Robin Dickerson said, “There’s no training to be a pastor’s wife.” She then asked a room full of women, “Have any of you all had training?” The question was greeted with laughter.
Dickerson (right), wife of Bob Dickerson, pastor of Marion First Baptist Church, was the keynote speaker at the Ministers’ Wives Fellowship during the IBSA Pastors’ Conference. The theme of the brunch meeting was “Bloom where you’re planted.”
Dickerson pointed out pastors receive training, but their wives are often thrown into ministry and have to learn as they go along. “Sometimes people have the misconception that because he knows, you should know. They think there’s supposed to be some kind of a mind meld,” she joked.
Often, churches think they are “getting two for one” when they call a pastor. But, Dickerson said her husband has protected her by telling search committees, “Her ministry is to me.” She urged the women to ask God what their talent is and what to do with it.
“If a beautiful lily blooms in murky water, you too can bloom in murky situations,” she said. “We have to learn to thrive through that. It is tough; some of us have tender hearts.”
Dickerson reminded the ladies, “We blossom with praise like flowers under the sun. The bloom may be brief, but the memories of the beauty may last forever.”
Alyssa Caudill led worship and was accompanied by her husband, Drake, pastor of Carmi First Baptist Church.
Ministers’ wives elected 2020 officers: President Jeanette Cloyd, North Side Baptist Church, Fairfield; Vice President Libby Morecraft, FBC Harrisburg; and Treasurer Mary Sue Jones, Tabernacle Baptist Church, Decatur.