African Feminist Theology and Baptist Pastors' Wives in Malawi

Molly Longwe

Description

This book presents a story of the experiences of being church of the pastors’ wives within the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA). Formed in 1970 out of the missionary endeavours of the North American-based Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), BACOMA is a voluntary national association of Baptist churches. Molly Longwe‘s book presents a concise picture of African Feminist Theology and to relates it to the lived experiences of pastors‘ wives in the Baptist Convention of Malawi.

Informations

• Publié par: Luviri Press
• Date de parution: 09 mai 2019
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9789996066238
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

African Feminist Theology and Bap�st Pastors‘ Wives Molly Longwe
Molly Longwe holds a Doctorate in
Gender and Religion and a Master‘s African Feminist Theology
Degree in Theology (African Chris�anity),
both from the University of KwaZulu
Natal, South Africa. She has served as a and
Lecturer at the Bap�st Theological
Seminary of Malawi (BTSM) for fi�een
years. She is now a Lecturer at the Baptist Pastors‘ WivesUniversity of Livingstonia in Ekwendeni,
Malawi, in the Factulty of Theology. She is also an external
supervisor with the Department of Theology and Religious Studies
of Mzuzu University. Dr Longwe is a member of the Circle of
Concerned African Women Theologians. She has published a
number of ar�cles in the area of gender jus�ce and a book on
girls‘ educa�on. In addi�on, she is a pastor‘s wife in the Bap�st
Conven�on of Malawi (BACOMA).
Molly Longwe‘s book manages to present a concise picture of
African Feminist Theology and to relate it to the lived experiences
of pastors‘ wives in the Bap�st Conven�on of Malawi. Molly
Longwe is a member of the Circle of Concerned African Women
Theologians, a pastor‘s wife and a teacher of theology, so she
knows what she is wri�ng about.
Luviri Books no. 15
This book is part of Luviri Press Molly Longwewhich offers a range of books on
religion, culture and society
from Malawi


African Feminist Theology and
Baptist Pastors' Wives





Copyright 2019 Molly Longwe



All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without prior permission
from the publishers.


Published by
Luviri Press
P/Bag 201 Luwinga
Mzuzu 2


Luviri Books no. 15

ISBN 978-99960-66-22-1
eISBN 978-99960-66-23-8



Luviri Press is represented outside Malawi by:
African Books Collective Oxford ([e-mail])

www.africanbookscollective.com

Cover: Josephine Kawejere and Daniel Neumann
Editorial assistance: Jona Hollemann
Cover picture: Pastors’ Wives Training at the Baptist Seminary of Malawi [none
of the pastors’ wives interviewed in this book is represented in this picture.]
Printed in Malawi by Baptist Publications, P.O. Box 444, Lilongwe


African Feminist Theology
and
Baptist Pastors' Wives
in Malawi
Molly Longwe

Luviri Press
Mzuzu
2019



Contents
Introduction 6
Chapter 1: Being Church. A Feminist Ecclesiology 10
Feminist Ecclesiology 15
The Church as the Bride of Christ 32 the Body of Christ 33 a Servant 34
Alternative Feminist Models for an Inclusive Ecclesiology 38
Chapter 2: Being Human. Feminist Theological Anthropology 47
African Women's Theologies: An 'Irruption within an
Irruption' 47
The Socio-historical Development of the Circle 49
Feminist Theological Anthropology 56
Alternative Feminist Models of Theological Anthropology75
Chapter 3: Baptist Doctrines and their Influence on Malawi
Baptist Convention Women 81
Introduction 81
Historical Developments 82
The Doctrine of the Priesthood of all Believers 85
Baptist Teachings on Women's Roles in the Church 102
The Feminist Response and an Alternative Model 115
Chapter 4: Research Design: Methodology and Methods 118
Review of Documents 136
Data Analysis: Process and Methods 137
Methodological Limitations 141
Ethical Considerations 142

