Ordained to Prophetic Ministry (by Jim Wallis)
Tuesday evening, Virginia Lohmann Bauman was ordained to the ministry at First Baptist Church in Granville, Ohio. Gini (as we know her) is Sojourners' Ohio Field Organizer. In her ordination paper for the American Baptist Churches, Gini wrote:
My faith journey began in my childhood and continues to evolve in wonderful and challenging ways. I am a preacher's kid, a wife, a mother, a lawyer, a mediator, a minister, an ecumenical bridge-builder, and a child of God who feels called to preach the good news of Jesus Christ and to serve God and the church through prophetic ministry and advocacy.
I had the privilege of participating in the service, along with several other staff members. It was truly a memorable occasion, full of the special joy I always feel when women are ordained to ministry, after long being excluded from church leadership. I was especially struck by the reflection by Dr. George Williamson, Gini's former pastor and a key mentor in her life and a long-time friend of Sojourners. George spoke about Jeremiah, Gini's favorite prophet, and his call to prophetic ministry. With his permission, I share it with you.
ON BUYING A FIELD IN ANATHOTH
A mentor's reflection upon the ordination of Gini Lohmann Bauman
by George Williamson, Jr.
Gini said for me to speak to prophetic ministry with reference to Jeremiah. Okay. Jeremiah clearly says prophetic ministry's a damn fool thing to do. It's certainly not something you choose to do. You get chosen - like being entered against your will in the divine lottery, and losing. In which case, he would have you beg to get out of it, and failing that, whine and complain to God.
Jeremiah, you know, was not a happy man, because the depth of human wretchedness revealed itself to him. He was not a married man, because who would marry him? He was not a pretty man, or pleasant to know. But he had a huge voice, like a volcano, stored in soul barrels between eruptions. His images got under peoples' minds and gnawed on them. He was a prophet. Everybody knew he was a prophet, and mostly left him alone.
Jeremiah never did any good. His first prophecy was of invasion by a mysterious "foe from the north," which never happened. He joined King Josiah's religious reformation, whose politically appointed revolutionaries didn't need him. Anyway, he decided it was a cover for rampant injustice, and as it became law, he came out against it. He got ordained, but was defrocked and disfellowshipped for preaching unbearable sermons. So he preached from the temple steps, and was jailed.
The king made war with Babylon, ancient Baghdad; its king, Nebuchadrezzar, an ancient Saddam Hussein. Jeremiah called Saddam/Nebuchadrezzar "servant of God," not because he was good, but because, like Saddam Hussein, he stood up to the self-proclaimed "people of God" - who, Jeremiah said, had forsaken their calling. Jeremiah fastened an ox yoke to his shoulders, a bulky new appendage to an already considerable frame, and for three years jostled irritated passersby on narrow streets with four extra feet of shoulder, saying they were "yoked" to Saddam/Nebuchadrezzar because of their moral apostasy. And when the Babylonians surrounded Jerusalem, Jeremiah made daily rounds about its wall, calling to soldiers to surrender! He was clapped into the stocks; then in prison; then, finally, now aging, was dropped unceremoniously into a clammy cistern, the stone lid clapped thunderously closed on light and day forever, the three cannibals - hunger, thirst and creeping mud - let loose to divide the spoils of his sorry life.
He almost had one success. Zedikiah, a later king, was awestruck by Jeremiah, even in his ultimate insurrectionist and swashbuckling treason. As the Babylonian siege tightened, Zedekiah secretly hauled Jeremiah from the cistern and asked how to appease God. Free the slaves, Jeremiah said. So he did. But the slaveholders were apoplectic, Zedekiah relented, and Jeremiah's one prophetic achievement was revoked.
Sick of a long life of failure and abuse, Jeremiah resolved to quit making prophetic outcries, but even failed at that. He said the divine indignation was like a fire, shut up in his bones, and he couldn't keep quiet.
