I am a pastor. I am mother. I am wife. I am a sister. I am so many things. And all of those things G_d has known since He knit me together in my mother's womb. I refuse to lose or give up my femininity because I have been called by G_d to a position that has been unreasonably hijacked by a man-made, male-dominated enterprise for a really long time. I constantly have to defend my role. I hear things like, "Oh, you're a female pastor?" "I didn't know that women could do that," almost daily. I'm asked about what I'm wearing, when I'm going to cut my hair off, if I should show pictures of myself in workout clothes or a swimsuit. I've had men comment on my being pregnant and how it stresses them to have to see their pastor pregnant. (WTF? I don't even know what to think about that one?)
Well, pardon me, but let me be blunt.
It is the dumbest thing in the world to ask me if I'm a female pastor. Do you ask a male pastor if he's male? Do you tell a male pastor to wear a shirt when he's swimming? Do you ask a male pastor to cut his hair because it's too seductive long? Do you even comment about a male pastors outfit on any given day?
Why should I have to hashtag things like #thefemalepastor or #femalepastorsrock? Isn't it obvious? Apparently not! So here's my knew hashtag which I hope points to the stupidity of this all - #PastorWithoutAPenis
Here's the thing. G_d knew I had girly parts. When he called me, G_d knew that I do not have a penis, but instead a vagina. I fought with him for years over that simple fact because I believed the bad theology that was pushed on me. And here's the thing, I am certain that many of you are uncomfortable with me even talking about this, let alone using anatomically correct words to describe physical body parts that were created by G_d, which only adds insult to injury. And some are probably thinking that this bluntness is exactly why females shouldn't be pastors. It sucks that you feel that way, but here I am running passionately after G_d, refusing to give up who he created me to be.
