Dr. Beth Allison Barr on Calling, Ministry, and Becoming the Pastor's Wife

🎙️ In this episode of The Stark Difference, we talk with Dr. Beth Allison Barr—James Vardaman Professor of History at Baylor University and best-selling author of Becoming the Pastor’s Wife.

Dr. Barr shares candid reflections on her calling to ministry and academia, the unspoken pressures on pastors’ wives, and how women in the church can—and should—set healthy boundaries.

🕓 Highlights

• 5:35 – Dr. Barr's call to ministry and graduate education

• 13:11 – Stories from life as a pastor’s wife

• 17:52 – A sneak peek into Becoming the Pastor’s Wife and how the role is historically recent

• 30:53 – Boundaries in ministry and how pastors' wives can (and must) say “no"

• 50:55 – A word to male pastors on how empowering women also lightens their load

• 53:02 – Why church history isn’t optional—and why your ministry depends on understanding it