 |
 |
|
Twins Envision Unity in Ministry
Melinda and Belinda Thomas are committed to embodying Jesus' prayer that "they may be one." Literally. The identical twin sisters, in their senior year at the seminary, feel called to co-pastor a church where they will model the unity Christ seeks for his body. And they'll support each other with an intimate awareness of their gifts and weaknesses. "It's like doing ministry in 3-D," Belinda says. Co-pastorships are often merely symbolic, Melinda notes . Typically, a husband and wife purport to share leadership, but the husband is really the pastor. The twins are aiming higher. "We want to do the real thing," Melinda says . The sisters grew up in St. Louis in the Pentecostal church. They came to the Bay Area as travel nurses and learned of the seminary through their bishop, who sensed their call to be pastors and advised them to prepare. In the Pentecostal tradition, they don't usually think highly of seminary, Melinda says. But the sisters' bishop spoke well of ABSW, so they enrolled, together. For her senior project, Melinda is researching examples of twins who share pastoral roles. It's a rare phenomenon, but Melinda has found at least one model in Nashville: the senior pastor and associate are identical twins. The Thomas sisters say that people are always telling twins they have to be individuals – they have to discover their own sense of self. But this thinking tends to inhibit the natural sense of community that twins feel, Melinda says. She notes that the model they present is very different from the typical Western model, a hierarchical approach where one always has authority over another. In contrast , the twins are interested in a community-based model that emphasizes egalitarianism . Some people may regard this as strange, Melinda admits, but the model is Jesus' message to his disciples: When they are one, they are more powerful against injustice, ungodliness, and unrighteousness, she says. Other ministers may be most uncomfortable with their model, Belinda notes. So acceptance of their ministry by other leaders is part of the work ahead. "They'll realize God is doing a new thing," Belinda says , "and they'll be able to work with us better."
|
© 2001 American Baptist Seminary
of the West
All Rights Reserved