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A Post About LifeWay, Vaginas, and @RachelHeldEvans

By October 18, 2012Blog

The following post is my opinion, one based on experiences and conversations that I’ve had over the years.

Rachel Held Evans is trending. Huffington Post, Yahoo, Slate.com, and many more have covered posted stories about Rachel. On Monday, Rachel, along with her husband, Dan, will be on the Today Show. And I couldn’t be more excited for my friend. I had the privilege of reading A Year of Biblical Womanhood this past summer and offering an endorsement of the book.

A Year of Biblical Womanhood is thoughtful, witty, and eye-opening, one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time. In detailing her “Old Testament” adventure, the always earnest Rachel Held Evans flexes her writing muscle by painting vivid scenes, inspiring prose, and offering well-played opinions doused with persuasive theology. A Year of Biblical Womanhood is a brave book, proving Evans’ knack for packing a powerful punch while still managing to remain devout, humble, full of grace.

Much of the current buzz about Rachel and her new book is about LifeWay Christian Stores refusing to carry the title because of the word “vagina”. And yes, that’s ridiculous on many levels. But of course there’s more to all of this than just the word “vagina”. There always is. And let’s face it, none of us are exactly surprised by this news regarding Lifeway. LifeWay has a long list of books that its refused to carry. Several of my books have sparked inside conversations between my publishers’ sales team and LifeWay’s buying team. One of my books was banned because of the word “masturbation” and another time it was because of a joke I wrote that referenced Baptists. Rachel’s in good company. Even Donald Miller’s “Blue Like Jazz” was banned AT FIRST. The popular title was deemed too controversial, too. But then it became too popular and a too “good of a sales opportunity” not to sell. So LifeWay’s moral code got trumped.

LifeWay has every right to stock what they want to stock. Some have called it censorship, and of course it’s censorship. Censorship is a part of LifeWay’s brand as a “Christian” retail establishment. Those who shop at LifeWay do so because they desire a certain level of censorship. Customers trust LifeWay to have screened the content that they sell. And they do. And trust me, they take that responsibility very seriously.

But regarding Rachel’s book, the word “vagina” is only the beginning of why LifeWay won’t carry the title. Another reason that we don’t like talking about is because Rachel has a vagina. Let me explain. Even before LifeWay read the first word of Rachel’s book, the fact that she is a female author, limited what those words were allowed to say and also to whom Rachel was allowed to say them to. Being a woman limits an author’s biblical platform according to LifeWay.

The only thing that would put Rachel at a bigger disadvantage on the front end would have been if she was a female pastor. A book by a female pastor wouldn’t have made it through LifeWay’s security checkpoint at the entrance to their Nashville offices.

Why? Because LifeWay is owned and operated by the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC has rules regarding what women are allowed to say and do. Those rules trickle down to the retail level, influencing what and whom LifeWay is willing to support and sell in their retail stores.

Sure, LifeWay carries a multitude of books written by women. In fact, books written by women are some of their biggest moneymakers. But all of their biggest selling female authors fit into the “role” that the SBC believes is “biblically” fitting for women.

Beth Moore is a perfect example, she’s a non-pastor who “speaks” and “teaches”. Beth’s primary reader and conference attendee is the female who is engaged in church. While men might read her book or see her live, you will rarely see an advertised “Beth Moore teaching event” that is not marketed directly to a female audience. That’s on purpose. Men are usually allowed to attend if they want, but the event is rarely for them. And they are never the marketing focus, because it is against the SBC policy for a female to “teach Bible” to men. Beth “speaks” in front of mixed crowds all the time. But speaking and teaching are different. The language used in the marketing material to advertise A Beth Moore “teaching event” and a Beth Moore appearance is carefully shaped and massaged so that her ministry fits within the context of the SBC rules for women.

I’ve read where some have asked, “Why does LifeWay carry Mark Driscoll’s sex book? It contains the word ‘vagina’ and rather lengthy sexualized descriptions.” To be frank, because he’s a man. And furthermore, because he’s a man who is a “pastor,” which puts him “two LifeWay points” ahead of Rachel from the start.

I have many friends who have worked at LifeWay. Years ago, when she was getting ready to hand in her notice, I remember a friend telling me, “I’m a woman. I’m limited as to what I can do here. I can’t go any higher than I am right now.” Another former employee once said, “sexism bleeds throughout this company in the most subtle ways. Sometimes, because it’s such a part of the culture here, you hardly notice it.”

