Mothers, Where Are You?

I remember when I got saved in the early 70s and settled into church life in The Dalles, Oregon, I was blessed to be in the company of mothers. Most were natural mothers, too, but it was their spiritual mothering that I benefited from greatly. They knew how to get with you and “pray you through.” And come hell or high water, they helped get you to the throne of grace to take care of business. I’m not saying I didn't have men as spiritual fathers. I did. Good solid men of God who helped mold and shape me as a young man. But what I miss and what I want to know about our current church culture is, “Mothers, where are you?”

It wasn't only just those women in the congregation that mothered us. We had mothers with strong apostolic and prophetic anointing on their lives come to us and preach the word with power and authority, not to just the women but to the whole congregation. One particular dear saint, Rachael Titus, packed such an anointing on her that the room would hush when she entered. Rachael was in her 80s at the time and I remember her mothering us with deep wisdom, spiritual discernment, and power.

I know the black church has a long history honoring their mothers. Deaconesses are often referred to as Mother. They are shown great respect in the congregation and listened to. They are given freedom to speak into the church. And not quite as comical as a Tyler Perry movie, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of the “look.” The look says it all.

Could it be that In an attempt to get men to take their rightful place in the life of the church, we've let the pendulum swing far too wide,  bringing with that the consequence of discouraging  and devaluing the spiritual mothers in our midst? I know that Women’s Ministry in the church is important, as is Men’s Ministry. There are times when we need to be with and fellowship and minister to those of like gender. But most women never get a chance to do more than that.

We talk so much in evangelical circles about the need for a father and a mother in the home. We need the same thing in the church. We let the women bake the cookies for the after service fellowship and let them change poopy diapers in the nursery, and teach the kids in Sunday school, but do we really let them Mother the church? Do we respect them enough to allow them their rightful place in speaking into our lives from the pulpit some Sundays?  It seems we want the benefits of their service but not the benefits that would serve us the best; their wisdom, insight, and power. Mothers, where are you?