President Livingstone to Moderate Baylor Libraries Author Series Conversation on Women’s Calling in “We Follow Christ”
On Wednesday, November 12, 2025, at 11:00 a.m., as part of the Baylor Libraries Author series, Jeffry Archer, the Dean of Libraries, Museums, and the Press will welcome Matthew D. Kim, Professor of Preaching and Pastoral Leadership at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Tara Beth Leach, Senior Pastor of Good Shepherd Church, and Patricia M. Batten, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Ranked Adjunct Assistant Professor of Preaching and Associate Director of the Haddon W. Robinson Center for Preaching, along with contributor Angela Reed, Truett Seminary’s Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor of Practical Theology. The panelists will speak about their work editing and contributing to the new Baylor University Press publication, “We Follow Christ: Helping Women to Discern God’s Call,” in conversation with Baylor University President, Dr. Linda Livingstone. The session will be held in the Great Hall of George W. Truett Theological Seminary and available online via Zoom Webinar.
“The opportunity to feature a volume published by Baylor University Press that is co-edited by one of our Truett Seminary faculty, includes contributions from several women who serve the Baylor community, and is introduced by the President not only seems natural, but is an honor,” said Baylor University Dean of Baylor Libraries, Museums, and the Press, Jeffry Archer. “One of the imperatives of Baylor’s strategic plan, Baylor in Deeds, is civil discourse, and this conversation will provide another opportunity for community engagement and conversation on a significant topic.”
The co-editors’ book shares collective wisdom and experiences in being called by God and exercising that call through personal accounts of vocational identity. The accounts come from the unique and gifted contributors to this volume (including Kim, Leach, Batten, and Reed) who are leaders in their respective fields in the church, theological education, and society. The book’s foreword was written by Baylor University President Linda A. Livingstone and the afterword by Northern Seminary New Testament Professor Nijay K. Gupta.
“I hope readers will recognize that the call of Christ is not confined by gender, geography, or tradition, but rooted in the Spirit’s freedom to gift and send whomever God chooses,” said Leach. “My desire is that this book would awaken fresh imagination for what the Church can be when every voice and vocation is unleashed for the Kingdom.”
Leach graduated from Olivet Nazarene University and Northern Theological Seminary. Her previously published books include “Emboldened: A Vision for Empowering Women in Ministry” (InterVarsity Press, 2017), “Radiant Church: Restoring the Credibility of Our Witness” (InterVarsity Press, 2021), and “Forty Days on Being a Six” (InterVarsity Press, 2021). Batten earned her D.Min. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Her expertise lies in homiletics/disability & homiletics, teaching & preaching, storytelling & creative writing, and creative preaching.
“No matter where you find yourself in hearing and heeding your God-given calling, we trust that this book will provide you with an insiders-look into what it means to consider and exercise your calling in one of many different expressions of ministry, perhaps even a calling you never dreamed of,” said Kim.
Kim earned his doctorate in Divinity from the University of Edinburgh. His current research focuses on pastoral leadership, pastoral ministry, homiletics, ecclesiology, and congregational studies. Alongside his professorship at George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Kim is the holder of the Endowed Chair in Preaching and Evangelism, and director of the Ph.D. in Preaching program. Angela Reed earned her doctorate from Princeton Theological Seminary. Alongside her associate deanship and professorship at Baylor, Reed is the Director of Spiritual Formation for the Seminary.
This event is free and open to the public. Following the conversation, there will be a reception with light refreshments and a book signing. At the event copies of, “We Follow Christ: Helping Women to Discern God’s Call,” will be available for purchase from Baylor University Press.
The Baylor Libraries Author Series celebrates select published works of Baylor faculty, staff, students, and alumni throughout the academic year. These conversations engage the Baylor and Waco community and encourage continued dialogue on important topics.