to be a woman getting a theology degree, and now I have to put up with a whole semester of men, many of whom don't believe in my call to preach?

I wanted the floor to swallow me up, to take me back to one of the familiar places where I could use some of my gifts without making waves, without standing out like a pink flamingo in a sea of blue herons.

For the first few weeks, the professor used inclusive pronouns that made me feel welcomed. Soon, these dropped by the wayside, probably out of sheer habit. Almost all of the illustrations used were about males preaching, males writing about preaching, males speculating about preaching styles and practices. I found myself wondering if a group of all males can know everything needed to connect with a congregation that was at least 50 percent female.

Bigger questions emerged as the semester continued. Can a woman offer powerful redemptive truth through preaching without acting like a man? After all, the Greek word used for preaching in the New Testament means "to proclaim." Can I learn how to preach in a style that suits me but draws in both genders? What can I learn from these men about sharing God's Word? What can they learn from me?

Preaching from my strengths
Raised as a Baptist pastor's daughter, I grew up listening to men preach exclusively. I unconsciously believed I did not have the authority or presence in my voice or demeanor to command respect. Instead, I was learning that ethos, whether a person believed in your character and that you cared, is the most important element for commanding respect. Further, our preaching evaluation grid stressed facial expression, vocal variety, enthusiasm, and more.

I began to realize that my feminine way of relating was a plus that could help my sermons touch hearts in a distinct and powerful way. In fact, the ability to connect with an audience came naturally to me—the hard and important work would be learning to structure sermons for clarity and memorability, which, for the men in my class, meant providing concrete, specific applications.

I resisted any opportunities to use my sermons as a bully pulpit for a woman's role in ministry. I spoke up often in class, but just as often bit my tongue. I smiled as one guy used feminine pronouns when reading Scripture. I offered distinctly feminine perspectives when preaching. I was just me. Nothing more. Nothing less.

My last sermon provoked an unusual amount of stage fright, but silent prayers lifted to my heavenly Father stilled the storm. Nothing could have prepared me for the words of praise and encouragement the professor offered when I finished. Thank you, Abba, I prayed later. Thank you that when called by you, a pink flamingo can preach the truth of your Word in a feminine and excellent way. Thank you that in doing so you rejoice—and your Kingdom advances.

What about you? In what ways has being a woman given you a unique perspective to preach effectively? What skills and strategies do you use when you are speaking to a mostly male audience?

Suzanne Burden writes marketing and content for Christian publishers and nonprofits while attending seminary. She lives in Indiana with her husband, David, and blogs about her seminary journey at onewomaninseminary.blogspot.com.

Related Tags: gender roles, Preaching, teaching

Comments

Oh my, I've been there!!

It's interesting, after my first sermon in class I was complimented by a guy for being feminine since he's seen women change their ways or try to be butch when preaching.

Then, when I preached at my church for the first time, the sr. pastor commented on how he had to make a mental leap to understand my illustrations because I'm a woman. Not that it was a bad thing, but that he had to consciously do it. Welcome to the world of a woman listener! :)

It can be so intimidating to preach and teach when the audience is mostly male. I did it in seminary, I do it in class at church these days. But I trust that God can use me if the students are willing to hear. I need to be myself and give the message God has for me to give. I cannot control or change anyone's opinion about me. I just need to do what God has for me. That's what I always need to remember.

Interesting. I do believe that God has a sense of humor, especially since I found your article today, the day I preached my very first sermon. Thank you for being open and honest.

As we grow more comfortable using our voices, I believe people also grow more comfortable receiving truth in a feminine way. To be honest, the female evangelism pastor at our church showed me this is possible by her example. I'm forever grateful.

I'm not a pastor but i am a Christian female executive in a mostly male world that is striving to lead in an authentic, female way. I find your words to be oh so relevant and a breath of fresh air! Thank you for your courage and sweet spirit. I believe God is so pleased!!!

I smiled the whole way through reading this article. Specifically, I thought about Acts 2:17-18: "In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy." Something deep within me is saying let it be Lord Jesus that your kingdom will come and that all sons and daugthers will be activily proclaiming the gospel to the glory of your name. Amen!

I love this...love the comments, too. I appreciate your honesty and your wrestling with how we walk that line...finding our true, feminine selves while still proclaiming the message of the gospel for ALL ears to hear.
Thanks for this Suzanne!

