Encouraged: For African American Women Ministers

By Wanda C Outlaw

Be encouraged, you are not alone! African American women ministers you stand on the shoulders of those women who have gone before. God hears the cries of His daughters. Our faith, our prayers and shared sacred support are our weapons. We are unified, one unto another. Now is the time to…
Value our worth,

Overcome the patriarchal systems,
Be that sacred support for one another,
Judge less and understand more,
Appreciate denominational differences, and
Be the few in a plentiful harvest.

Encouraged shares the struggles that black women ministers face. The various challenges shared may not be experienced by all but many have walked this walk. It is about loving God and yourself enough to stand strong in what God has called you to do. It is vital across denominational understandings that African American women ministers give sacred support to one another to spread the Good News of the Gospel.

Sisters, be encouraged…you are not alone!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: May 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664173897

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 by Wanda C Outlaw.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 05/11/2021

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Introduction

Ordination

We are God’s Ministers Too

Seen and Not Heard

We Are Not a Patriarchal Playground

Are You My Sister?

Sisterhood

Balance Home and Ministry

Suffering in Silence

The Holy Spirit

Ordered Steps

A God of Justice

Learn the Word Be the Word

Encouraged

References

INTRODUCTION

Black women are beautiful, powerful, brilliant beings. They are a blend of hues that come from a strong heritage. When we come together to celebrate life via retreats, dinners, movie nights or parties we gloriously celebrate life through our laughter, singing and dance. We must never forget how valuable we are to society, our families, to ourselves and to God.

I am Reverend Wanda Outlaw, a black female minister. God defines me, not man, woman or world systems. I am encouraged in all that I have gone through and you should be encouraged too. The world is full of good people doing good things. I was raised to be a servant, to help those who cannot help themselves. Serving takes place in senior facilities, preparing couples for marriage, mentoring ex-youth offenders, feeding the homeless, nurturing and encouraging youth going to college. My mother randomly helped people, she did not talk about it, she just did it. My 5th grade teacher asked the class the question that teachers often pose, What do you want to be when you grow up? I was that quiet child who was always introspective. My response, I want to help people. I received her wrath, frustration and disappointment, That does not say what you want to be. What does that mean?! As the sensitive one, my feelings were hurt and I retreated into myself, my inner quiet room. She fanned me away and continued with the class. Tears in my eyes I told my mother what happened and a day or two after, one of my classmates tapped my arm and said, Your mother is here. Yes, my mom was not having it. The teacher was in the hall with mom and when the teacher came back to class, her face was beet red as she scowled at me. I felt a certain relief because my mom had my back. I knew for some time that I was different, I always say that I am from another planet; it is that in the world but not of the world. My parents knew this too. Looking back on my life, everything that I experienced was preparing me for ministry. The struggles seem to grow stronger making me more durable. Walking around the neighborhood track, a young woman looked at me, we spoke and she said, God really loves you. I thought, yeah God loves everybody. She stared at me again as if she saw something in me or around me. She spoke it two more times, "God REALLY loves YOU." One experience that I did not see coming was my call to ordained ministry. It will be 20 years as a minister in April 2021. I was ordained under a denomination that was more a movement that is not accepted by everyone and I am good with that. My mother was Roman Catholic; my father was Baptist. I wanted the best of both worlds and got it. When I joined the denomination, I came with certain spiritual knowledge through my personal relationship with God. I bonded with a man who became a friend and a brother while we went through formation together but there is nothing like having camaraderie with sister ministers. Going through formation with my brother was fun, informative, humorous and at times difficult but it was great. The elder sister ministers did more teaching as well as hazing reminding us of our place. God began showing me my spiritual gifts and I was like a kid tasting a new flavor in a candy store, where the candy was free. It was a rush learning the sacred seasonal ceremonies and rituals. I found a place for my spiritual writings that were shared within Service. I was where I was supposed to be.

Time brings on a change, life experiences mature us, God affords us the opportunity to see beyond our seeming and what we see can be enlightening. We are put in a position to see the truth of who we are as well as the truth of those around us. What we do with the knowledge is up to us. There were times in ministry where I felt like taking someone out by the shed and beating them senseless. My way of working through personality issues was to blank out. It was my way of letting the foolishness roll off my back. What you will learn is that you may think that what occurs has no effect on you; your body holds the energy, stores the energy and if it is not removed, that energy will seek an escape; if it cannot escape it will ricochet around in your body causing mental, physical and spiritual damage. I have not attended church for about three years, it bothered me at first until I realized the importance of me sitting apart from it. I am in a new season of growth and am loving it.

This book is about lessons learned, sharing them with other black women ministers who think they are alone in what they have suffered; you are not. Challenge pages are included so you can do introspective journaling. This is my effort to help people, specifically, African American women ministers. I guess you are wondering why I am writing this just for African American women ministers. Yes, white women ministers go through some of what is in this book, I am writing from a place of familiarity. I am black and I am writing about the black female experience. It is unfortunate that we live in a country that emphasizes race, it is the culture of the day and it plays out in religious denominations, gender bias included. As black women ministers, we must be cognizant and proactive in what our black brothers and sisters are facing daily. Whites do not always grasp the African American experience that flanks the black community, issues that blacks cannot ignore if we are to do our part in correcting things. A part of white privilege is ignoring the injustices that blacks encounter. There are whites who pray for change but are not as active in the fight. Too often our struggles are dismissed. A good example is when the Black Lives Matter campaign started, the response was, all lives matter. If we were in a perfect world, all lives would matter but through societal policies, laws, systems and narrow minds it is proven that all lives do not matter. When an unarmed black man or woman is killed by the police, there are those who vocalize, if they had not run, if they did not struggle, if they had not yelled and it goes on becoming a justification for murder. As African American women ministers, we preach to the heart of our people. This does not mean that you should not associate with white women ministers but there are issues specific to our community. We need to bond with women ministers who understand the struggles that we face and how to maneuver through the struggles. Prayer is just one way through. The bible also says faith without works is dead. Our ministry demands that by faith, we speak, preach and act against injustice. We also must know how to address the patriarchal dominance in the church as well as learn how to honor one another as black women ministers.

Know that you are not alone in what you have experienced. I want to offer survival solutions where I can. I want to help you release the self-imposed guilt and the doubt that seems to overtake women as they serve. There are other black women ministers who have shared their journey with me and I will include their experiences but not their identities. Scripture, prayer and meditations are included for you to ponder also to encourage you. I will include the scriptures that have gotten me through the muck and the mire. Remember, God called you to serve the least of these, God called you to spread the Good News of the Gospel. God called