AI Summary
5 min readTeresa Dodson, a pastor’s wife of over two decades, recalls kneeling in front of a mirror as a four-year-old on her family’s Ohio farm and asking the Lord to save her. That early memory, she says, came from a Presbyterian church near her home where she first sang hymns like “Holy, Holy, Holy” — hymns that stuck with her even after her family left that congregation. It would be years before she understood the Reformed theology behind those early impressions, but the thread never broke.
A winding path into Reformed conviction
Dodson grew up in an independent Bible church where the pastor preached faithfully, but she always sensed something didn’t quite fit. When she attended Bob Jones University, she noticed that Bible doctrine classes would present two sides of an issue — and she kept finding herself drawn to the position the school did not hold. “I didn’t know what that was called,” she says. When she had to choose a church history track, she picked Presbyterian, remembering her childhood church. That class was her first real exposure to Calvin and the Reformed faith, and it was eye-opening. “Everything just came together,” she says. “When I started to hear the Scriptures preached in their fullness.”
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:02) **Opening Reflection on Trusting God's Plan** - The episode opens with a core statement about trusting God's sovereignty even when circumstances are painful or inexplicable.
- 2 (00:49) **Podcast Introduction & Guest Welcome** - Host Carrie Anderson introduces the Mothers & Sisters podcast and her guest, Theresa Dodson, wife of PCA pastor Rhett Dodson.
- 3 (02:02) **Theresa's Spiritual Journey: From Ohio Farm to Reformed Faith** - Theresa recounts her upbringing in a non-Reformed church and her gradual, providential discovery of Reformed theology.
- 4 (08:26) **Professional Life and Meeting Her Husband** - Theresa details her 15-year career at Bob Jones University Press and the providential way she met her husband, Rhett.
- 5 (14:44) **Ministry in Pennsylvania and Transition to the PCA** - Theresa describes their eight-year ministry outside Philadelphia and the difficult decision to move to the PCA.
- 6 (17:21) **Ohio Ministry and Cultural Observations** - Theresa reflects on sixteen years at Grace Presbyterian Church in Hudson, Ohio, and the cultural differences between the South and the Midwest/North.
- 7 (23:38) **The Variety of a Pastor's Wife's Service** - Theresa discusses how she has served her husband and the church according to her gifts and the unique needs of small congregations.
+ Full timestamped outline available in the app
Show Notes
Theresa Dodson is the wife of Rhett Dodson, pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Hudson, OH. She has a B.A. in Church Administration with an emphasis in Youth Work as well as an M.S. in Pupil Personnel Services. She is a homemaker and active in her church helping lead women's Bible studies and teaching children.
Special thanks to Nathan Clark George for our opening and closing instrumental. Nathan serves as the Pastor of Worship alongside Kevin DeYoung at Christ Covenant Church in Matthews, NC. You can access Nathan's fantastic catalog here.
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