Now That I’m Called Turns Two: Lifting Up the Voices of Black Women

Two years ago, Now That I’m Called: A Guide for Women Discerning a Call to Ministry was birthed. One of my prayers for the book has been that I would be able to be an encouraging voice (perhaps for some the only encouraging voice) to women to pursue the ministry that God has given them. My greatest reward from the book has been hearing from and meeting women who read my book and for whom the book gave them that extra encouragement to take the next step. I think of women who started seminary after reading the book, women who decided to pursue ordination after reading the book, women in seminary who felt empowered to keep going after reading the book, and the list goes on. What a privilege! What a blessing. Thank you to everyone who has supported and encouraged me and has helped get the message of the book out, namely that God calls women to gospel ministry and the Church needs God-called, theologically trained women in ministry.

As we have watched the events unfold over the last month and more concerning the violent deaths of African American men and women: Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd, like you, I’ve experienced a range of emotions: anger, sadness, frustration, etc. I have been processing, listening, learning, lamenting, repenting, praying, talking with others, etc.

We have seen in the church the negative effects of a Platonic gospel in which the spiritual is divorced from the material, here and now, on the ground reality. Paul preached that Jews and Gentiles were one in Christ, then he had them eat together as proof of that oneness. It is not enough to preach or to say that whites and blacks are one in Christ and then to ignore the racial injustices African Americans face. The spiritual has material implications. This is the gospel of Jesus Christ that Paul preached and lived out.

A few weeks ago, I created a new page on my website called Resources, which (over time) will contain multiple resources to aid women in ministry. The first resource on this page is a growing list of female scholars. I hope you will familiarize yourself with these women and their scholarship.

Today, in this anniversary post, I want to highlight and recommend a few black female scholars, preachers, authors, and leaders. There are so many more than this short list, but my hope is that this list can be a beginning place for some of you. I encourage you to diversify the authors you read, the preachers you hear, the voices that speak truth to you, not just in gender but in race and ethnicity as well, as they will help you to see Scripture in ways that you can’t see because of your cultural context.

So in celebration of the book’s 2nd birthday, meet these six amazing women:

1. Cokiesha Bailey Robinson, associate dean of Student Diversity and Inclusion of Grace College and founder of Cross Spring Ministries

   You may recognize Cokiesha’s name from Now That I’m Called as she was one of the featured stories. We met when we were students together at Beeson Divinity School. She is an amazing woman of God, gifted preacher and teacher, and true friend. Listen to her on YouTube, read some of her works here, here, and here, and connect with her on Facebook and Instagram @cokieshabaileyrobinson.

2. Mignon R. Jacobs, Old Testament scholar
   Mignon is an Old Testament scholar who has served on the faculty of Fuller Theological Seminary and Ashland Theological Seminary. She has written a commentary on Malachi and Haggai for the New International Commentary on the Old Testament and has done important work on Micah, Israelite prophecy, and the Genesis narrative called: Gender, Power, and Persuasion. Explore her books here and listen to her here and here.

3. Elizabeth Mburu, associate professor of New Testament and Greek at International Leadership University, Africa International University and Pan-Africa Christian University in Nairobi, Kenya
   Elizabeth was the first female Ph.D. graduate from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 2008 and was honored by SEBTS in 2019. She is the African regional coordinator for Langham Literature and is a curriculum evaluator for the Association of Christian Theological Education in Africa in addition to her role as professor. Learn more about her, including the books she has authored, here and here, listen to her here and here.

4. Patricia Outlaw, pastor of Oak Grove AME Church in Florence, Alabama, and the dean of the Nichols-Thomas-Grady Clergy Institute of the African Methodist Episcopal Church’s 9th Episcopal District
   Patricia was one of my professors at Beeson Divinity School. She is a licensed psychologist (Ph.D.) and a seasoned pastor. She was the associate professor of divinity at Beeson teaching pastoral counseling from 2001-15. She is the first African American woman and the first African Methodist Episcopal clergy person to serve on Beeson’s faculty as well as the first female graduate of Beeson’s D.Min. program in 2002. Dr. Outlaw is the author of Soul Food for Hungry Hearts published by Gateway Press (2005). One of the best sermons I have heard was given by Patricia in chapel here. You can also listen to her here and here.

5. Latasha Morrison, founder and president of Be the Bridge ministry
   Latasha founded the non-profit ministry, Be the Bridge, in 2016 to encourage racial reconciliation. Read her book. Listen to Latasha here. Follow her on Twitter.

6. Trillia Newbell, Director of Community Outreach for the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
   In addition to her role at the ERLC, Trillia is an author, teacher and speaker, having done much work with The Gospel Coalition. Explore her contributions with TGC here. Listen to her here. Find a list of her books here. Follow her on Twitter.