This totally resonates with me. I'm a seminary grad, so I've been there! I am pursuing ordination with my denomination, and last week I took a course that will help prepare me for my ordination exams -- and I was the only woman in the class, alongside about 20 men. It was particularly nerve-wracking for me, so much so that at times I found myself doubting my own call and saying, "God, do I really have the strength for this?" I finally came to a point where I realized (once again -- how many times do I have to learn this?!) that if I find my identity in something other than the Lord -- being HIS child -- I'll sink.

It is a difficult, difficult thing to be faithful to one's call when people around you are sure that you are wrong about your call. But the call is from the Lord, not from men (or women) -- and He is the one who will give strength to follow.

Thank you for your faithfulness, and for sharing your journey with us.

I am a blue heron, and a lead pastor. While I am still undecided about women in the role of a sr/lead pastor, I do believe relegating them to women's ministry or nursery has been a hinderance to the church. Women are active in various areas of ministry at our church - including the board of directors and pastoral ministry. It seems unfortunate to me that some women feel they have something to prove, and that some men make it difficult for them to feel any other way.

The article was a good reminder that the Holy Spirit gifts those whom He chooses and, as leaders, we must help make room for them to be heard. Me being a male doesn't qualify me to speak for God - rather He qualifies me by His Grace. Last time I checked, Grace wasn't gender specific.

Btw, thanks for not "bashing" the men; I hope we will return the respect you have shown.

When I read this article I smiled. I am now in a chaplaincy program where i am the only intern and a female to boot. I have no question about my calling. At times it's lonely, but i love the people God has given me to serve, the homeless. I too am a baptist preachers kid. Thanks for sharing remember me in prayer.Looking in expectation to what comes at the end of this journey as i enjoy the season.

What a gift to know all of us are not alone! We may be alone in our classes, or our teams, or our ordination councils, but women around the world are listening for God's call and following His lead. As we do, I've been surprised to find so many men who are cheering us on. Thank you, Willie, for bravely posting here. I love seeing women and men working together for the benefit of God's Kingdom! And BTW, looking back, I wouldn't change a thing about last semester's preaching class. Our heavenly Father is faithful to teach and mold us, perhaps especially when we feel like a fish out of water.

I love the flamingo image and also smiled all the way through this. I'm a just-starting-out baptist lay preacher, but as I work in the computer industry I have plenty of experience of being the only flamingo in the meeting and of making presentations to rooms full of guys in gray suits ! So many of the issues are the same. I firmly believe that all you can do is be yourself - after all thats how God created you and called you.

As for skills and strategies:

make friends with the mike and the sound team, and think about where you are going to clip on a tie-mike when planning your outfit (and put the battery pack...)

Don't shout -it will only make you sound shrill and destroy your credability. You need to learn to increase volume and at the same time drop the tone to add gravitas. (A judge told me that one - she recommended singing lessons).

Don't apologise - don't say or do anything that makes it look like you're unsure of your credability or authority. (You might be, but keep it out of the pulpit and take it to God and your mentor(s).

I find wearing heels and a well-cut jacket is a great help :-) (At work my collegues know a phone call is serious when I stand up and put on my jacket to make it.)

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 KJV

Suzanne... thanks for this inside look into the struggle / obstacles our masculine church culture has put before a wonderfully gifted woman as yourself. I am praying that you will continue in your quest to be all of the minister that God has gifted you to be! May we continue to read Scripture faithfully which clearly sees no distinction between male or female in the Body. And, may this be the day that both our sons and daughters prophecy! Thanks for inviting me into this conversation with you! I will share on my FB wall!

BIBLICAL LEGITIMACY OF WOMEN PREACHERS!
by
Ph.D. Theologian

Please pass on for - FREE!

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=116368568417597

Thank-You for all the positive words in light of a very touchy subject. You provide words of encouragement to all those including the males of how the Holy Spirit moves in each of us in his own way. Keep up your faith in following the Lord in what his will is in your life!

I took several preaching classes in seminary and I always hated the books we read by women about women preaching because it seemed to be that they were saying I had to be a particular kind of women and that I didn't fit. And I argued with these feminist hermeneutics because they rejected scripture. And then I read Preaching as Testimony by Anna Carter Florance. By far the most amazing book I've ever read about preaching. If that is what feminist preaching is then I think everyone should be a feminist preacher.

Wow, what a brave woman! I was worried about taking preaching as well, but at Regent College, the preaching class was probably 60/40 men/women, so I was really blessed to be in a woman-safe environment.

I lol'd at Alison's comment about planning for the clip-on mic and battery pack when choosing your outfit! I totally forgot that one of the times that I preached and ended up clipping the battery pack to the back of my dress's neckline (not comfortable).

