(RNS) — The Rev. Gina Stewart has been known for breaking barriers in Black Baptist circles.
In 1995, she became pastor of Christ Missionary Baptist Church and the first African American woman to be elected to a Black Baptist congregation in Memphis, Tennessee.
In 2021, she was elected the first female president of the Lott Carey Baptist Foreign Mission Society, marking the first time a woman gained the highest post of a Black Baptist organization.
And in late January she became the first woman to preach at the periodic joint meeting of four Black Baptist denominations.
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Her presence at the National Baptist Joint Board Session on Jan. 23, attended by thousands of Black Baptist clergy and laypeople, came with much call and response as she spoke, even as rumors and controversy surrounded it.
After many in the room cheered her on and stood as she preached, the session featuring her sermon temporarily disappeared from the Facebook page of the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc. Some claimed there were attendees who chose not to be present when Stewart spoke.
As she opened her remarks, Stewart acknowledged three of the four denominations’ presidents and then the fourth, NBCUSA President Jerry Young, “in absentia” because he was not on the stage with the others.
The Rev. Gina Stewart addresses the National Baptist Joint Board Session on Jan. 23, 2024, in Memphis, Tenn. (Video screen grab)
Asked about her latest historic moment, Stewart, who was traveling Monday (Jan. 29), described in a statement to Religion News Service her “awe and gratitude” about the opportunity to preach and the interest the sermon drew — more than 250,000 views on her church’s Facebook page alone as of late Monday.
“This moment amplifies the shared stories of millions of women who daily rise against the crushing weight of patriarchy, misogynoir, and other interlocking systems of oppression that seek to diminish the value of women and marginalized communities,” she said.
“January 23rd opens the door for critical discussions about Jesus and justice, offering a chance to champion women by rethinking our theologies and reshaping our pulpits, workplaces, and platforms into more equitable spaces as we continue the long quest for gender equality and justice.”
To some, the interest in Stewart’s sermon and the criticism from those who chose not to attend it demonstrated either the long-standing autonomy of Baptist churches — some with women pastors — or the continuing resistance to acceptance of women in the pulpits of Black Baptist churches.
In remarks later in the four-day meeting, Young emphatically denied that he opposed Stewart’s preaching presence at the meeting and said he intended to visit her to tell her so.
“I did not protest her sermon; I did not boycott being here,” he said, according to a separate video clip posted on Facebook. “I support her and Baptists are autonomous — you do what you want to do at your own church.”
