An Interview From & A Review of "A Weekend with Barbara Brown Taylor"

by Krystal

This interview with Barbara Brown Taylor was emailed and sent back on January 19, 2011. The Weekend with Barbara Brown Taylor was February 4-6, 2011 at Mo-Ranch Presbyterian Assembly.

An Interview with Barbara Brown Taylor

What was one of your best moments in preaching or ministry?

I still remember one Sunday after Epiphany (the Baptism of Jesus, I think) when I had the bright idea of baptizing a whole lot of babies at the same service—in a tiny church where the babies and their families outnumbered everyone else. All of the babies started crying right after the gospel reading, of course, so that I had to put away my carefully prepared sermon and think of something short and direct to say. This is a disaster, I was thinking. Then I invited the families up one by one to stand around the baptismal font and—amazingly!—the babies all sort of dried up at the same time. There was some snuffling, then some sighing, and finally some deep breathing from the babies as I baptized them one after another. It was like the Holy Spirit just spread her wings and settled down on top of us all. I remember that as one of the best moments in preaching or ministry.

What is one piece of advice you could give seminary students who are preparing for ministry?

To cultivate friendship with God and regular practices of faith that will sustain them when things are going well in their ministries and when things are falling apart—so that the health of their souls does not depend on the “success” of their ministries.

One of the biggest things I struggled with not only in An Altar in the World but also in The Preaching Life was the curious way in which you view “call.” On one hand, I really like the freedom that this view offers and do not want to diminish in any way what you experienced on the fire escape. On the other hand, what does this say about those who have definitive “call stories?”

They have their own stories to tell; I can only tell mine. God deals with different people in different ways. I do think it’s important for the person who senses a call to ministry test that call in a grounded faith community. If no one else hears it, then a trip up the fire escape might help.

How have mentors played a part in your vocational choice?

I am not sure that my mentors ever knew they were mentoring me, but I have admired some truly exceptional priests, preachers and teachers in my life and have learned everything I could from watching and listening to them. What they had in common was their willingness to help other people make meaning out of their lives, and that certainly influenced my own past and present choices of vocation.

What has been one unique blessing and one unique challenge of being a woman in ministry?

Since I think of myself as a person in ministry more than as a woman in ministry, I have to shift into another gear to answer that question. One clear blessing has been the opportunity to inspire young women who may not have known many women in ministry growing up; one clear challenge has been figuring out how to serve people of any gender without falling for their or my stereotype of “mothering.”

What has been one of the unique blessing and one unique challenge of being an introvert in ministry?

The clear blessing is that I have never feared solitude or silence, which means that it is easy for me to be still and know that God is God. The clear challenge is that ministry is a pretty extroverted vocation, which means that it is often difficult to be still and know that God is God.

In An Altar in the World, as well as other books, you appear to have a unique relationship with nature that many of us who grew up in urban areas do not share. Have you always been in touch with nature or has that been a skill that has been cultivated? How can someone working in an urban setting cultivate a similar appreciation?

I’m running out of time here, but again I’d say that I rely on people in urban settings to describe how they cultivate a similar appreciation. God deals with different people in different ways. Moving to the country definitely improved my skills for sensing the sacred in the creation. I’m much more “embedded” in it than I was in the city.

What is the biggest struggle that mainline churches face today?

I am sure there are ten good answers to that question. I’d say that the biggest struggle is to resist the centripetal force that pulls church people in on themselves (focusing on their own internal struggles) because that’s so much easier than engaging the forces that are threatening the planet (pollution, poverty, overpopulation). The church that seeks to save its own life may end up losing it, just like Jesus said.

Have you hugged a Presbyterian today?

No, but I will tomorrow!

A Weekend with Barbara Brown Taylor Review

I have never met a woman like Barbara Brown Taylor. She stood like a flagpole in that pulpit: strong and wise. The flag she waved was effervescent with words describing this God that sounds familiar but almost foreign to me. She was the most effortless woman I have ever seen, and one of the most calming presences I have ever been privy to. She was unpredictable: one minute standing giving a lecture with very little gestures, then brushing back her wild but beautifully tamed white hair, then dancing across the stage as she took off her sweater. Her stories were enthralling. She could tell a story about going to the post office, and I could see God peeking out from behind the counter. I pray that everyone who thinks he or she is a good preacher meets her. That way you’ll know that you could be better.

During the first of two book signings, I stood there in line with Lisa Juica, who, like me, was excited to meet Barbara Brown Taylor. As the line moved forward we jittered and attempted to prepare ourselves for this legendary woman who, up to this point, had been words on a page.

I asked her to sign my book, and without looking up, she said that I did a lovely job leading in worship. I thanked her, and she handed my book back to me. I was grateful that she had even spoken to me, but after so much nervous energy of actually meeting this woman that I had been studying for years, I needed a nap.

When I went to my room, though, I realized I had gotten nothing signed for John. My selfish brain had stopped me from getting my best friend, a fellow seminarian, a fellow admirer of Barbara Brown Taylor from having a book signed. So after the Lord’s Day service, I ran to the second book signing to give her the book to sign, and I had decided I was going to say more than a sheepish, “Uh, could you sign this?”

So, I said in my I’m-so-intimidated-by-you-I-could-die-right-now voice, “I just wanted to say how grateful I was that you allowed me to interview you.” She stopped. Put down the pen. And looked up, “It was you,” she declared. Then she looked at me. Right in the eye.

And that was what the weekend was about. From all of the effervescent flag-waving, I realized in this moment that she was a fellow human being. A brilliant thinker, a fantastic preacher, an exquisite writer whose popularity rocketed her up the NY Times Best Seller List, yes. But standing there, in that moment, she was just a fellow human being.

So, that was the weekend. I met another human being who looked me right in the eye, and it was glorious.