“Top of the Notch”

Two weeks back, I mentioned that I was working on a seminar for Urbana 15 entitled “Women in World Mission: The Untold Story.”

Now I can report that the story has been told, at least my version of it.

If you have an hour and are curious, you can find the audio here. The first 40 minutes are me presenting my seminar and the last 20 capture our time of Q & A.

To be honest, it was sort of weird to listen to myself. And, sure, my inner critic found plenty to fret over. For example, why was I saying “right?” so often? Do I really do that?!? Or, I cringed over little misspeaks, such as when I said “summer missions” instead of “world missions,” or when I somehow morphed the idiom “top notch” to “top of the notch.” And why oh why did I choose to spell out P-A-T-R-I-A-R-C-H-Y?!?

That said, I’m mostly satisfied with my work. I mean if you’re looking for a 40 minute lecture that surveys 2,000 years of missions history with an eye to how the bane of patriarchy has conspired to suppress the stories of faithful women, I can help with that.

As for the Q & A, I’ll grade myself with a “B.” On one hand, I don’t think I said anything heretical as I tried to answer some tough and deep questions. On the other hand, I think I would say some things differently if I had it to do over again.

In the end, it was an honor to present at Urbana. I’m grateful for the opportunity.

And thanks to those of you who were praying for me as I prepared!

PS…I was honored to appear again this week on The Junia Project (here). Turns out my post about gender-based humor in the pulpit has been viewed 36,000 times!