And Your Daughters Shall Prophesy: Sermons by Women in Baptist Life.

Flowers, Elizabeth

And Your Daughters Shall Prophesy: Sermons by Women in Baptist Life. Edited by Karen Massey. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2012. 231 pp.

If sermons are written with the intent to be heard, something might be lost in an edited volume. And yet Massey's collection of sermons by women in Baptist life signals that much is actually to be gained in reading these works. At first glance, the homilies Massey presents represent a range of styles, from highly polished prose to more folksy sensibilities, but they are nevertheless even in their quality, a feat difficult to achieve in bringing together more than forty contributions.

The organization of the volume immediately points to both a traditional Baptist fidelity to the Bible, with the first two sections on Old and New Testament readings, and a more progressive ecumenism, as the following section acknowledges the liturgical church calendar, highlighting sermons for not only Advent and Lent, but also All Saints Day and Christ the King Sunday. The final section is particularly creative in that it offers sermons for special occasions such as the annual Martin Luther King Jr. holiday and Earth Day. Most significant, however, and clearly the volume's most unique feature is that its sermons come out of and speak to the experience of Baptist women.

Decidedly Baptist and historically Southern Baptist in both their scriptural focus and testimonial piety, many of the sermons are imaginative retellings of biblical stories. At the same time, these narrative retellings rest on the experience of the preacher herself. And if most preachers speak from their experiences, most Baptist preachers are not women, so herein lie the beauty, depth, and distinctiveness of this collection.

In her acknowledgements and introduction, Massey highlights the influence of particular Baptist women in shaping her preacherly imagination and religious worldview: her grandmother Mary Burton Massey; makers and shakers in Baptist history, from Lottie Moon to Addie Davis; a minister as mentor and friend, Becky Matheny, to whom the volume is dedicated; along with GAs (Girls Auxiliary) and Acteens.

While many contributors likewise recognize with fervor and appreciation such Baptist women influences, the volume also draws upon a common female culture. And thus we see these biblical stories from the perspective of a mother, daughter, wife, or woman friend. As preachers who, lo and behold, menstruate, give birth, nurture, and live amid relationships of female solidarity, these women re-envision the lives of biblical characters not often recognized or even known. (Take the five sisters Mahla, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, for instance.) They offer a different spin on the infidelity of David or the celebration of the prodigal son. And to be sure, a Mother's Day sermon delivered by a woman feels particularly refreshing.

At the same time, the volume transcends gender. Many sermons push us to recognize how the ordinariness of everyday life, a facet of all of human existence, holds divine mystery, hope, and promise. Moreover, as the founders of Baptist Women in Ministry insisted, advocating a

woman's call to preach must also address something larger than female equality, and thus some sermons here demand a greater awareness of the social injustices fed by race and class too. Finally, because few Baptist churches call women as their pastors, many contributors serve as hospital chaplains, work for inner-city nonprofits, or minister as missionaries. While disconcerting to realize that only two of these gifted preachers actually mount the pulpit weekly as senior pastor, in these other roles, women prophetically bear witness to the suffering outside the purview of the traditional white Baptist.

This collection certainly brings attention to the stirring power and profound possibilities of women as preachers, but its potential goes well beyond any political or feminist act. I would highly recommend it, then, for a range of uses: a homiletics class, a women's Bible study, a Sunday school group, or simply personal devotion. While these sermons might have been conceived with the intent to be preached, and thereby heard, their overall ability to teach and transform makes this book worthy reading for Baptists in a variety of contexts.--Reviewed by Elizabeth Flowers, associate professor of religion at Texas Christian University