Gini, Jeremiah would say, you don't have to do this. You went to law school and have something to go back to - unless, he'd say, like him, you have the fire in your bones and are weary from holding it in. In which case he'd say,
God help you.
Buy a field in Anathoth, he'd say. Here's the story about the field in Anathoth. The Babylonians had long since laid claim to Jeremiah's home town, Anathoth, and had destroyed it. Nonetheless, he hocked everything he had and bought his cousin's abandoned field. He said, in God's surely coming, eschatological future, the reign of God will come in this land. And sure enough: 2700 years later, despite our violent, greedy, ecologically disastrous age, at or near Jeremiah's field is a socialist kibbutz doing subsistence farming.
Gini. If you persist, against Jeremiah's advice and mine, in this insane calling, you'll be buying a field in Anathoth; cashing in a perfectly decent life to live, not according to the realisms of frustrated and frustrating history—but after the siren call of God's surely coming future.
"I set you this day," said God upon calling Jeremiah to prophetic ministry, "over nations and empires" - the company, we might point out, of world-conquerors and megalomaniacs. Jeremiah would know nothing at all sophisticated about nations and empires, nor set foot in any of them. But his name - Jeremiah - would become a title, worn by a very long succession of Jeremiahs dogging the rulers of nations and empires for 2700 centuries. King Saddam/Nebuchadrezzar, the most powerful ruler of his time, never even heard of Jeremiah. But I'll say this. Twenty seven hundred years later, we would never have heard of Nebuchadrezzar, except for his minor role in the story of Jeremiah the prophet, of whom we've certainly heard.
Gini, unlike most prophets - who generally rejected priests - Jeremiah was ordained, as you are about to be. So we, in the name of God, will set you over nations and empires. We'll commission you to the success record of Jeremiah, who didn't accomplish a thing - except to leave the echo of unavoidable, unsilenceable, undeniable, uncompromising truth in the lying cacophony of political history.
Among the prophets, Jeremiah is most famous for his eloquent whining at God for getting him into this. From your new perch up there, over nations and empires, you're entitled to whine at God. As a text for your whining, I recommend the powerful, self-pitying prayers of Jeremiah.
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Comments
As a single woman with a head full of crazy ideas, I find this strangely and incredibly inspiring...
Posted by: Kimberly | December 6, 2007 3:46 PM
A beautifully explicit and honest portrayal of the prophet's lot. I loved it.
Posted by: John | December 6, 2007 4:26 PM
I live near Gini and, at 63 and after a life-altering experience, I feel the "the fire in my bones" and I am so very weary from holding it in.
Posted by: Kelli | December 6, 2007 4:36 PM
What powerful words are repeated here! What are the words that God calls prophets to repeat? There are so many words that people convince themselve come from God. Surely they are not all God's words!
I pray that the words called forth will help make God's love for ALL people real in our world. I pray that words that divide me from you, accept you and damn me, praise my beliefs and condemn yours, justify me using and hurting and discarding you for my pleasure or gain or power, remain silent. I pray that we stop worshiping the words and live the Word.
Children of Abraham are commanded to love God and neighbor as self. It's a simple standard, yet complex. If my action in life - at work, at worship, at home, in politics, in town - diminishes my neighbor, then I'm commanded to not do it. I'm commanded to live all parts of my life in love of the other, affirming the other, no matter who, what, when, where, how distant, how dangerous, how embarrasing, or how great the cost.
Who is this neighbor whom I must love? No parsing here! If it isn't every single human being, then isn't this all just a silly joke?
No wonder so many words are thrown about to justify our not loving! No wonder so many words spew from pulpits to justify hate, separation, greed and war. Help me, Lord, because I can't do it. It's too unpleasant. It's too scary. It's too hard
But I know that your Word is love, always love, only love.