4
Chapter 5: The Call to Ministry and its Implications for the
Theological Training of Pastors' Wives in the Baptist Convention
of Malawi 146
The Call to Pastoral Ministry: A Comparative Analysis 147
The Theological Education of a Pastor's Wife in the
BACOMA 161
The Challenges Experienced by Pastors' Wives 166
A Feminist Interpretation of the Call to Ministry 168
Chapter 6: The Roles and Challenges of a Pastor's Wife in the
Baptist Convention of Malawi 174
The Roles of Pastors' Wives in the Church 174
Pastors' Wives as Supporters of their Husbands' Ministry 186
The Roles of Pastors' Wives in the Home 193
The Challenges Faced by Pastors' Wives 199
Feminist Perspectives on the Roles of Pastors' Wives 206
Chapter 7: The Experiences of Domestic Violence by BACOMA
Pastors' Wives 209
Gender-based Violence: A Global Problem 209
The Types and Sites of Gender-based Violence 212
Stories of Domestic Violence: Two Case Studies 216
Feminist Reflections on Domestic Violence 226 Alternative Models of Marriage 234
Chapter 8: The Pastors' Wife’s Self-Understanding 238
A Synthesis of Perspectives and Experiences 239
Bibliography 253
Appendix 1: Pastor’s Wives Participants 277
Appendix 2: Church Member Participants 278
Appendix 3: Pastors’ Wives’ Curriculum at BTSM 280
Appendix 4: Books for the BTSM Wives’ Curriculum 281

5
Introduction
This book presents a story of the experiences of being church of the
pastors’ wives within the Baptist Convention of Malawi (BACOMA). I
write this book as one who has been brought up in the Evangelical
theological tradition of the Baptist Convention of Malawi, one of the
largest groups of affiliated Evangelical congregations in Malawi. Formed
in 1970 out of the missionary endeavours of the North American-based
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), BACOMA is a voluntary national
association of Baptist churches. One of her distinctive marks is freedom
of choice in matters of faith and ministry according to the Baptist-held
principle of the priesthood of all believers. This doctrine rests on the
notion that every believer has freedom of direct access to God through
Christ; freedom to express faith through ministry, worship, and
theological understanding; freedom to read and interpret the Bible. Thus,
every believer has the same privileges and responsibilities. The book has
therefore been written within the framework of the priesthood of all
believers but from a Christian feminist perspective to show that a
BACOMA pastor’s wife does not enjoy the same freedom and privileges
as her husband and other church workers.
I noticed that the BACOMA still had a number of issues to grapple with,
in terms of gender justice and equity. For example, the ordination of
women remains a contentious issue, albeit this is not the focus of this
book. In this book, I have attempted to look into the position of Baptist
pastors’ wives in BACOMA. As a lecturer (then) in ministerial training at
the Baptist Theological Seminary in Lilongwe, I had many opportunities
to interact with student pastors and their wives. In addition, my
involvement in the church through pastors’ fraternal, associations and regional
meetings also gave me opportunity to listen to the successes and
struggles of the pastors, especially of their wives in ministry. It is on the basis
of this solidarity that I identify myself as an African woman struggling to
understand, analyze and transform from within the patriarchal systems
and structures that relegate women to subordinate positions in church
and society.

6
I have based this work solidly within feminist ecclesiology to analyze the
pastors’ wives’ experience of being church especially with regard to the
Baptist doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Feminism is both a
movement and a theory within liberation theology which is not only
opposed to discrimination, but seeks equality and justice among all
regardless of gender, so that the church can be a liberating and a
lifegiving environment for both women and men. For even with their
numerical strength, women’s experience of being church has been
severely limited by the patriarchal structures and teachings of the
church. Feminist ecclesiology is therefore one of the ways in which
women speak about their being church and their embodying the divine
in the world. A feminist analysis of the key principle of the priesthood
of all believers and the individual freedom to be and to do according to
one’s own gifting and calling shows a certain resonance. However, the
book reveals a number of inconsistencies in Baptists’ understanding and
practice of this principle, especially with regard to the identity and roles
of pastors’ wives. In particular, I identified three issues.
First, pastors’ wives are as much involved in pastoral work as that of
their husbands. Indeed, they play an important role in pastoring the
thriving women’s groups in the churches. In addition, they play a very
significant support role in supporting their husbands both in the church
and in the home. But how much recognition or appreciation do they
receive for their agency in their work.
Second, according to the Baptist-held do