DONNA POWELL: I am a daughter of God. I am an artist. I am a preacher. I'm a teacher. I'm a nerd, but the grown-up word we use is scholar. I am a woman who is very much interested in what it means to live a whole and full life in Jesus. Both in the eternal, but also in the now and I think that was shaped by my experience. I grew up Mt. Vernon; loving parents who always told me that I can do. And in fact, my father was one who would chastise me if I said the word "can't." You know, Marvin Sapp has that that song, "You saw the best in me when others didn't see the best in me." And that is not my testimony. I always had people see the best in me. Thanks be to God. So, I grew up in Mt. Vernon; went to public school in Mt. Vernon until high school and then went to Rye Country Day School in Rye, New York, which is a predominantly white, affluent, private school, which was difficult as a 14 and 15, 16, 17-year old, but in so many ways shapes how I operate in ministry even now. And thinking about who's on the margins in society and whose voice is not being heard. So I did that, went off to NYU to college; was an art major, took a year off after that and then went to Howard and was a photography major in the master's program there. And so what I neglected to say was that I joined the church when I was 14 years and to tell the truth, it wasn't about Jesus. It was about youth group and boys and something to do on a Friday night. But God always has a plan and we thank God for His foresight and foreknowledge even when we don't know. So, I joined the church at 14 and was active in choir and leadership and, truth be told, I could say stuff about Jesus, but I didn't really know Jesus. And at 18, when I thought I was grown, when I started college, I stopped going to church and started going to some other places. Before I finished my graduate degree at Howard, I started going to, a friend had invited me to a church in Langley, Maryland at Reed Temple AME Church and it was there that I heard the Gospel and believed and confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord and so from there, I then moved back from D.C. to New York and became active in my home church. The Bethesda Baptist Church of New Rochelle and just was thirsty for God; thirsty for God's word, thirsty to pray, thirsty to worship, and felt a calling on my life, experienced a calling on my life and wrestled with it and finally, surrendered knowing that there was nothing else that I wanted to do than to serve God and went to seminary and here I am.
MORRIS: And where are you attending right now?
DONNA POWELL: I'm a senior, thanks be to God, at Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey and before the next issue comes out after this, I will have graduated.
MORRIS: Now, you talked about wrestling which is a term that you used by so many ministers of the Gospel. How do you define wrestling and just explain to us what that whole process was of wrestling and how you finally yielded to the calling of the Lord.
DONNA POWELL: I experienced my call to Ministry, I would say, much like Samuel where, I had these midnight hour experiences. And so, it started with waking up in the middle of the night and feeling this burden to pray, this press to pray for people and things that I had no idea about. People that I hadn't seen in years, I felt a press to pray. Situations I had no idea about, I was praying for at like 3:00 in the morning, which for me is not an hour, after I stopped partying, I didn't want any parts of anymore. So, it began with this waking up with this press to pray and then it was waking up with this press to read scripture, and then I would journal about it and then, my hands weren't moving fast enough to write down what I was getting from my reading of scriptures, so I was waking up, reading Scripture, pulling out my laptop and typing. And so, after about the seventh time of typing, I printed what I had. I set up a meeting with my Pastor, Dr. Weaver and I said, "Pastor, what are these? What is this?" and he said, "They're sermons. You have a mark on your life." And so, I started crying. We were in the Thruway Diner in New Rochelle and I started crying. And I don't remember exactly why I was crying. I don't know if I was overwhelmed, if I was scared. I don't remember...
MORRIS: All of the above.
DONNA POWELL: Yes, all of the above. Excited! So, that was in 2004, I believe, in the spring of 2004 and I preached at our women's day service, at our 10:30 service in October of 2004. And that was the first time that a non-clergy person spoke at a major service during the 10:30 worship hour. And the Lord just did a mighty work in that. From the preparation to the experience of preaching for me, but still I wasn't ready to give up the vision I had for my own life. I wanted to be married; I wanted my career to go a certain way. I saw these things for my life and I didn't know how being in ministry fit into my plan for my life, as if my plan for my life is the ultimate plan. And so, I didn't see how it fit and so, I was still going to church, still excited for the Lord, still worshipping and praising, still going to bible study, still thirsty, but on some level, was ignoring the tug. And I think there comes a point when you ignore the tug long enough that either God stops tugging for a while or you become so desensitized to the tug that you don't feel it anymore. But here I am!
