Although the denomination that raised her, the Southern Baptists, and Adventists differ theologically, the denominations are similarly conservative. Both voted in recent world-church gatherings to bar women from ordination. Both include churches that dissent and diverge in practice. Both promote conservative lifestyles and lean toward a literal or traditional interpretation of Scripture. An Adventist reading Barr’s writing can find much to resonate with. Here is a review of the book by Natalie Bruzon.
In 2021, Beth Allison Barr, a professor and historian of medieval womanhood and Christianity at Baylor University, made headlines with her book The Making of Biblical Womanhood (2021), where, through thorough research and personal candor, she showed how the meaning of biblical womanhood evolved over centuries of Christianity.
Now, in her recently published book Becoming The Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry (2025), Barr once again challenges the status quo for conservative evangelical denominations. Armed with hefty research and strong professional knowledge, Barr brings her personal experience as the wife of a Southern Baptist pastor to the table. She recounts their years in ministry—the joys, the struggles, and the ultimate betrayal by the church she and her husband served for decades. Through thoughtful exposé, Barr reminds readers that throughout Christian history, women have held many roles, from the highest leadership positions in the church to the scornful title of “pastor’s whore.”
Barr takes readers on a journey through Christian history, starting in the early New Testament Church, spanning over early Christianity and medieval times, across the Protestant Reformation that again reshaped the bedrock of Christian practice, and into the modern church. Her perspective is shaped by the denomination that raised her: Southern Baptists. Although Southern Baptists and Adventists differ theologically, the denominations are similarly conservative. Both voted in recent world-church gatherings to bar women from ordination. Both include churches that dissent and diverge in practice. Both promote conservative lifestyles and lean toward a literal or traditional interpretation of Scripture. An Adventist reading Barr’s writing can find much to resonate with.
Continue reading at Spectrum Magazine:
https://spectrummagazine.org/culture/books-film/the-pastors-whore-a-review-of-barrs-becoming-the-pastors-wife/?fbclid=IwY2xjawJl6OpleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHrCXckuwj2gBAoULfKr3CpGKrGyg_5Jc9vvtlgwhIrYyPZFmv1Z6Eb0-YtUv_aem_pEYFK9oR944jD9vUvyT8HQ
Natalie Bruzon is a web producer for Spectrum, and the editor of Spectrum‘s short news section, The Current. She is also a freelance social media marketer and digital communications specialist who has helped local businesses, national organizations, and international NGOs define and refine their digital marketing strategies. More from Natalie Bruzon.
From Spectrum Magazine