Posted by: JWH | December 6, 2007 4:42 PM
JWH--Yes, there certainly are a lot of words used to "justify ... using and hurting and discarding ... for my pleasure or gain or power." It seems to me that the best way to "live the Word" is to put one foot in front of the other and keep on going. Blessings on your journey--
Posted by: EAB | December 6, 2007 5:36 PM
Powerful. What a reminder. We ALL need to be reminded of what a true PROPHET does.
Posted by: Ester | December 6, 2007 5:38 PM
There is a reason why he was known as the "weeping prophet." I prefer master Ezekiel but Master Jeremiah and Isaiah are the standard bearers for divine prophecy. Master Jeremiah was the one that bore God's heart for a fallen country and he was/is beautiful. Thank you for your words.
p
Posted by: payshun | December 6, 2007 7:20 PM
Courage, truth, weeping, prophecy. They seem inextricably connected. Perhaps we all weary from holding it in. May we find the will to let it go, and become who we are.
Posted by: Martin | December 6, 2007 8:24 PM
The story of Jeremiah is being played out today in many places, many ways. Speaking truth to power continues to be the same risky business it always was. This applies not only on the wide stage of public affairs, but even in private discussions, where your friends and loved ones don't want to hear all that "negativity". I see this as one of the failings of the "silent majority" of Americans who are fed up with the moral corruption the right wing has inflicted on our country (likewise, a failing of the "silent majority" of Muslims who are sick of the damage done by their fundamentalist hatemongers) but don't want to listen to Jeremiads.
Posted by: Edward Syrett | December 6, 2007 8:25 PM
BTW, I was not spamming when my message got posted several times. Each time but the last, my browser told me the request had timed out, so I got no feedback indicating that the post actually succeeded, and hence retried the operation. Thus I found out why several other people seemed to have posted their messages multiple times. Live and learn...
Posted by: Edward Syrett | December 6, 2007 8:44 PM
"Gini, unlike most prophets - who generally rejected priests - Jeremiah was ordained, as you are about to be. So we, in the name of God, will set you over nations and empires."
Maybe the Baptists will set a woman over nations and empires, but a woman will not be set to rule or preach to God's people in this dispensation, because the Almighty has not willed for such to happen. I Cor. 14:"[34] Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
[35] And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.
Also, in I Tim. 2 we read:verse [9] In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
[10] But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works.
[11] Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection.
[12] But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.
So what manner of spirit is leading this worldly woman to intrude into the Holy matters of our Creator? God's word can not be separated from God's will. (John 1:1,2)
Leon
Posted by: Leon Moyer | December 6, 2007 10:04 PM
Leon:
According to many Biblical scholars (including Christian ones), 1 Timothy is probably not a completely original text; i.e., it was not written by Paul (certainly not in its entirety), and thus almost certainly includes later-dated passages. As well, although no scholars doubt the Pauline authorship of 1 Corinthians, it, too, may well have late-dated text.
The passages you note would make sense as non-Pauline additions given the radically anti-women agenda of the Nicean Council (which also seriously diminished the role of Mary Magdalene, who was almost unquestionably a more significant figure than the Gospels provide), since they are the only such passages in the entire NT - and we know that women (Mary Magdalene, Mary and Marsha et al) played important roles in Jesus' life, and that Priscilla (among others) played important roles in Christianity according to Paul. Indeed, consider the following:
1 Cor 1:11: Chloe is said to be the head of ahouse in which a "home church" existed.
Phil 4:2-3: Paul refers to two women, Euodias and syntyche, as women who assisted in him in bringing the Gospel.
And, of course, Galatians 3:28: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all on in Christ Jesus."
Much of the NT itself - the Gospels, many of Paul's writings - speak to the equal place of women in Jesus' life and ministry, and the spreading of the Gospels after His resurrection. In this regard, the Galatians cite alone would seem to put the passages you cite in question as original Pauline writings.
To my understanding (and that of many scholars), it stretches credulity to believe that Jesus would consider women "inferior" in any way, or prevent them from becoming ministers and spreading the Gospel.
Peace.