Oh, people with vaginas work at LifeWay. And they sell lots of books by people who have vaginas. But LifeWay only associates with vagina people who know and respect the rules they have in regards to people with vaginas.

Let me write it one more time… vagina.

The conversation happening all over the Internet about Rachel’s book is a very important one. And it’s not simply about the word “vagina”. This conversation is about equality in the eyes of God. It’s about the limitations that one denomination continues to subject women to simply because they are women. It’s about how a large part of the Christian culture undermines and devalues the role and words of women in conversations regarding theology, church, and spiritual growth.

So please don’t miss the bigger issue here, the story that affects all of us, not just Rachel. Because in the end, Rachel doesn’t need LifeWay to sell her books. She knows that. But this conversation is not just about Rachel and her book. And it’s not just about LifeWay.

It’s about equality in the church. It’s about empowering women to speak up. It’s about encouraging women to embrace their voice/thoughts/opinions with freedom. It’s about the church (all of the church) becoming a safe place for people, people with and without vaginas. And it’s about our daughters, our moms, our sisters, our friends who have vaginas being nourished in spiritual environments where they are not the “weaker partner” but rather a strong valued soul who know and feel loved and accepted fully by God.

Like life itself, the conversation about Rachel’s book begins with the vagina, but that’s only the beginning.

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Matthew Paul Turner

Author Matthew Paul Turner

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  • Dave says:

    Waiting for John Piper to chime in. A well-timed “Farewell Rachel” can do wonders for sales. Just ask Rob Bell. : )

  • Shel says:

    Good post Matthew. One reason I haven’t heard discussed, however, is Rachel stepping on too many of the SBC’s theological toes. Peter Enns had a post four days ago on a panel discussion by Al Mohler and other folks over at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary talking about biblical inerrancy and those who would attack it. Peter quotes the panelists as saying that Rachel Held Evans is “mocking the Bible” and “showing it overt derision” in her book. If Al Mohler is saying this about Rachel, than I assume that Lifeway is hearing this as well and even taking their cues from him. By using the word vagina, being female, and mocking biblical literalism, it would appear that Rachel has just given Lifeway too many compelling reasons to censor her.
    (The link to Peter Enns post: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/peterenns/2012/10/inerrancy-if-it-was-good-enough-for-jesus-a-panel-discussion-at-southern-baptist-theological-seminary/)

  • ed cyzewski says:

    Well put my friend. This isn’t about a word. It’s about a misapplication of scripture that devalues women and sets up a double standard. The controversy over the word is just the symptom.

  • Morgan says:

    Rachel is so very blessed to have friends like you in her life!
    And I am very grateful for YOU retweeting Rachel some 2 years or so ago, because that is how I stumbled upon her blog for the very first time and bought Monkeytown (after buying Churched and Hear No Evil, of course).

  • Charlotte says:

    This is such an excellent post, Matt. A few years ago there was a story about how LifeWay wouldn’t openly carry a copy of a magazine because there were women pastors on the cover; they kept it behind the counter and it was only available upon request. In the SBC “no women pastors/leaders” isn’t just a position, it infiltrates every aspect of their culture. It makes me wonder why I, a woman who wants to be a pastor, considered going to an SBC seminary a few years ago. One of the things that made me change my mind was a big controversy surrounding the firing of a woman professor.

  • Thank you, Matthew. That’s all. Just that.

  • excellent post, on a topic that absolutely needs to be addressed. I’ve been swirling this around in my head since Rachel first mentioned it.
    My mom has led “First Place”, a Christian-based weight program, at her church, for years. The First Place program was partnered with the SBC, but they stopped several years back because women often led the group and men were also involved. (However, my mom is a deacon(ess?) in a SBC church, so I dunno.)

  • Preach it brother! I’m thrilled that Rachel is getting this press, like you said, it’s about the bigger issue of how women are viewed within the church and this is a way to talk about it more. Love it!

  • Sarah says:

    I really appreciated this post not only because of it’s gratuitous use of the v-word, but because I never would have read this book otherwise. To be honest, the phrase “biblical womanhood” in a book title translates, in my mind, to: “This book will piss you off and make you ashamed.”

