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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRev. Marie Nutall`It's a divine assignment' u Despite tradition and Southern Baptist doctrine, the 400 -mem- ber congregation at New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church Aggie excited at chance to become rare female Baptist pastor By LAURA HENSLEY Eagle Staff Writer W hen the Rev. Marie Nutall steps into the pulpit Sunday morning, she will become the first female head pastor at New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church in Bryan — and only the third head pastor there in 83 years. "I'm humbled," said Nutall, 39, who has served four years as the IF YOU GO WHAT: Installation service for the Rev. Marie Nutall WHEN: 4 p.m. Sunday WHERE: New Jerusalem Missionary Baptist Church, 3200 W, 28th St. in Bryan church's assistant pastor. "It's a divine assignment which will require that I stay focused on the Lord so I Eagle photo /Butch Ireland in Bryan voted to have the Rev. Marie Nutall succeed the Rev. Samuel Taplin as their lead pastor. can serve this church and this com- munity. It's not about me; it's about God." The congregation's decision to have a woman lead the church is an unusual one. In 2000, the Southern Baptist Convention voted to officially ban women from serving as pastors. Nutall simply refers to herself as a servant of God and said gender has See NUTALL, Page A5 Nutall From A little to do with her ability or devotion to serve. "It's truly the Lord's doing," she said. "It's all about him, and I'm humbled that God has chosen me. It's nothing I sought. It just hap- pened." Despite tradition and Southern Baptist doctrine, New Jerusalem's 400 -mem- ber congregation voted to have Nutall succeed the Rev. Samuel Taplin as head pas- tor. The decision wasn't easy, but after prayer and discussion among members, the answer became clear, said Cedric Payton, chair- man of the church's deacon board. The church since has lost a few members, and there is a quiet grumbling among some members of other area churches, but New Jerusalem's congregation is solid on the decision, he said. "God's word doesn't change," he said. "I'm not God; she's not God. Who are we to question what he says? "God moves us in many ways, and this is the direc- tion we are being moved to. There was no hesitation, because we know this is what God is calling us to do. We knew there would be neg- ative things said, but we will face it day -to -day and move on. I think we made a good decision for this church and this community." According to Southern Baptist Convention data from the year 2000, about 30 of its more than 40,000 churches had women as pas- tors. Of the 5,000 Southern Baptist congregations in Texas, only two were listed as having female pastors. More women Baptist pas- tors exist, but the churches they serve usually opt to cut ties with the Southern Bap- tist Convention. Payton said New Jerusalem will not change its name but will become more of a nondenom- inational church after Nutall takes over her pastoral duties. Nutall, who is from the small East Texas town of Garrison, said she was called to the ministry in 1992. She recently had graduated from Texas A &M University with a degree in psychology and was attending church at New Jerusalem, where she met her husband, Lorenza. "It was a tugging," she said. "It felt different than what I was accustomed to. I never grew up saying I want- ed to be a pastor, but I knew this is what I needed to do." Nutall was ordained and licensed as a minister in 1996 and later became the church's assistant pastor. As assistant pastor, she juggled her responsibilities with her other job as the supervisor and training coordinator for the Brazos Community Supervision and Corrections Department, for- merly the adult probation department. It's a balancing act Nutall will continue as she steps up as head pastor. "It brings me a lot of joy, and I love helping people," she said of her two jobs. "I want to be a good pastor and help people professionally, personally and spiritually." • Laura Hensley's e-mail address is laura.hensley @theeagle.com.