Posted by: Maani | December 6, 2007 10:56 PM
I seem to keep getting thrust into the role, though I only wannabe a gatherer of sycamore fruit. I don't like it. No one in his right mind would volunteer for the job. You can get killed!
Posted by: Ted Voth Jr | December 6, 2007 11:16 PM
... And women rule over them
O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray
And confuse the direction of your paths. (Isaiah 3:12 NASB)
Posted by: Gavin | December 7, 2007 1:14 AM
Leon - I hope your wife is wearing a Budweiser cap to church next Sunday, otherwise you're banging the drum of an inconsistent (ie. "selective") hermeneutic.
Gavin: if all parts of Isaiah have relevance to the contemporary church, will you be attending worship naked next Sunday?
Posted by: canucklehead | December 7, 2007 1:48 AM
Actually those Pauline texts were strictly for Timothy's church and the issues going on there. There is plenty of evidence that there were early Christian women leaders. Not only that but dispensationalism is one of the most heretical teachings to come out of the Protestant church in the last 200 years. I would not use it to make a point because God is not bound by your theology he is bound by himself and if he wants to put make a woman prophet (and he has thousands of them) then he will.
p
Posted by: payshun | December 7, 2007 2:38 AM
Thought the application of Jeremiah's ministry was challenging! Prophetic ministry is not for the faint hearted.
Honestly, though, I felt it would have been stronger without the partisan political overtones. And my goodness, I am ashamed of the slanderous and censorious spirit in many of the posts above.
When truth is used to degrade people, it has ceased to be God's truth. Even holy angels do not slander Lucifer! How quick we are to criticize, without even knowing the people we are talking about!
God forgive us.
And if you are reading this and not a Christian, please forgive the self righteousness of professing Christians. Pray for us (if you pray). Jesus really is an awesome Savior. But His followers (including me) are still pretty messed up.
Dane
Posted by: Dane | December 7, 2007 8:19 AM
I just read this. What a wonderful description of the prophet's lot! True, nobody chooses to be one--not a true prophet, at any rate. Didn't Amos try to deny he's a prophet? "I'm not a prophet or the son of a prophet, just a farmer." (paraphrase of 7:14). Nevertheless, God called him away from his flocks and fig trees to proclaim his word.
Granville, Ohio--lovely little hilltop town, isn't it? Were you there on Wednesday after our first snowfall of the season? It probably looked even more enchanting then.
God's blessings on Rev Gini and the members of First Baptist!
Peace,
Posted by: Don | December 7, 2007 9:01 AM
Gavin and Leon - your words are such wonderful examples of what I meant when I said "I pray that we stop worshiping the words and live the Word." When you do, you will find so much more of God's joy.
Posted by: JWH | December 7, 2007 9:12 AM
The most succinct definition of the prophet I've ever read came from the late Southern revivalist Vance Havner -- it's too long to post here and I don't have it in front of me, but I found that it fits me, and this situation, almost to a T. (My primary spiritual gift after Romans 12 is that of prophecy; I can personally attest to what Don said that nobody who understands the office would in his/her right mind chooses to be a prophet.)
Posted by: Rick Nowlin | December 7, 2007 10:37 AM
I remember Condo Rice evoking the name of Jeremiah when speaking of all the resistance she encountered when she was pushing for war against Iraq. Just thought I'd mention that.
Posted by: I and I | December 7, 2007 12:28 PM
I and I -- There is such a thing as "false prophecy."
Posted by: Rick Nowlin | December 7, 2007 1:00 PM
Thank you for this reprinting of the great prophet George, he never fails to inspire.
Posted by: Craig Fluck | December 7, 2007 1:24 PM
Kimberly,
As a single guy with a lot of crazy ideas in his head...
What are you doing tomorrow night?
Wolverine
Posted by: Wolverine | December 7, 2007 8:33 PM
The legendary Jewish scholar, Abraham Heschel, suggested that to adequately fill the role of the prophet, it helped if one had a few screws loose to start with.
