‘Until I Make My Brothers Understand…’

What began in March of 1981 as a national celebration of “Women’s History Week,” is now “Women’s History Month.” Since 1995, presidents have issued a series of annual proclamations to celebrate the contributions women have made in a variety of fields over the course of American history. 

I wasn’t aware of our United States Women’s History Month until I made a trip to South Africa in August of 2015 and learned about the history of theirWomen’s Day. On Aug. 9, 1956, a multicultural group of 20,000 women marched to Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa, to protest certain proposed laws related to apartheid. Apparently, during the time of the march, many of the men leading the cause to dismantle the injustices of apartheid had been imprisoned and it was up to the women to carry on the protest. The men are forever grateful for the intervention of those women, and so each year they celebrate the tenacity, courage, commitment, and conquering spirit of the women who took action to protect their men, their livelihoods, their education, their families, their freedom and their futures. 

Out of gratitude for our women, Andrews University is taking the month of March to celebrate women, and the Student Movement has invited me to share some observations about my journey in a field that is dominated by (wonderful) men. 

In the beginning God said let us make mankind in our own image. Then God created a man and a woman. Together we represent the image of God. Without each other, the picture of God is incomplete. Grateful for the men in my life, I join the French in saying, “Vive la différence” (Long live the difference). 

In the fall of 1976, I arrived as a freshman at Andrews. I met with my advisor and handed him my 4-year course schedule. Because my elementary and secondary school teachers had discipled me in my walk with Jesus, I wanted to be a teacher and have the same spiritual influence. I also chose Andrews because I wanted to be in Gymnics. 

During my sophomore year coach Ernie Stevens handed me the book, “In His Steps” by Charles Sheldon. I read it over the weekend and wept because of all the times I hadn’t stopped to ask, “What would Jesus do in my place?” Asking that question led me to change my summer work plans. That summer I gave my first Bible study and preached almost every Sabbath at one of five churches in the Hinsdale area. I witnessed firsthand that when people learned the truth about Jesus, they had the opportunity to respond to His love. I came back to Andrews and changed my minor to religion. The next summer I worked with an evangelistic team in South Bend, Indiana, giving Bible studies which led to baptisms. My senior year, I changed my majors to religion and physical education. However during registration, I was told I couldn’t be a certified teacher with those two majors. So, I said, “OK, I’ll be a pastor.” It was 1979. 

One day I showed up for my class in the religion department and found my male colleagues in suits. I inquired why and they told me that conference presidents were coming for the pastoral interviews that day. Seeing that I hadn’t been informed about the interviews, my friends marched me to the secretary’s office and told her that she had to sign me up. The woman apologized and said she didn’t know that I wanted to be a pastor. There were just a handful of female religion majors, and the department wasn’t sure what to do with us. Apparently, those conducting the interviews weren’t sure what to do with us either. They asked if I wanted to be a Bible worker. While I had experience giving Bible studies, that’s not the job I was looking for. One conference wanted to know if I knew a certain theology student, because he needed a wife. I told them that was an entirely different job than the one I was looking for. After those interviews, I received many kind letters indicating there were no openings for me at that time. 

I had to find a way to get my foot in the door, so I accepted a taskforce position at Broadview Academy in Illinois to work as a campus chaplain. The pay was room and board and $15 a week (from which taxes were withheld). That job gave me the gift of ministry experience. and was the beginning of 46 years of working for God in jobs I’d do for free. (Don’t tell that to my employers.) 

Forty-six years later it’s still unique to be a woman in ministry. Here are some thoughts I’ve crystalized through the decades. Many of these principles apply to both women and men in various fields. 

Women, don’t be afraid to bring the stereotypically female part of the image of God into your ministry. After hearing me preach, someone said: “Having a female pastor is like not realizing you’re hungry until you smell the aroma coming from the kitchen.” Our image of God is based partly on who we see in the pulpit. Women can give a refreshing perspective through their delivery style and their illustrations. I can talk about splitting wood, but I also talk about nursing a baby or trying to keep the kitchen floor clean. 

If someone criticizes you about something, learn to ignore the tiny voice that says, “They’re only saying/doing that because I’m a woman.” Relationships and growth can be more honest when you choose not to judge motives.

When you attend pastoral meetings sit in the first three rows where you can have eye contact with the speaker. It will help to change the pronouns he/she uses when referring to pastors. 

If there are colleagues who think that women shouldn’t be pastors, sit with them during meals. Talk about the things you have in common. Share ministry stories. Ask them to pray for you. Pray for them. Care for them. Send that note of compassion when someone in their family dies. Or send a card of celebration when that baby is born. Pray about ways you can “heap coals of fire” on their heads, potentially turning an adversary into a friend. The more we interact with those who differ from us, we learn that we have more areas of agreement than disagreement. 

One of the things I love about being a woman is that I live in a world where there are men who were raised with, or acquired the manners of a gentleman. Women, when a man offers to help, say yes. Their kindness is not implying that you’re incapable of doing the task, they’re being considerate. We should alloffer to help when we see someone with a heavy or cumbersome load. To me, being a “gentleman” is not just about a gender, it’s about living like a Christian.

Valerie Philips, one of the first female hospital chaplains said, “Change will not come by women screaming about their rights, but by the quality of their work.” My daughter has encouraged me by saying, “Mom, you’re a point in a data set. When people wonder about the different roles women can fill, they can point to you,” and other women who are being faithful to their calling.

In 1972, Helen Reddy recorded the song: “I Am Woman.” It became one of her biggest hits during my teenage years. The song may have had some ties to the women’s liberation movement, (which had good points and bad points), but to us teenage girls it simply gave honor to all the strong women who had sacrificed for us, and it encouraged us with the thought that we could be whatever we wanted to be. After receiving this writing assignment, I listened to the song again. I could still belt out most of the lyrics, and the song put a big smile on my face. After all these years, there are three lyric lines that are still true:

But I'm still an embryo
With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand.

Perhaps that last line is why we must continue to celebrate Women’s History Month—until our brothers more fully understand. 

Take time this month to affirm, encourage, and “open the door” for a woman. 

Pastor Esther R. Knott serves as Interim Assistant to the President for Mission and Culture. After graduating from Andrews University, she began her pastoral ministry in 1980 during a time when there were just a handful of women serving as pastors in the North American Division.