pastorate

But one of his friends, convinced of his spiritual talents, encouraged Crowley to apply for the open pastorate at Myrtle Baptist — less than 10 miles from the divinity school.

But the parish – which in mid-2023 became part of a two-church “pastorate” amid a diocese-wide restructuring – was shrinking fast.

She wrote an application to Abyssinian’s senior pastorate that reflected her credentials, including a Master of Divinity and doctorate from Union Theological Seminary in New York City, and experience on the Abyssinian staff as a minister for Christian education.

“The issue of women serving in the pastorate,” R. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, told the crowd, “is an issue of fundamental biblical authority that does violate both the doctrine and the order of the Southern Baptist Convention.”

Erickson said that experience led many of his friends into the pastorate or other Christian work.