A professor and performer, Dr. Kimberly Chandler has a long history with the Christian church. When she organized a family reunion and there was a requisite Sunday church service planned, she did not have to corral her people to a house of worship. Between the licensed ministers, choir directors, lead sopranos, ushers and first ladies among her family members, the Chandlers had their own church service right where they had their barbecue the day before. In this episode, she reveals why she no longer has a place for “manmade” religion in her life. A licensed minister, she experienced firsthand the sexism and commitment to rigid gender roles that keep many forward-thinking women away from churches. She maintains that the sexist pushback she felt as a woman active in the church has nothing to do with scripture. It is more about how men relate to women and the stain of toxic masculinity. Her own father – a minister himself – discouraged her from responding to the call she received from God. Dr. Chandler does not resent her father and faithful Christians who truly believe that it is God’s will to abdicate leadership to males who then serve as overseers to the women doing most of the work on these religious “plantations.” She knows the “black church” is a diverse entity and in today’s world, she believes one can find a church home that matches one’s progressive ideals. As she articulates where she is on her spiritual journey, she talks about freeing herself from the image of the Angry God who rules with punishment. Having overcome mental breakdowns in the past, Kimberly decided, “I had no choice but to to free myself from the belief that God was out to get me. I had to take care of myself spiritually and emotionally.”
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