WOMEN OF WESTERN NEW YORK

Trained to Lead
JJ: “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman
to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” (1
Timothy 2:11-12 KJV) What’s the deal with that? So, women can’t preach?
Rev. Baugh: “The Christian Church came out of Judaism. Judaism did not teach
women at all. Boys were trained up until the age of 12; women were not. When
Jesus had disciples, Mary Magdalene was at His feet learning; Martha was
complaining because Mary wasn’t helping her with domestic work and Jesus
said, ‘Mary has chosen the good part.’ (Luke 10:42 KJV)
So, with the Christian religion, women began to be taught and to learn, as they
had never been taught Old Testament Law. They would ask some basic, ‘Sunday
school,’ questions.
You have to understand the context of the time. But, the same Pastors that say
that women cannot preach, have those same women as Sunday school teachers,
as trustees, take these women’s money, everything else except let them in the
pulpit. That’s hypocritical. If you’re going to follow that, don’t let them say a word.
According to that, they couldn’t say ‘Halleluiah.’ She wouldn’t be in the choir,
she wouldn’t do anything. That same Paul said, ‘there’s no Greek, there’s no Jew,
there’s no male, there’s no female, there’s only one in Christ.’ (Galatians 3:28-29
KJV) Even if you look at the word ‘Adam,’ it means humanity.
In Genesis, it says ‘we formed them.’ (Gen. 1:27 KJV) Even before she was the
rib, [Eve] was already there. Much of the talk about women not preaching in
the pulpit is not contextual with what that pericopy means. It’s easy to pick out
this part of the Bible and that part of the Bible. But, at the end of the day, have
you loved your God with all your heart and soul and treated your neighbor as
yourself? (Mark 12:30-31 KJV) That includes your sister.”
JJ: All of Jesus’ 12 Apostles were male. If women were supposed to preach, why
weren’t there any female disciples?
Rev. Baugh: “The Apostles were a special breed of people, but He had female
disciples. Mary, his mother, was his first disciple. In fact, when Mary Magdalene
came from the tomb, and the angel said ‘go tell the others that Jesus had risen
from the dead,” (Matthew 28:7) she was the first one to preach the Gospel. And,
where were all those Apostles at the foot of the cross where He was dying? The
women were there, but where were the men?”
JJ: Hiding . . . denying Jesus and hiding in the alleyways. It seems that some
people are really adamant about women not preaching, not being in leadership
positions . . .
Rev. Baugh: “Of course they are. Because anger and fear are where they’re
coming from. And just like this presidential campaign, all the rhetoric . . . the
truth gets lost in all of that. Unfortunately, politicians don’t claim to be pedaling
the truth; we say that we are. So, there’s an issue with people of the cross not
telling the whole story. You have to tell the whole counsel of God, not just the
parts that look pretty for you.”
Thoughts for the Future / Relationships and Politics
JJ: Lots of unmarried women looking for a good man. Advice to them? Should
they look in the church?
Rev. Baugh: “The bible says that you should be . . .”
Both: “equally yoked . . .” (II Corinthians 6:14 KJV)
JJ: What exactly does that mean?
Rev. Baugh: It means you should be like kind. In fact, when the Bible talks about
a man choosing a ‘helpmeet,’ it doesn’t say mate, it says a helpmeet; someone to
help you meet your goals and objectives in life. (Genesis 2:18 KJV) Marriage has
to be something bigger than the two of you. You have to come together to meet
goals and objectives. And yes, you should love your partner and care for them,
but that’s the easy part. We love dogs, cats, our cell phones, and our cars. Love
is the easy part. The hard part is building, over a lifetime, a legacy that means
something more than the two of you apart.
JJ: Thoughts on the upcoming presidential election -
Hillary Clinton in particular?
Rev. Baugh: I believe Hillary, like our President Obama, thinks that if she becomes
the next president of the United States that she is not to going to face the type
of sexism that women face every single day in this country. Obama believed
that the Senate and the Congress were full of educated people, and if he was
willing to compromise and articulate a program that made sense, they would
be on board with that. He found out very quickly that racism trumped all the
compromise. Racism trumped education. Racism trumped all those things. Now,
Trump is bringing out just how racist and sexist this country is, and if Hillary is our
next president she will face sexism. And she will face some of the same blockage
--just because she’s a woman-- that Barack faced just because he’s a Black man.
JJ: So sexism, like racism, is alive and well . . .
Rev. Baugh: At some point we’re going to have to have a conversation about how
we still have not gotten over racism. This country is still very troubled, and there’s
a large segment of the population that truly believes, or are led to believe, that
they are poor and disadvantaged because of minorities, because of immigration,
because of females. The white male cannot take his rightful place in this country
because all these other forces are against them. And they are told this so we can
fight each other instead of fighting the 68 individuals who have half the world’s
wealth. We need to come together to fight our real enemy, which is capitalism.
You’ll always have Trumps out there telling people that everything else is their
problem. He filed bankruptcy, what, 11 times? Now, you don’t pay your (phone
carrier) bill, and you have bad credit. You can’t go out and buy a car. But yet, he
can still go out and get money. Why is that? The game is rigged so the poor will
not make it. And it’s rigged against them.
JJ: What’s your legacy?
Rev. Baugh: I hope that I can help build stronger families, whatever that family
looks like. I don’t care if it’s a single mother or father or whatever the family is. To
help them have stronger relationships with their children, or with other people.
We desperately need one another. And that is my legacy.
“Unfortunately, politicians don’t claim to be
pedaling the truth; we say that we are. So, there’s
an issue with people of the cross not telling the
whole story. You have to tell the whole counsel
of God, not just the parts that look pretty for
you.”
Reverend Baugh
We need to bond as human beings. Somebody out there has to know that someone
cares about them. And that’s the church’s place. I would really like to help another
generation find what I found when I was struggling as a single mother. When I
took my kids to Sunday school, and put my kids in Christian plays . . . I want them
to have those same types of experiences.
JJ: And what is it that you found back then, when you were struggling?
Rev. Baugh: “ . . . Love. I found love.”
Although Reverend Baugh is a woman of God, she is, first, a woman. A woman, who,
admittedly, is not perfect, who understands that we as people fall short of the mark
every day, and who believes that --with the love of God-- we will find our way because
He will make one where this was none.
As a student of life, and a lover of learning, I implore you to take quick trip down the
Skyway to Lackawanna and witness the remarkably talented Reverend Baugh preach in
person. You may find more than what you expect. You could find love.
St. Mark
A.M.E. Zion Church
(716) 826-0600
stmarkamezion108@gmail.com
Reverend Sharon Baugh, Pastor
(716) 472-3532 ~ baugh4lovealone@yahoo.com
Easter Sunday Service 11AM