The Woman I Am: Southern Baptist Women's Writings, 1906–2006

7. Southern Baptist Women’s Writings in Retrospect

7 Southern Baptist Women’s Writings in Retrospect The one unforgivable sin among american evangelicals, according to historian margaret Bendroth, is “thoughtless capitulation to the secular standards of american culture.”1 more so than adherents of other christian traditions, evangelicals pride themselves on relying upon what they consider to be the timeless truths of the Bible rather than upon changing cultural mores. unfamiliar with their own history, many contemporary evangelicals idealistically suppose that their beliefs and practices are shaped solely by biblical principles, discounting the effects of the broader culture in which their faith has developed. These individuals fail to realize that their expressions of christianity are necessarily culture bound, much as they themselves are confined to a particular human body in a specific location . as this study exemplifies, historically american evangelicals have been influenced by the culture in which they live more strongly than they might like to admit. This influence is especially marked in the changing evangelical perspectives on women’s roles. The typical white american woman underwent rapid transformation from “separate sphere” homemaker at the onset of the twentieth century to confident career woman a few decades later. a Southern Baptist leader present at the founding of Wmu in 1888—when the women were reluctant even to speak to “mixed audiences”—would have scarcely recognized the organization in 2006, with its seminary-trained staff and emphasis on women’s leadership. Such an observer would be astonished to read Wmu leader linda clark’s observation in a 1998 issue of Missions Mosaic: “in today’s society, women are found in nearly every profession. We are attorneys, physicians, executive officers, and politicians .”2 The content Wmu published in its women’s magazines throughout the century reflected these rapid societal changes. Our Mission Fields 204 chapter 7 (1906–1914), Royal Service (1914–1995), Contempo (1970–1995), and Missions Mosaic (1995–2006) suggested a number of different roles for Southern Baptist women in missions over the course of a century. Wmu editors continually—though not always consciously—reshaped their ideal of christian womanhood to correspond with views of gender popular within american culture and Southern Baptist life. From 1906 to 1918, Wmu magazines clearly identified with the interdenominational woman’s missionary movement, while remaining mostly within the bounds of contemporary Southern Baptist norms. like other women’s missions publications, Our Mission Fields and later Royal Service emphasized the importance of the “uplift” of “heathen” women into Westernized and christianized societies. Writers stressed female missionaries ’ unique roles in ministering to women on foreign mission fields— usually through education, health care, and evangelism—under the rubric of “woman’s work for woman.” as a result of what they considered these female missionaries’ noble efforts, Wmu leaders believed that the lives of thousands of needy foreign women would be transformed. For example, a 1908 writer described a Japanese woman as formerly “most unpromising , very lazy and untidy, rough pimpled face, void of expression”—but celebrated the “joyous light on her face [and] a smile” after the woman became a christian.3 likewise, articles portrayed missionaries in north america as improving conditions for “sick, sorrowing, and unconverted” women and children through social ministry.4 Writers also encouraged thousands of women at home to participate in similar ministries in their own communities, as well as to pray, learn, and give “for the carrying forward of mission work among women and young people.”5 Wmu magazines highlighted “separate sphere” efforts to aid other women as the primary role for Southern Baptist women in missions until around the end of World War i. With the decline of the woman’s missionary movement after World War i, Wmu editors shifted their portrayal of their readers’ roles from “woman’s work for woman” to supporting the SBc. From 1919 to 1945, writers stressed the importance of “woman’s contribution to the kingdom”6 in spreading the gospel, supporting missionaries, supporting national women, and, most important, supporting the denominational program. Reflecting the denominational identity and culture developing within the SBc, article after article in Royal Service highlighted tithing, fundraising campaigns, and SBc debt relief as priorities for Wmu members. as myrtle creasman explained in 1931, “When the tithe of our millions flows into the lord’s treasury[,] then will the funds measure up to the Southern Baptist Women’s Writings in Retrospect 205 needs of the field.”7 This new emphasis provided Wmu with a clear focus at the...