Gini, I wish you every success and God's richest blessings on your ministry.
Posted by: canucklehead | December 7, 2007 11:34 PM
Gini - at this moment, the United States is in such danger of worshipping politicians and their programmes, not submitting to God. You will find few admirers, some firm friends and many opponents; every servant of God has. Keep your mind and heart on God's awesome nature, and the greatest miracle of all; that we, of all people, can change as our hearts are melted by the holiness and the forgiving love of God.
Posted by: Feargal | December 8, 2007 5:08 AM
I dunno. It seems to me that the first qualification for a prophet, more important than a penchant for angry denunciations, is insight into the workings of society. With that insight a prophet can be a courageous voice for truth. Without that insight the "prophet" is just a lonely ranter.
My advice is just keep your eyes open and say what you think. Let the rest of us figure out whether or not you're being prophetic or not.
Wolverine
Posted by: Wolverine | December 8, 2007 1:06 PM
"See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
(Hebrews 12)
Speak the Word! Live the Word! Be the Word!
But let justice roll on like a river,
righteousness like a never-failing stream!
(Amos 5)
Blessings on the journey.
Posted by: letjusticerolldown | December 9, 2007 6:35 PM
I dunno. It seems to me that the first qualification for a prophet, more important than a penchant for angry denunciations, is insight into the workings of society.
Yes, this is very important. Also very important for a prophet is some insight into the mind of God--specifically, how God views these workings of society.
The job of the prophet is to challenge our presumptions and understandings. If we aren't constantly being challenged, we aren't paying attention!
But the prophet can never be full of himself/herself or have any sense of self-importance. After all, if God could speak to Balaam from the mouth of the beast he was riding, then the prophet must realize that it's the message that's important, not the fact that it's coming from him or her.
Peace,
Posted by: Don | December 10, 2007 9:41 AM
It seems to me that the first qualification for a prophet, more important than a penchant for angry denunciations, is insight into the workings of society. With that insight a prophet can be a courageous voice for truth. Without that insight the "prophet" is just a lonely ranter.
That's just the point. We -- I include myself in this because, as I said earlier, I have prophetic giftings -- already have an idea how things are supposed to work. We come across only as "lonely ranters" because few at the time actually get what we're saying. That said, prophets by definition are independent operators and do not come from or speak for the religious "establishment."
Let the rest of us figure out whether or not you're being prophetic or not.
It doesn't work like that. Because we're often way ahead of our time it may take decades for what we say to come to pass.
Posted by: Rick Nowlin | December 10, 2007 9:43 AM
"It doesn't work like that. Because we're often way ahead of our time it may take decades for what we say to come to pass."
So let future people decide if you were a prophet or not.
Posted by: kevin s. | December 10, 2007 10:32 AM
So let future people decide if you were a prophet or not.
Other prophets recognize true prophets immediately. Martin Luther King Jr. was one; Jim Wallis looks like another.
Posted by: Rick Nowlin | December 10, 2007 1:51 PM
See Jeremiah 23:25-32
Posted by: Gavin | December 10, 2007 2:29 PM
Abioseh Joseph Cole - I wrote you a rather lenghty response and before I was ready to post it I clicked something by mistake and it disappeared. So perhaps I wasn't supposed to send it!
I certainly agree with your interpretation that it is probably God's Will that we all quit screaming at each other over our own interpretation of this book or that, these words or those, this action or inaction, this worship practice or that one, and get down to the consistent message: love and forgive - everyone.
I pray your new understanding brings you the peace that God seeks for every single one of us.
Posted by: JWH | December 10, 2007 5:49 PM
After reading this post I will offer Gini a mix of congratulations and condolences...As a pastor in Ohio I am thankful that you have accepted this calling and look forward to how you will be leading us in the days ahead.
Posted by: Joel Miller | December 10, 2007 8:43 PM
An excellent article, well written and thought provoking.
Posted by: Deb G. | December 12, 2007 11:42 AM
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