Is Feminism a Dirty Word?

In one of the nine breakout sessions, participants of the 2015 Women in Ministry conference gathered together to discuss not only the word feminism but also to discuss what exactly that word might do to ministry in general. 

John Hunt, Director of Baptist Student Ministries of Hardin-Simmons and John Whitten, Pastor for The Gathering of Pioneer Drive Baptist Church moderated the group and posed some very pressing questions.  

“If you want your daughters to have the same opportunities as your sons, or you think that a woman should have the same pay for the same job as a man, you might be a feminist,” said Hunt.  

Both of the men who admittedly felt inadequate to preach on a very female issue, wanted to shed some light on the countless examples of women who led in the Bible, their time with Jesus, and how he treated them.  

Whitten challenged the group to take off the lens that we see women through in our culture, and put the “Jesus” lens on.  “Women still fit in the category of ‘the least of these’,” he said.    

The group was called on to offer real life examples of how feminism in our culture bled into our theologies within the church.  Both women and men alike were able to recall several different scenarios that have played out in their own lives. 

In the end, feminism wasn’t found to be the dirty word but it was the actions of our culture that were called into question and there in lied the challenge to be the voice to help change that culture as not only citizens in our communities, but as ministers in our very own churches.    

For more information on the Women in Ministry Conference visit www.logsdonseminary.org/women-in-ministry/.