  • A.P. says:

    Vagina vagina vagina!

  • Jessi says:

    Very well written and true…even through Rachel is being given the run around at in the Christian bookstore market, there was a very positive write up of her book in this month’s Bust Magazine (which is a feminist pop culture magazine)

  • I cannot applaud Rachel Held Evans enough. I am halfway through A Year Of Biblical Womanhood, and I find her candor refreshing. If Jesus was hiring a PR firm. Rachel would be a part of it for sure.
    That Rachel seeks to liberate women as Marys in the Martha world approved by Lifeway Christian Bookstores makes me want to take up boltcutters for the leg shackles. She is a refreshing voice for women seeking to follow the teachings of Jesus; I am grateful for her questions, her boldness, and her delightful prose.

  • Jessica says:

    “Let me write it one more time . . . ” 🙂

  • LifeWay points! hahahahhahahaha
    Ok now that I am done laughing, very well-written article about the book and controversy. It’s such a wonderful book; I hope that people who typically shop at LifeWay will buy it elsewhere and read it anyway.

  • Mike says:

    Hogwash!
    As a former employee and as someone who became a manager at a Lifeway store, this post is full of misinformation. I don’t know what they told her about her book, but I doubt “vagina” is the only reason. Lifeway carries LOADS of books by women pastors and LOADS of books that aren’t my cup of tea, but each book goes through a strict and thorough process to get onto the shelf. It was probably full of bad liberal theology that contradicts major portions of scripture.

    This is a one-sided view and I don’t believe a word of it.

    Mike

    • Matthew says:

      Well Mike. Your experience is very different than the experience that numerous friends have had. But that could be because you’re a guy.

      • Mike says:

        So just cause I’m a guy, then I must just be part of the bias and not experience things I disagree with? I say Hogwash again. I had lots of disagreements but if I am to be a light to the world (including conservative southern baptists) then I set aside those disagreements to unity. As a guy who worked with women (women pastors) at Lifeway this is fishy.
        I’d like to hear their side of the story.

        Mike

      • David Petrey says:

        Yeah its fine for them to discriminate, but its just dumb.They don’t carry Brian McLaren or Joel Osteen(I’m not lumping them together in any way).

        But these books are ok: “Heaven is for real” and “90 minutes in heaven” or at least too popular to ignore.

        I’m having fun seeing what they do and don’t carry.

        It looks like anything having to do with the emerging church is out. They have Shane Claiborne but not Tony Campolo or Jim Wallis.

    • Leanne says:

      My friend’s son in law was a worker at Lifeway and his experience is a lot like what MPT has described.

  • Dan B. says:

    “Vagina people.” Love it. Penis people? God’s people all.

  • Leslie says:

    Oh dear…having conceived, carried, and delivered three vagina-less folks via my own personal vagina (even managed to “pull a double” on the last round–that would be my full-term twins), I can tell you that I don’t know if I’m laughing because this is such an exquisitely true, well-written, and amusing post, or because”bad liberal theology” and upholding Bronze Age gender roles are just too, too hysterical. (Oops. “Hysterical”–that’s another woman word. My bad.). Either way, I should have worked harder on my Kegels before reading it. .
    Any other ladies need to “powder their noses?”

    Thank you. Just Brilliant.
    –Leslie

  • SenatorBrett says:

    I don’t know about the rest of you… but I judge a person, not by the content of their character, but by the size of his or her vagina. There I said it! 🙂
    Good post, as usual.

    -SB

  • Leanne says:

    I am trying to get all my friends to buy the book from any other source, make it a best seller and let LIfeway know we will go elsewhere.

  • Thanks for a great blog, thanks for getting behind Rachel in the midst of this controversy, and thanks for bringing to light the bigger issue of gender equality in the church. It manifests itself in some pretty secret, insidious ways.

  • Matthew W. says:

    Just curious as to why Lifeway is so critical to the success of this book? If the book stands upon its own merit, it should not matter whether or not Lifeway carries it. It seems as though individuals involved in promoting this story have a personal axe to grind and are somewhat insecure about their convictions and the market available to promote those convictions. Otherwise why waste time criticizing one specific company in an industry filled with many others? Just curious…

    • WindyCityGal says:

      I know it seems illogical, but you have to understand that their motivation is upholding scripture. They think they when they make these decisions.

