Author Archives: JoAnna Hoyt

A poor theology of repentance has led the Church into its current crises. Too often the Church’s theology of repentance relies on words and divorces itself from justice. Repentance is more than words and actions. In far too many ways the Church has taught that repentance = words. That repentance occurs when people say words,ContinueContinue reading “Repentance is Not Transactional”

The disagreements over women in so many evangelical churches often center around titles – not function. Most often the conversations are framed about what women can “do” in a church (their functions). Yet the reality is that far too often complementarian theology denies women titles while encouraging and even expecting women to do the functionsContinueContinue reading “What A (Pastor) Title Means”

Eight(?) years ago, I had a horrible, terrible, very bad, no good year. It was the year that proved how difficult it is to be a woman in Evangelical Christian Academia. I had gone through a 9-month hiring process with a well-known school. Everything was great until it wasn’t. It ended…badly. It ended because certainContinueContinue reading “A Good ETS Story”

Writing so much this summer has me thinking about the first time I took my writing outside of the classroom. I presented a paper at the national ETS meeting. My dad, who was super proud of me, couldn’t understand much of what I studied since Hebrew was like Greek to him. (That was his favoriteContinueContinue reading “Pastoral Insults”

Story time about how a Christian doctor told me how to dispose of a body in Mexico…his body. In a previous life I was a campus minister (BSM at SMU and UTSWMC). Every year the med school students went to Mexico to run free clinics out of local churches. I led my first trip soloContinueContinue reading “Story time”

There are two Tamars in the Bible – both victims of injustice. Both suffered injustice at the very hands of those who were to advocate for and carry out justice on their behalf. Both speak to us today as we are surrounded by Tamars in our community and nation. Both Tamars are frequently excluded fromContinueContinue reading “Seeing the Tamars”

Lāmēd/lahmed (לָמֵד) is my absolute favorite Hebrew word. My Hebrew students are used to me talking about my favorites in Hebrew. I have a favorite vowel (qibbuts, ֻ ), a favorite noun (mishpat, משׁפט), a favorite particle (halo, הלא), etc. This verb, though, tops them all. Lahmed is often translated simply as “to learn.” IContinueContinue reading “לָמֵד or lāmēd or lahmed”