I am as staunch an advocate for women in ministry as the Southern Baptist Convention is against women and have made my views and the views of our church very clear. I am not in the middle of this argument. I am on a side.
By choosing to pull this recent issue of Gospel Today magazine from its shelves and either refuse to sell it or sell it from under the counter as if it was pornography, the Southern Baptist Convention has not only continued its offensive stance on women in ministry, but have also shocked thousands and thousands of customers and observers by taking an even more rogue and isolationist stance on journalism by this move.
It’s MUCH easier to dismiss what you have not seen or heard for yourself. I have met 3 of the of the 5 women on this cover and have heard all of them speak (some on multiple occasions). They lead some of the best, most effective churches in this country. Period. My eyes and ears along with the testimonies of the tens of thousands of lives that have been transformed under the leadership of these women are not deceived.
Lifeway says it is pulling this magazine because it goes against their core beliefs that women should not be ordained as pastors, but this would lead me to believe, then, that Lifeway and the SBC are stating that no other books or magazines in their bookstores violate those beliefs. Is this true?
Of course it isn’t.
Lifeway felt that the sales of this magazine in their stores was negligible enough to pull it without much loss or fuss, but a simple search of the books on their website shows that they clearly sell books by authors like TD Jakes that strongly support women in ministry and often addresses issues faced by women in ministry in the books being sold by Lifeway today. Will they pull books by TD Jakes or by other popular authors that hold or address beliefs that are contrary to their core beliefs? We’ll see.
Obviously, Lifeway feels very strongly about this and that is definitely a right they are free to hold. I thought that these stores were meant as a resource for all people, but I can personally say that I no longer feel welcome there and neither do thousands of former customers I know. I will exercise my right not to shop there again.
I liked Amazon and Barnes & Noble better anyways. How about you?
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amen. i like the free market economy. i don’t like it, so i won’t shop there!
Not sure I had ever heard of Lifeway before seeing this at ragamuffinsoul.com, but I’m right there with ya on this one. Amen!
Absolutely man. It is a free market economy that allows Lifeway to make this type of decision and protects their right to do so. It is also our right to simply move on and shop elsewhere.
Why, though, does this move by Lifeway still surprise me?
-Shaun & Crew
I agree, I agree, I agree… I read the article on streamingfaith.com about the magazine being pulled. I do own this issue, but I purchased it from Family Christian Stores.
I’m with you Shaun, and I won’t be shopping there. This topic of women in the church makes my stomach tie into knots. I realize people are trying to be faithful to what they read in the scripture. But people take a couple lines of verse and use it justify trampling all over women’s roles in the church. It makes me ill. Thank you for taking a strong stance on this issue and being “courageous” in making a difficult decision.
I am interested to know if there are other stores you choose not to shop at from a social justice perspective, rather than theological, there are many stores out there that still sell clothing made in sweatshops and refuse to give workers fair wages. Burger King just agreed (in the last year I believe) to pay their migrant workers legal wages. Any thoughts?
Thanks Shaun. Did a post on this as well.
I’ll be sure to send this Dr. Hairston – she’ll be glad to see this.
Be easy.
Hey Andrea,
Absolutely. While it is difficult, my wife and I are rather picky about where we shop, eat, etc. to ensure that our money, at the very least, is doing better in some places than it may in others.
Do you do this to?
-Shaun
Yes, I try, it is very difficult at times when I find out a favorite store is still using children to make their clothing. But the only way to call for the betterment of this system is to withhold my money until they fix the problem. So I try to stay informed and on top of this. Although Andy did not like my BK strike! Lol.
Your Great Grandmother was a Pentecostal Minister for 42 years so I can see her giving God praise for guiding you.
Remember to “Pick your Battles”
Love Mom
Love the blog and the post. Maybe they should put the magazine in a plastic wrap with a black bar covering up the picture. I wonder if you have to show your I.D. to purchase it?
Other magazine covers that you will never see at Lifeway:
1) The Holy Spirit Is Moving!
2) Praising God with the Dance
3) John Wesley: The Man, the Myth
4) The Pros and Cons of Dallas Theological Seminary
I’m with you. I won’t be shopping at Lifeway anymore.
Hi Shaun,
Thanks for a great post. As a female pastor, ordained in the Free Methodist church, I sincerely appreciate your support of women in ordained ministry. It’s sad that in the 21st Century we still worry about such things as gender issues.
In the larger scheme of things it seems to me that if we’re concerned about people in our communities, we might consider that women hold all sorts of positions in leadership. Not that we want to follow the world, but taking a stand on a dubious issue that separates us even more from those we’re trying to reach seems, well, un-Christian.
I’ll shop elsewhere too. LifeWay is a great name but their practice does not support the sentiment conjured up by the words Life and Way. Too bad.
Henriet!
Thanks for your comments. Know that you always have a brother in me!
Shaun & Crew