  • Well said Matthew.

  • Chad says:

    Mr. Turner, as a pastor myself and then a reformed southern baptist also your post could not be more mis-informed. I would challenge you and others to check out a more biblical review of the book provided by Ms. Trillia Newbell here- http://www.desiringgod.org/blog/posts/a-year-of-biblical-womanhood-a-review
    It’s about solid theology not about semantics and personal feelings. Southern Baptists are about declaring the Gospel through all of our entities including Lifeway stores and not compromising.

    I pray we will all take James 5:9 into consideration here, as we do not have time to waste arguing when there are people who need the Gospel.

    • Anything Biblically sound concerning woman will never come from that site.

    • Ben F says:

      No. That review accuses Evans of trying to discredit the bible, which is not the case. I could not find a single instance of solid theology in the review that you cited.

    • Matthew says:

      I read that review. And I felt sorry for Trilia. She sounds stifled and sad.
      We aren’t going to agree on this, pastor. I value your opinion. But I disagree completely. My best.

    • Jenn says:

      @Chad I feel like you are hoping that Trillia’s review will sway opinions, solely on the grounds she has a vagina and therefore can silence these claims of patriarchy and subjugation. Her review is not sound, it does not hold any theological foundation and it does not recognize any hermeneutic awareness and while those are all issues, it shows that she is not able to recognize that her own voice has been claimed by a patriarchal world view and that concerns me more.
      And you are right it is about the Gospel, it’s about the Gospel being true to what it is, the word of God, written in a specific historical context. It’s been redacted, grammatically edited, parts lost and others collated from sources and in all that there is a message that is bigger than who has a vagina and who doesn’t and it seems that is lost when books like Rachel’s are banned. That bigger message is the one that guides us today and it is what continually leads us back to God, He loves us, Jesus sacrificed in becoming human, died and rose again so that we may have life. That’s the point, it isn’t about which Levitical law looks good to you and so you model your family around it. No, you model your family around the imago dei, around the astonishing knowledge of a God become Person/Human and that profound love and grace.

    • Pam says:

      Actually, Chad, I’d say Trillia’s review does pretty much everything she accuses Rachel of – she picks and chooses, and she sets herself up as judge, jury and executioner. She effectively stifles questioning, and she all but says that anyone who gets anything out of the book has turned their back on God. And that’s a completely unjustifiable thing to say.

      • A.P. says:

        Reformed southern baptist? A mark driscoll-john piper wet dream.

      • A.P. says:

        Also, what you describe here epitomizes the attitude and demeanor of many modern reformed preachers and churches. Domineering, insulting, and cowardly

    • Brad S says:

      Solid theology? What I read in that review was a lot of proof-texting and taking things out of context. Some things the SBC are good at doing.

    • Jonathan says:

      So…if we’re really all about the gospel here, how come you are limiting over 50 percent of the Christian population’s ability to preach it.
      What a grave offense!

  • Rich says:

    SBC has been enslaving people from the very beginning. If it’s not minorities it’s women. They have to have power and control over some group or they’re just not southern baptist. I know it from the inside out – I was an SBC pastor for a long time. I’m happier and actually doing more ministry since I left – I’m a claims adjuster now and I don’t have to worry about who will freak out when my wife is too pretty or says a few words before she sings a song. Actually – I never knew what freedom was because I’d always been Baptist. I think Rachel is great by the way, and I hope she sell a million of those heretical vagina books.

  • Matthew Hyde says:

    I was thinking of buying this book anyway, but what convinced me was a comment on ‘The Whole Dang Thing’ blog that it contains some good insights into the story of Jephthah’s daughter. And I’ll take any good insights into that story that I can get, regardless of whether or not the author has a vagina…

  • Royce says:

    “Why does LifeWay carry Mark Driscoll’s sex book?
    1. Because Ed Stetzer wants to be Mark Driscoll’s BFF.
    2. Because in his sex book, Driscoll says anal sex is okay.
    3. Because Driscoll is a “sexpert” and qualified to give instructions on whether or not your wife should wear lingerie or a thong: “Make sure she does not wear a high thong with lowrider jeans.”

