Dr. Sherri at King Monument, Washington D.C., July 21, 2017 "A time comes when silence is betrayal.” Martin Luther King Jr, Beyond Vietnam, Riverside Church, New York, NY These words spoken almost 60 years ago loudly sound the alarm to many who allow silence to hide behind politeness or fear. King did not speak those words casually or aimlessly. He spoke these words in a moment when telling the truth carried political, professional, and personal risks. He called silence a bre

From Sunday School to Baptist Training Union to Vacation Bible School, I heard about Esther saving her people. My teachers taught Esther was a good queen, while Vashti was a bad queen. However, lately, I keep coming back to Esther’s story because it resonates with my 60-year-old mind and heart in a profound way that makes me pause. Based upon my lived experiences and those of countless Black women of faith, I now know that Esther did not wake up one day feeling bold. She didn

Dr. Sherri, The UnMuted One Silence is not a personality trait, and it has nothing to do with whether you are an introvert or not. Silence is a survival strategy. As a Black woman who works with Black women of faith, I hear it all of the time. I hear the same stories over and over again. Brillant women. Faithful women. Women who pray, serve, lead, give, and show up. And yet, when it comes to their own needs, their own callings, their own pain, they get quiet. Make no mistake

With love and clarity, I’m here as a big sister and aunt who has been in Baptist pews, meetings, and back rooms long enough to tell you the truth. And so, I will. And so here it is. I was raised in a conservative Black Baptist tradition where gender roles were and, in many ways, still clearly defined and fiercely defended. Scripture, especially Paul’s words about women keeping silent, was and still as a theological stop sign. Don’t preach. Don’t lead unles it’s mission or...

Alright, come a little closer! I've got some big sister wisdom I want to share. As we step into a new year, Genesis 1:26  still speaks with fresh urgency: “Let us  make humankind in our  image.”  Before calendars, before resolutions, before hustle culture told us to handle everything on our own, God chose togetherness . Community wasn’t God's afterthought. Community was God's design. And if that’s the design, then one of the most necessary pivots we can make this year is mo

Of all the holidays that fill the calendar, the Christmas season has always carried a different weight for me. It is NOT the “most wonderful time of the year” for me. The pace, the expectations, the noise overwhelmed me none of it has ever settled easily in my spirit. And to be honest, childhood memories filled with dread, drunkenness and darkness, all of which deeply affected how I move in the world. But something changed for me around 2016 when I made a gentle decision: I w

Them: You can be anything in life you want to be. Girl: I want to be a teacher, a nurse, a doctor, or a lawyer. Them: That’s excellent....

“…women should be silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be subordinate, as the law also says. If there...

Rev. Dr. Sherri L. Brown, The UnMuted One Today is Pentecost Sunday, and in many of our religious spaces, there will be much exuberant,...

May 25, 2003, Zoe Outreach Ministries On May 25, 2003, while the world watched war unfold in Iraq, I stood in a small church called Zoe...

Happy New Year! We’ve made it to 2025! If we’re honest, though, 2024 wasn’t all easy. There were tough moments—times when we felt like...

By Dr. Sherri L. Jackson The stories of Mary, Joseph, Ruth and Boaz reveal the revolutionary ways God elevates women and challenges...

A picture-perfect day of rest One knows it’s terrible when God initiates a “come to Jesus meeting” with you. Such is the case for me as...

The PreacHERS Academy wants to hear from you to ensure our courses help you thrive in ministry. What do you need to be the best preacher,...

20. Twenty. 2003-2023 On Memorial Day Sunday, 20 years ago, I stood before a waiting congregation in Zoe Outreach Ministries under the...

I'm so excited to announce that the Preacher's Academy is back and will offer its first course of 2023. My New Year's gift to you is a...

Let’s be careful for what we are asking God to do in 2022. Yeah, I know that the Ancient One of Old is sovereign and knows the ending as...

Oh, how I wish I had adequate words to describe 2021. I mean how could one describe the best of times and the worst of times. And what’s...

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions! We are all faced with decisions. Some decisions that we face or life altering while others won’t affect...

If you’re reading this, that means that you survived 2020 even if you did so on broken pieces. If you allow me this space to simply...