Voices: Ruth Cook: A woman called to ministry

I was never ordained, never preached or had a ministerial title on a church staff. I married a young seminarian and helped him finish his last year of school, both of us working hard to pay bills, graduate, and find our first church.

This is my story of being called to ministry, then marriage, and what I learned about God’s call to women.

College

I was a believer, a Christian, from age 6, but I did not powerfully experience God until college, where I joined a Baptist Student Union where God was at work.

For a couple of years, I thought I would be an art teacher. But in my last year, God began to press a message on my heart: “Don’t live your life for art! Follow me. I want you in my service. I have a mission I for you.”

Then, he showed me all that could be in my future through Southern Baptist Convention mission programs and seminaries, but he also brought role models into my life that showed me the ministry life he intended. I got to know other young people following God’s call, and I bonded with them.

The call was crystal clear but not job specific. As I gave more of my heart to God, he opened doors and revealed opportunities.

I studied for my college classes at night, then read into the early morning hours books by Eugenia Price, Marjorie Holmes, and Brother Andrew.

I loved My Utmost for His Highest and Streams in the Desert, and the more I read, the more I longed for spiritual growth and the presence of God, which I experienced. God in Christ has been the inexhaustible fire in my heart.

As a result, I broke up with my college boyfriend and set aside my art education goal and commuted alone to seminary.

Seminary

For me, seminary was not overly rigorous academically, but I had a difficult experience that caused me much anxiety: I learned it was unlikely I would be employed as a minister or social worker in a local church or Baptist organization.

Opportunities for women back in the 1970s were very rare. Only two women from my program found jobs after graduation, we were told, and the jobs were in large, distant cities.

I was not assertive back then, and marriage was my heart’s desire. I wanted to move to a ministry site with a husband, not alone.

Second, I registered for seminary Bible courses that required Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic, and there had been no Bible language courses available at my secular university. I was not able to write and type seminary papers in Bible languages, which left me with paralyzing anxiety. I dropped my courses, very confused about God’s will.

Many could say I was not “called” because my dreams appeared to collapse. I was concerned about that also, until God allowed me to meet my husband, a fellow seminary student who was about to pastor a small church.

Marriage

God has such miraculous, intricate plans for those who love him. Four times, God brought my husband Joe and me together on campus in random meetings, until we became friends, then started dating.

When I left school, he found me at my tiny apartment and helped me understand about Baptist colleges and prerequisites for difficult courses. He helped me understand my degree plan and courses were not aligned with my academic background, and that the seminary and I were not exactly ready for one another.

We married in a home ceremony and within a year moved out of state to his first pastorate.

Living out God’s call as a wife

I loved everything about the church: Bible study, sermon prep, ministry to families, visitation in homes and at hospitals, prayer meeting, fellowships, WMU. Listening to people express their thoughts and needs seemed to be something I could do well. Teaching and coming up with ideas for church ministry and fellowships were passions, also.

I directed the music on Sundays, which was not a passion, but was a necessity at that time. Our state convention sent a specialist to train me, for which we were grateful, and they sold us music for small church choirs: “Glory Songs.” We were eventually quite a “rocking” choir.

Looking back, I am certain God allowed me to live out his call as a wife and partner in ministry for 25 years in churches, then after that, in service to my family and as a prayer warrior for my husband’s teaching ministry in Baptist colleges.

What I learned along the way

God’s plan can absorb our mishaps and mistakes. He will prevail and will find the best way to use us in his work. His work is everywhere. We can lean on him completely and find rest.

God calls imperfect people and works with them. It is not unusual to find ministers with anxiety and depression. We may be told a minister has to be strong in every way, but that is wishful thinking, not reality.

Husbands and wives are a team. To be a helper, a “helpmeet” in Genesis language, is highly worthy service. Woman and wives are not second best, and we should not tell ourselves we are. We also should not allow dominating men to stereotype us or make rules that marginalize us.

A man or woman, husband or wife, may be a leader or follower at various times in life, but Christians are always servants. Staying close to God in humility, never arrogance or pride, is the key to being able to move in God’s will. When testing a leader, look for humility.

Wives who work in secular jobs, when they were originally called to ministry, help keep their husbands in the ministry. The money they earn supplements a husband’s possibly low church salary.

In financial matters and parenting, it is undeniable husbands and wives are a team. Churches know that and depend on it. There are likely many more “called” wives in ministry than we realize.

Working in the community gives wives opportunities to witness and minister, often more opportunity than they would have in church.

Baptist colleges, seminaries, and churches need to help women grow into their calling. The kingdom of God needs all who would labor in the fields of humanity and bring in the harvest, but Baptists can smooth the way for minority groups or groups new to ministry, ensuring all are welcomed and properly trained for jobs that exist.

Women can tell if they are welcome in Baptist organizations. They know if a place is made for them and true opportunity is offered. Women have been held back by institutions that did not want their full participation but wanted to use them for their money or hard work. If seminaries train women, churches should hire women.

The unforgettable call

I could never forget God’s call. It is impossible to fully describe in words, though we try: “A powerful presence came before me in my spirit. I could not ignore it. I could not get away from it. It was like God was looking into my eyes for an answer, a ‘yes.’ He was ready to lead if I was ready to follow.”

The call grows stronger over time as more of everything is revealed.

One is accepting a spiritual mission he or she is living through, living in, living out—all at the same time.

God never leaves us to sort out our lives alone. He assures and reassures us that the One who calls us is more than faithful. He makes us holy in Christ, heals us, and makes us strong through the Spirit.

God’s call was Pentecost to me through the Spirit, the Great Commission delivered straight to my heart. People may call this what they will. God knows.

Ruth Cook is a longtime Texas Baptist. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.