    (see pg. 17 at http://marshill.com/files/theology/1/Mens%20Training%20-%20Mars%20Hill%20-%202006%20Reverse%20Engineering.pdf )

  • […] Blogger Matthew Paul Turner on Rachel Held Evans’ controversial new book and the deeper issues of why Lifeway won’t car…. […]

  • […] Matthew Paul Turner writes about the Southern Baptist Convention, Lifeway Publications and Rachel Held Evans having a hard conversation and drags Beth Moore into it.  Sorry Beth, me too.  Some think that’s bad.  I think hard conversations bring the dirt out into the Light where we allow God to deal with it and us.  So, let’s add to the conversation: […]

  • Henry Martin says:

    It is clear to me, having read a reveiw that confirmed my suspicions, that Lifeway and the SBC are being true to their conviction concerning the inerramcy of the Bible. The reviewer did a good job. Of course, the full title of the book made it clear that the author had an agenda not supported by the SBC. Why should we expect an organization to support that which conflicts with its convictions?

  • […] A Post About LifeWay, Vaginas, and @RachelHeldEvans by Matthew Paul Turner […]

  • Kathi says:

    I think the real reason why LifeWay isn’t carrying her book is that she’s daring to challenge what “biblical womanhood” is. Many of the Christian women circuit teachers (not preachers – how dare a preacher have a vagina) promote women living biblically, but what does that really mean? Is this literal or figurative in speech. Yes, I know the answer.
    Rachel takes on the challenge of finding out what the Bible says about how a woman should act in the same style that A.J. Jacobs takes on his “Year of Living Biblically.” I think that conservative evangelical leaders are afraid that if she shows women, this is what it means to “live biblically,” they might lose some of their authority over women.

    If LifeWay truly banned the book by a woman for the word vagina, yet allows a book by a man to go through that uses the words anal and sex together in one sentence, then shame on them.

  • […] while Lifeway bookstores refuse to sell Rachel’s book because she used the “V” word, Lifeway Christian Resources is no […]

  • Andrea says:

    Thank you for this, but especially for these words:
    “It’s about equality in the church. It’s about empowering women to speak up. It’s about encouraging women to embrace their voice/thoughts/opinions with freedom. It’s about the church (all of the church) becoming a safe place for people, people with and without vaginas. And it’s about our daughters, our moms, our sisters, our friends who have vaginas being nourished in spiritual environments where they are not the “weaker partner” but rather a strong valued soul who know and feel loved and accepted fully by God.”

  • everett says:

    Do you have verification on the rationale for Lifeway’s refusal to sell the book? Just a question. I don’t know the answer but often our assumptions lead us to speak before we know the whole story.

    • Nicole says:

      Thank you for this response. I was thinking exactly the same thing, especially in regard to the author’s assumptions about Beth Moore. I have attended her events, and sat under her teaching in studies. Beth Moore is marketed as a teacher to women because Beth Moore says herself that she is called to teach women! I find many other doctrinal errancies in this post, but they’re too big to discuss in a blog comment.

  • […] people with vaginas work at LifeWay. And they sell lots of books by people who have vaginas. But LifeWay only associates with vagina people who know and respect the rules they have in regards to pe….”“By the time we had gotten kicked out the first time, we expected to get kicked out […]

  • Leslie says:

    I asked about the book today. Lifeway is right next to the Dollar Tree and Big Lots, so I couldn’t pass up the chance. Wore my Grown Up Glasses and everything.The female clerk actually froze and stammered. And not in the ‘of neurological/motor planning etiology” kind of way.
    I said something like, “Oh, I was just wondering when it would be in,” or something equally provocative (Not. This is the Deep South).
    Apparently it was enough to get someone higher up involved, which was rather funny because I’d already thanked the poor woman and was headed for the door. The Guy Higher Up (no, not THAT Guy) was also pretty stammery and vague, so I’m not sure what *his* point was, but it was um…interesting. I guess.

    I like The Dollar Tree way better.
    Regards, Leslie

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  • Mallory says:

    I’m bothered by this, but of course, Lifeway does have the right to pick what it wants to sell, just like any other bookstore. They are probably not likely to sell anything that doesn’t fit into a complementarian mold.
    Lifeway complaints aside, the Southern Baptist Convention is not THE problem. You talk about this “one” denomination, but most denominations will not let women serve as pastors (or priests). They have a right to their decision and I know that’s their earnest interpretation of NT scripture, but it still bothers me.