Can this book change your life? In Journey to the Well, Bishop Vashti McKenzie offers lessons in spiritual transformation - Interview

Black Issues Book Review, Sept-Oct, 2002 by Kathryn V. Stanley

My first encounter with Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie is one I will never forget. It was ten years ago, and McKenzie had been recently appointed senior pastor of the historic Payne Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Church in her hometown of Baltimore. For me, women preachers were nothing new--my grandmother was one. But meeting a woman who was a recognized pastor was something else altogether. What amazed and inspired me about McKenzie was not the fact that she had assumed a prominent role in Christian ministry, something that had been traditionally denied African-American women. Rather, it was her creative approach to ministry that left me with a lasting impression.

In her Founders' Day address ten years ago to a Washington, D.C., area chapter of the Delta Sigma Theta Sorority--of which her grandmother was a founding member and McKenzie herself currently serves as national chaplain--she spoke of how she was able to draw women from the community to the church by hosting midday TV soap opera-viewing groups. In order to reach these women--many of whom were single parents on public assistance--she believed that they must be met on their own terms. And while most of the women came to Payne A.M.E. Church to watch "the stories," she observed that they left with a different perspective through their encounters with Jesus Christ. It is that kind of religious pragmatism that has marked her career in the ministry.

Since then, McKenzie's own life has changed considerably. Two years ago, McKenzie became a trailblazer in the African Methodist Episcopal Church by becoming the first woman to be elected bishop in the church's history, which dates back to 1787. Currently, McKenzie presides over the 18th Episcopal District of the church, an area that extends from the Indian Ocean to the Kalahari Desert and includes the southwestern African nations of Botswana, Swaziland, Mozambique and Lesotho. Yet, despite her vast authority, McKenzie has not lost the same enthusiasm and passion for transforming women's lives through ministry that she exhibited during her early years as a pastor.

My second encounter with Bishop McKenzie was in Atlanta this summer where she was on tour promoting her latest book, Journey to the Well. Indeed, the life-changing concept that she has embraced in her pastorship has become the source of her new book.

No stranger to writing, Journey to the Well is McKenzie's third book. Even before answering the call to ministry, McKenzie was a journalist with a heritage rooted in the black press. Her great-grandfather, John H. Murphy Sr., founded the Afro-American newspapers in 1887, which became one of the largest chains of black weekly newspapers in the country, and still exists today.

With McKenzie there is no pretense. Instead, she exudes warmth, a sense of humor and a sincere passion for the kind of ministry that is transforming. So it is not surprising that Journey to the Well isn't the usual spiritual self-help book. "It isn't merely to be read and put down. It is to be experienced," says McKenzie.

In Journey, McKenzie draws from the New Testament story of the hopeless Samaritan whose life is transformed when she has a chance encounter with Jesus at a well--thus the title of the book. McKenzie uses this ancient parable to illustrate how women can empower themselves to overcome adversity and lead richer, happier, more spiritually nurturing lives.

"Hidden inside this scripture is what I call the `genius of Jesus'," says McKenzie. "Not only does Jesus break custom by speaking to a Samaritan woman in public. But also--better than any psychiatrist or psychologist you could ever hope for--he lays down a pattern for transformation. In this story [Journey to the Well], Jesus helps a five-time divorcee, who is currently living with a man not her husband, to face her past; and through His presence gives her hope for a brighter future. After her encounter with Jesus," McKenzie continues, "this woman dropped her water-gathering pots at the well and went back to her community. This time, instead of being isolated and dislocated, she returned as an agent of change who was able to lead others in transforming their own lives by encountering Jesus Christ."

McKenzie's message to readers is simple: If you take the journey of the Samaritan woman, you can achieve similar personal transformation and learn to recognize those "kairos" moments in your life.

In the twelve chapters of Journey, McKenzie illustrates a different lesson that women can learn if they become, "well women," a reference to the spiritual enlightenment she advocates for all women. In addition to providing advice, anecdotes from her own life and others, as well as biblical quotations and meditations in each chapter, McKenzie calls upon readers to engage in the "disciplines of the well."

There are five disciplines outlined at the end of each chapter that encourage readers to put into practice the lessons discussed. The first discipline, "well lessons," helps explain the essence of the Samaritan woman's experience. These teachings underscore the message of the story. "Well words" and "well language," which include scriptural references and positive affirmations, are designed to keep readers focused on their spiritual journey.