I think that the most important thing for any preacher to remember is to be who God made them to be while they preach. Don't put on airs or attempt to channel a favourite preacher. God made Billy Graham to preach like Billy Graham and he made you to preach like you, whether a man or a woman. There are so many more important things to consider when crafting/preaching a sermon that your sex should be the least of your worries. And the church body will be blessed to hear the voices of both men and women from the pulpit.

Learning from and appreciating each of your comments.

@Larhanya-What a great setup...men and women, side by side, learning together how to share the truth of God's Word. We are better together, for sure. Carolyn Custis James coined the term "Blessed Alliance." The way God intended it from the beginning!

I'm glad you were willing to stick it out and let God shape you in the midst of an intimidating situation. Your ability to articulate your own internal processes will continue to be a major way that God uses you to inspire others. I'm encouraged by your perspective as I work with a sea of blue herons. Way to go!

@Christy - To my favorite "Dr." - you continue to help me find my voice through your example. Cheers!

I appreciate all the truths that have been said by everyone. I know some men, who are Leaders think they have the answer to the women's problems, and men as a whole, and the wrong concepts some men hold concerning women preachers. Thank the Lord, it is not the "human male" figure who calls anybody to preach, but God Himself, who is the Authority who has the right to choose whosoever He decides on, and He is the One enabling us women to preach His Word. God is the One who "anoints" the preacher who is called by God, whether man or woman. It is a big mistake for a human being to think that God has made a mistake by calling women to preach His word. I am never intimidated by the male preacher, and I do feel in any way different, preaching to a large or small congregation with both men and women. I know that I have something to speak about because God gives me the messages and the thoughts just flow as I preach His Word. Even if a woman has not been called as a minister of the gospel, she is still called to ministry, and once she knows the Lord as her personal Saviour, then she has quite a lot to offer, as God definitely has a place for her to be in God's service, in nurturing, teaching, counselling, you name it! Thanks for sharing this needed article on the call of God.

Great timing as I just "gave" the message at a church on Sunday for their Pastor's Appreciation service. I can't go for the heels idea as I am already 6 feet tall but I must be me! I'm not a shouter when I speak and I do find emotion usually leaks out of my eyes at some time in a message! I don't remember making apologies for it but just dabbing the running mascara away. I love to minister from God's word and am thankful for the opportunities to do so. We have a woman pastor at my church who is regularly allowed to ministry God's word from the pulpit!

Interesting to me that the "Man of God" who referenced 1 Cor. 14 didn't put his name. Talk to us sir! It is healthy to engage over these difficult passages of the Word!

What enjoyable comments. thanks ladies for being who God created you to be. Unashamedly we need to preach and teach the gospel wherever and whenever God asks us to. We are not ashamed of the gospel.

I am an ordained pastor, leading a congregation with my husband. It is still difficult though and I try to escape preaching because of this issue. awful. some people have even left our church because of the portion in Timothy where women must be silent. Thanks again for the encouragement. I was just speaking to God about it this morning. lol

One of my favorite part of being a woman in seminary was not having to wait in line for the bathroom, and then listening to all the guys complain about the line for theirs! On a serioous note, thanks for this article and thanks to most of the commenters for ther thoughful and encouraging words. It is good to know we are not alone in the struggle to follow God's call to preach!

I was in seminary over 20 years ago (yikes!) and found myself being the only woman in most classes. Seminary certainly was greatly helpful for learning theology, history, etc, and in the basics of putting together a sermon, particularly the research. But... it's taken me a long while to find my own voice as a woman preacher (mostly in the past few years). I've recently discovered that I'm really made to be a story-teller (first person sermons, where I put myself in the place of the Bible character). This wasn't a style I was taught, and not even sure what my prof. would have thought if I'd done it! Don't know how much this has to do with gender, and how much it has to do with just getting comfortable with how God's wired you. Thanks for the article. Loved the pink flamingo!

I like the about comment. I am a lay speaker and have use the story teller preaching style myself. I recently portrayed Marths having been in the upper room on the day of Pentecost. It was priceless to see the congregations face when I reentered the sanctuary dressed as Martha. God gives each of us a preaching style. Just be who you are and he will take it from there.

Ladies:

Just revisited some of the newer comments. Recently delivered a sermon that did not contain three points and overflowed with stories of emotion. I actually had to have another pastor tell me it was OK--that Jesus himself talked in stories, and I should be more than comfortable doing so myself. And I have never been happier with the results! Preaching class is the beginning of a journey, for sure.

And, oh yes, the lack of a line for the ladies restroom in seminary is definitely a plus.

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