MORRIS: You are finishing actually your senior year.
DONNA POWELL: Yes.
MORRIS: At Drew?
DONNA POWELL: Yes.
MORRIS: Here's the question: What's next?
DONNA POWELL: In the immediate: God knows. Graduation is May 15th. God knows what will happen on May 16th. In terms of the immediate, God knows and I believe God. By no means, do I believe that God has brought me this far in all of the experiences that I've had... in seminary, in my wrestling with the call, in teaching, in being an artist, in being a lover of hip-hop (that's something I didn't say, but it also shapes who I am in ministry), so, I don't think that God has brought me this far through all of those experiences (as a daughter, as a sister, as a friend) to have me sitting around doing nothing after graduation. Some of the things that I do know are kind of things that are on the horizon. I love "The Word" and I love words and so writing a book is something that I know will happen and will happen in the near future because I'm already working on it. I'm living it. I'm jotting things down. So that's something I know that will happen. You know, I said earlier that I'm a nerd a.k.a. scholar and so I know that I have a passion for learning and for education and so a Ph.D. is in my future, and not just for learning's sake but to the glory of God. So that, there can be voices in our seminaries and in our colleges and universities of faithful people who are teaching those who will go on to be pastors and teachers and missionaries and those who will go on and work in various kinds of ministry. So, it's not just because I want to sit around and read books all day although I'd love that, but it's to the glory of God. So, I know that's in the future. We hope there's a husband and some babies in the future, some artwork to be birthed, but all to the glory of God. So, you know, the immediate specifics, I don't know, but I trust God. God had a plan for when I thought I was joining the church for the Youth Group and boys way back in the day, I know God has a plan even now.
MORRIS: Right. With that being said, I think that a segue for you to speak, if you would, speak to the man or woman of God who is clear that God has a direction for them and that is in pursuit of that, but does not know what that next step is. What would you say to that reader who's there, but is not as comfortable as they believe they should be in that process of not knowing what their next step would be?
DONNA POWELL: First, I have to say that as we are talking now I'm quite comfortable, but I have my days where I'm not comfortable. I have my days where I cry and I ask God will you show me something, not that I don't believe, but will you show me something. And so, I would say, even as your questioning be comforted that God hears your questions. The second thing I would say, is thinking about the Sermon on the Mount where Jesus talks about God's provision and how God provides for the birds in the air and how the lilies of the fields, they don't do any work, but they are splendid and how they are taken care of and just how much more God will take care of us. And the way it ends is beautiful in Gospel of Matthew, he says sufficient for each day are today's struggles number one, but then number two, Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness and all things will be added unto you. And so the answer I would give for one to remain sure and the way that I remain sure and can speak with confidence now is that I just need to do what I need to do today, seeking God's kingdom and when we do that, there comes a point where we'll look back and realize that we've been doing some things and God has brought us to some places that we didn't have to fret about to get to because we were seeking his kingdom and he took care of us, he made the way. And that's not to say that you don't do anything in planning and preparation, but even in the planning and preparation, God will lead us. It's just about seeking God and being open to hearing God and trusting God to say, "I don't have to know because I know that you know".
MORRIS: Right, right. Excellent. Switching gears for a moment. I want to discuss women in ministry. We know that they have varying points of view as to what the role of women in ministry is, actually. What do you see as the role of women in ministry? And then also, if you could also just provide some scriptural foundation for the conclusion that you come up with.
DONNA POWELL: First, is I absolutely support women in Ministry. And believe that women are called to ministry. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here on the phone with you. I mean, I wouldn't have answered a call that didn't exist. And that call was so heavy and so real. And I know some women who have difficulty with the idea of women in Ministry because they've been taught that, but even if I was one of those women, this call was so strong that I wouldn't be able to deny it anymore.So that's the first thing. In terms of some of my scriptural understanding or the role of women, I think it's the prophet Joel who says I'll pour out my spirit upon all flesh and your sons AND daughters shall prophecy. And the role of the prophet is to proclaim the Good News of the Lord. It's that call that Isaiah makes that Jesus follows up, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me to preach the Good News... to proclaim" that's the role of the prophet... "To release the captives, to set free those who are bound, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord". And your sons and your daughters will do that.
