Magazine Pulled from Shelves

RALEIGH, N.C. — What was supposed to be an honor — a cover story about a group of successful women pastors — has instead been tarnished for a Durham non-denominational church leader.

Sheryl Brady, the 48-year-old pastor of The River Church, was featured among four other women pastors on the cover of Gospel Today, a Christian lifestyle publication based in Atlanta. The article, titled “Women Pastors: Breaking the Glass Ceiling,” was pulled from the shelves of LifeWay Christian stores because it upset the owner — the Southern Baptist Convention.

The convention believes the position of pastor is reserved for men. “I respect the theological debate about women in leadership and the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to disagree, but to deny Gospel Today the right to freedom of the press to cover it and discuss it is alarming,” said Brady, who preaches in the Pentecostal tradition of prophesy, healing and speaking in tongues.

The Detroit native and her husband, Bishop Joby Brady, travel widely on the Christian conference and seminar circuit and grabbed the attention of Gospel Today founder and publisher Teresa Hairston.

Hairston said she was impressed with Brady’s dynamism.

“I was absolutely shocked,” said Hairston, when she learned last month that LifeWay and its 150 stores nationwide was pulling the September/October edition.

The chain is a major distributor, but the magazine is still widely available elsewhere.

A spokesman for LifeWay Christian Resources based in Nashville, Tenn., said the magazine story was contrary to the Southern Baptist denomination’s statement of faith and therefore stores were asked not to promote it. Customers may ask for a copy of it at the counter, said spokesman Rob Phillips.

Having been a member of a SBC congregation in Texas, as well as having been ordained in the denomination, this story is interesting to me.  I do know where I stand on women in the senior pastorate… but I am not sure where I stand on censorship.  Or, perhaps I do.  Do you?