Feminism and Christianity, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures1 Comment

John Wesley’s Arminian Magazine and Lay-Women’s Conversion Narratives

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I’m returning to some research that I was writing about earlier in the year – the involvement of Free Methodist women in the temperance movement. My husband has his own blog where the article below is also posted. While his research focuses mostly on the 18th century and mine on the 19th and 20th century, I thought this article does a great job setting up how conversion narratives can be used to promote a particular Christian interpretation in a publication. John Wesley used conversion narrative to fuel on the Methodist movement, and in the last 19th century the Free Methodists … Continue reading John Wesley’s Arminian Magazine and Lay-Women’s Conversion Narratives

Christian Patriarchy, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures2 Comments

Vision Forum: The Giant of the Christian Patriarchy Movement

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While there are numerous organizations I would consider part of the Christian patriarchy movement one of the largest and most disturbing organization is Dough Phillip’s Vision Forum. Vision Forum’s influence is vast in evangelical and fundamentalist culture.  The organization has its own homeschooling curriculum, devotional materials for men and women, homeschooling conferences and the popular San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, which is Phillip’s brainchild. Perhaps, the name of the film festival doesn’t ring a bell, but if you follow Christian media at all you have probably heard of movies such as Facing the Giants and Fireproof – both of … Continue reading Vision Forum: The Giant of the Christian Patriarchy Movement

Christian Patriarchy, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures5 Comments

TLC and the Fundamentalist Family: A Look at the Quiverfull Movement

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I have been waiting a few months for my study to appear in The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture about the TLC show 19 and Counting and the Quiverfull movement. The academic journal is open access, so everyone who reads my blog should be able to pull up this link. It provides a much more comprehensive overview of what the Quiverfull beliefs are and how the movement has been portrayed in popular culture. Click here to read the article. Continue reading TLC and the Fundamentalist Family: A Look at the Quiverfull Movement

Christian Patriarchy45 Comments

Taking a Critical Look at the Above Rubies Organization

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While there are numerous organizations/movements associated with Christian patriarchy, one of the largest is the international organization Above Rubies.  Above Rubies was founded by Nancy and Collin Campbell over 32 years ago to encourage families to follow a very traditional, complementarian lifestyle. Above Rubies publishes a free magazine (donations requested but not required) once a month that contains articles about the joys of living simply, women who have given up work to stay home, and natural family remedies and family planning (or lack thereof). Nancy Campbell also has an e-newsletter she sends out about once a week. As a regular … Continue reading Taking a Critical Look at the Above Rubies Organization

Christian Patriarchy, Gender Norms in Christian Co-Cultures5 Comments

The Threat of Christian Patriarchy

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The Christian patriarchy movement is a fast growing fundamentalist/evangelical movement that is not easy to define.  While mainstream media has     drawn attention to the Quiverfull movement and pop cultural representations of this lifestyle, such as the famous or infamous (however you want to phrase it) Duggar family from 19 and Counting, there are other branches of the patriarchy movement which are not well known nor well researched. Therefore, for the next few blog posts I’m going to try to break down the various organizations associated with the Christian patriarchy movement to help us better understand why mainstream Christian society should … Continue reading The Threat of Christian Patriarchy

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Benjamin’s “Messianic Moments” and Women’s Church History

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If we examine how history has been constructed, specifically church history, the contributions of women are often overlooked.  Within the Free Methodist denomination we have several seminary theses and unpublis hed papers about the history of women in ministry, but nothing published (Synder’s Populist Saints is the only exception). So, the need to reveal these forgotten moments of women’s history in the church is a pressing concern of mine. Feminist rhetorical historians are beginning to draw attention to some of these forgotten moments of women’s history. It is important the rhetorical contribution, particularly the rhetorical contributions of women’s magazine articles, … Continue reading Benjamin’s “Messianic Moments” and Women’s Church History

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History is More than Just Remembering Facts: It’s a Call to Action and Reform

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The Free Methodist Denomination has a long history of supporting women in ministry. However, the battle for official ordination went on almost a 100 years. It began in 1860 when the denomination was founded. B.T. Roberts, one of the main founders, decided for the health of the fledgling denomination not to pursue ordaining women at the same time the denomination was forming. So, the debate raged on at general conferences and in the denominational magazine The Free Methodist (later to become Light and Life magazine) until 1974 when women were officially approved for ordination. The commitment of women in the … Continue reading History is More than Just Remembering Facts: It’s a Call to Action and Reform

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Eliza Sugg’s Use of Poetry for the Temperance Cause

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While Eliza Suggs and Emma Ray both were African-American women at the turn of the 20th century their narratives are very different. Ray focuses on her urban ministry with her husband and her involvement in the Colored Women’s Christian Temperance Union. While her faith does play a very large role in her autobiography, you don’t see the strong ties to preaching and speaking at revivals that Eliza notes in her narratives. What seemed to come easily to Eliza (speaking up at revival meetings and testifying) did not come easily to Ray. Yet, the place where their narratives intertwine the most … Continue reading Eliza Sugg’s Use of Poetry for the Temperance Cause

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Small in Stature but Big in Faith: The Story of Eliza Suggs Part 1

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There are only two autobiographies written by 19th century African- American women in the Free Methodist Denomination. While this could be viewed as another example of segregation in Christian culture, I prefer to view the narratives of Emma Ray and Eliza Suggs as examples of women who bridged racial and gender barriers to actively engage in their chosen denomination. I’ve already written in detail about Emma Ray’s narrative, which is the more overlooked narrative of the two, but I would like to spend a few posts talking about Eliza Suggs influence. Suggs has received more attention from historians within the … Continue reading Small in Stature but Big in Faith: The Story of Eliza Suggs Part 1

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The Vision and Founding of the Free Methodist Church: Separation from the Methodist Episcopal Church Skit

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This is a short skit I wrote for the 150th anniversary of the Free Methodist denomination this past August. I’ve found that creatively writing out some of the historic details helps me better understand the history and passion of the individuals I’m researching. Feel free to reproduce this play at your own church, just make sure to give me credit as the author. I’m basing this off the honor system. Minor changes to staging or script are permitted. Cast: Narrator 1 Narrator 2 Genesee Conference Delegate B.T. Roberts Ellen Roberts Trial Observers (2 to 3) Stage Setting: Two podiums (or … Continue reading The Vision and Founding of the Free Methodist Church: Separation from the Methodist Episcopal Church Skit