Abby Wambach steps into The Confessional

“I didn't feel like, oh, I need to call my lawyer or anything like that. I felt like I was totally with it. And then I did the breathalyzer and I can't remember exactly what number I blew, but I think was two times the legal limit. And I thought, this machine is broken!”

Dale Douglass was the first man I ever had as a Sunday school teacher. I was 12 at the time and Dale was soft spoken and funny and parted his full head of thick, sandy-blonde hair so far to the side that it looked like an unnecessary comb-over. 

It took just three weeks for him to have a special meeting with my parents, at which he informed them they would have to do something about me. I was answering the Bible trivia questions too quickly and it was keeping the boys in the class from having a chance. 

There’s a reason, by the way, that we all suddenly had a male Sunday school teacher the year we turned 12 when before we’d always had women –because in the Church of Christ of my childhood,  women were not supposed to have any authority over men, we could not preach or pray out loud or even be ushers at church. Which means, grown women could no longer teach Sunday School once the boys were a certain age. 

As a smart and smart ass girl I eventually rejected this idea of female inferiority. I left the church and my parents behind because I will raise my hand when I know the fucking answer thank you very much.  I even, at the age of 27, finally heard a woman pray out loud in a different denomination’s church service. I even got a degree in religion. I even got a Masters in theology. I even became an ordained Lutheran pastor. I even wear a clergy collar and vestments as my professional garb. I even write books about life and theology and while I may not be allowed to preach in most churches of Christ I do preach in churches and cathedrals all over the world. And still….STILL there are times when I see a woman in a clergy collar and I am deeply ashamed of this, but before I can even stop the thought I’ll think “What the hell does she think she’s pretending at? That’s disgusting.”

Sometimes the messages from our childhood – especially messages that were given to us in God’s name and with our parent’s endorsement embed in us far below the surface and are still there long after we stop believing them to be true. Which is just so embarrassing. 

You might know my guest today as an Olympic gold medalist, a world cup champion and a hall of famer, but Abby Wambach has to detangle the same kind of difficult shit we all do. And in the end, none of it is easy but all of it is worth it. Tune in here.

Abby Wambach

A two-time Olympic gold medalist, she holds the world record for international goals for both female and male soccer players.  In 2019 Abby published Wolfpack; How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power, and Change The Game and instant NYT bestseller.

Join me and Abby for a live chat!

Friday Aug 21st, 5:30p PST/ 6:30p MST/ 7:30p CST/ 8:30p EST Abby and I will have a chat live on my Instagram. Just click on the circle with my image on the upper left. Join us!

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