The SBC is afraid of platformed women

Reflections on Beth Moore's memoir and Karen Swallow Prior's departure from SEBTS.

I had never pre-ordered a book until All My Knotted-Up Life. No surprise, the best-selling memoir from Bible teacher Beth Moore is engaging, humble, and funny. Like, really funny. Moore is a master weaver of stories that always point to Jesus, and highlight his incredible patience with us goobers and goof-ups.

Part of a memoir’s appeal is that it highlights how singular a life is. And Moore has had quite a singular life. She grew up in Arkansas with four siblings, a mother with mental illness, and a sexually abusive and adulterous father. (Reader, be warned.) She tells of her early entry into ministry, having distinctly heard God’s call while serving at a Baptist girls’ camp, toothbrush in hand.

She tells of the early days of leading aerobics classes at First Baptist Church in Houston — I would legit pay for aerobics classes led by Beth Moore — then watching her teaching explode in popularity and draw stadiums full of women hungry for the Word. There are many twists and turns in her fa…