Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of Women and People of Color in Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition
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Digital Commons @ George Fox University Doctor of Ministry Theses and Dissertations 2-2020 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion of Women and People of Color in Leadership in the Wesleyan Tradition Trisha Welstad Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/dmin Part of the Christianity Commons GEORGE FOX UNIVERSITY DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION OF WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR IN LEADERSHIP IN THE WESLEYAN TRADITION A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF PORTLAND SEMINARY IN CANDIDACY FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF MINISTRY BY TRISHA WELSTAD PORTLAND, OREGON FEBRUARY 2020 Portland Seminary George Fox University Portland, Oregon CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL ________________________________ DMin Dissertation ________________________________ This is to certify that the DMin Dissertation of Trisha Welstad has been approved by the Dissertation Committee on March 2, 2020 for the degree of Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Global Perspectives Dissertation Committee: Primary Advisor: Diane Zemke, PhD Secondary Advisors: Rebecca Laird, DMin and Linda Adams, DMin Lead Mentor: Jason Clark, PhD, DMin Unless otherwise noted, Scripture references are from the New Revised Standard Version, 1989. Copyright © 2020 by Trisha Welstad All rights reserved ii DEDICATION To William and Lucy. May you embody God’s inclusive mission as the world continues to transform. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Thank you to the Portland Seminary Doctorate of Ministry team. You have been an incredible support and I will forever be grateful for your tireless work on our behalf. Jase, thank you for developing this program for the many of us who are enacting God’s kingdom through this formative work. Your wonder has formed a legacy of critically minded doctoral practitioners. Diane, thank you for your steady encouragement and enthusiasm around my many swirling ideas. I hold much gratitude for you. To my community of friends and colleagues, thank you for believing in me, and, more importantly, in the hopefulness of God’s kingdom come. William and Lucy, your endless grace and happiness, even through the stress of writing, compelled me on. You are my inspiration for the future of God’s kingdom come. Troy, my love, thank you for sacrificing alongside me in this good work for an equitable future for our children and our world. iv EPIGRAPH Oh, my dear ones. I know you were hoping For a once-and-done. For an earthquake, A tidal wave. Hoping that if we gave it our all, A single push would be enough. That after this, we could Sink Back into complacency, Back into the comfort of our privilege. I confess, in the secret corners of my heart, I wanted to believe it could be that easy That justice would emerge as from an egg Fully grown Not with wet down and weak wings... But beloveds, We are chipping away at a mountain, Not a boulder. Calcified structures Created to oppress, Control, Kill. 2000 years of this stupid idea That some are worthy, Some deserve power by virtue of who they are. Erosion is slow work, sweethearts. Celebrate the progress The triumphs. Celebrate also the heartbreaking almosts. Breathe. Rest for a time. Then get up and turn again toward kindness, Toward your neighbor in need, Toward those who are still trapped in the stone. Tell them, “I won’t give up.” Tell them, “I am with you.” Tell them, “For you, I will learn to eat rocks.” “For you, I will keep chewing, keep grinding, Until the mountain crumbles to dust.” -Elizabeth Stevens v Table of Contents DEDICATION .............................................................................................................. III ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................. IV EPIGRAPH .................................................................................................................... V LIST OF FIGURES .................................................................................................... VIII ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................. IX CHAPTER 1: DESCRIPTION OF THE PROBLEM ...................................................... 1 Introduction ............................................................................................................... 1 Challenges on the Horizon ......................................................................................... 2 Factors to Consider .................................................................................................... 9 Disparities Revealed ................................................................................................ 10 Biblical Motivations for Inclusion............................................................................ 15 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion ............................................................................... 18 Impacts of Diverse and Equitable Practice ............................................................... 22 Benefits of Diversity in the Church .......................................................................... 24 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 25 CHAPTER 2: BIBLICAL FOUNDATIONS ................................................................ 27 Old Testament ......................................................................................................... 27 Gender Inclusion in Leadership.............................................................................. 28 Ethnic Inclusion in Leadership ............................................................................... 32 New Testament ........................................................................................................ 38 Gender Inclusion in Leadership.............................................................................. 38 Jesus and Gender Partnership ................................................................................. 39 Signs of Restoration ............................................................................................... 40 Ethnic Inclusion in Leadership ............................................................................... 46 Jesus and Ethnic Partnership .................................................................................. 46 Signs of Restoration ............................................................................................... 47 Radical Inclusion of the Nations ............................................................................ 51 Future and Final Restoration of Culture ................................................................. 54 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 55 CHAPTER 3: THEOLOGICAL AND HISTORICAL FOUNDATIONS ...................... 56 Wesley and Wesleyans ............................................................................................ 56 Wesleyans as Abolitionists ...................................................................................... 59 Wesleyans and Women’s Rights .............................................................................. 61 Wesleyan Women .................................................................................................... 66 Changes in U.S. Policy and Records ........................................................................ 67 The Twentieth Century ............................................................................................ 69 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 72 CHAPTER 4: CULTURAL AND SOCIOLOGICAL BARRIERS ............................... 73 The Wesleyan Memory ............................................................................................ 75 Cultural Accommodation ....................................................................................... 78 vi Complementarian/Non-Wesleyan Infiltration ......................................................... 81 Current Internal Culture ......................................................................................... 82 Loss of Future Vision .............................................................................................. 97 Recent Attempts at Diversity and Inclusion ........................................................... 100 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 106 CHAPTER 5: POCKETS OF HOPE .......................................................................... 107 Publications ........................................................................................................... 108 Online Statements ................................................................................................ 108 Websites .............................................................................................................. 111 Networks ............................................................................................................... 112 Promoting Gender Equity ...................................................................................... 114 Promoting Equity for People of Color .................................................................... 116 Conferences ..........................................................................................................