Editor 's note : Join Roland S. Martin for his weekly sound-off segment on CNN.com Live at 10:30 a.m . ET Wednesday . If you 're passionate about politics , he wants to hear from you . A nationally syndicated columnist , Martin has said he will vote for Barack Obama in November . He is the author of `` Listening to the Spirit Within : 50 Perspectives on Faith '' and `` Speak , Brother ! A Black Man 's View of America . '' Visit his Web site for more information . Roland S. Martin says Lifeway Christian Stores should be given hell for its actions against GospelToday . ( CNN ) -- In the 19 years that Teresa Hairston has published her magazine , GospelToday , she has never faced a major situation with Christian bookstores across the country that carry the publication . She 's tackled any number of issues over the years , and has featured a number of celebrities and ministers , ranging from Yolanda Adams to Bishop T.D . Jakes to Kirk Franklin . But when the Atlanta , Georgia , entrepreneur decided to feature five female pastors on her cover this month , she says , Lifeway Christian Stores treated her like she had converted her Christian publication to something akin to the tastes of porn purveyor Larry Flynt . Apparently , the owner of Lifeway , the Southern Baptist Convention , was n't too happy with Hairston telling the story of female pastors , because the women go against their 2000 decree that only men can serve in the role of reverend or pastor . According to Hairston , the Christian company did n't even give her the courtesy of a heads-up . `` We got an anonymous tip , '' she told me Tuesday on The Tom Joyner Morning Show , and after checking it out , she discovered that the magazine had been removed from the shelves in all of Lifeway 's 100-plus stores nationwide and had been placed behind the counter . `` They have never called me , '' Hairston said . `` Never sent an e-mail . Nothing . I had to go see my distributor to verify what they had done . '' The actions of Lifeway did n't stun me . I had seen this movie before . A few years ago , my wife was a longtime Lifeway teacher . She had taught at the company 's teaching centers for years , but then one day , she was notified that she would have to take down her Web site and comply with their rules against female pastors or be dropped as a teacher . Her crime ? Calling herself the Rev . Jacquie Hood Martin . It was n't that she did so for the heck of it . She graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary ; was the first female staff pastor at Houston 's Brookhollow Baptist Church/the Church Without Walls , a Southern Baptist Convention church ; and has been leading folks to the Lord all over the country for 20 years . She was angered by Lifeway 's decision but made it clear that she did n't serve the bookstore or even the Southern Baptist Convention . She made a commitment to serving Jesus Christ and was not about to back away from her call to ministry because a male-dominated organization decided that its interpretation of the Bible calls for a woman not to be in the pulpit . So she cut them off and kept on calling herself the Rev . Jacquie Hood Martin . Religious folks will quickly say that Scripture is clear that women ca n't be pastors and lead men , yet Hairston says that when she featured Pastor Paula White on her cover two years ago , Lifeway did n't take any action against the magazine . Anyone who has served in a church or been a member of any faith knows that there are those who have strict interpretations of their faith 's writings , while others have a different interpretation . I 've heard Brookhollow 's pastor , the Rev . Dr. Ralph Douglas West Sr. , preach several sermons stating that what Paul wrote in 2 Timothy with regards to only men preaching was specific to that church and not a blanket ban . Second , there were instances where Paul wrote that his views were his own and not mandates from God . That is a doctrinal fight that any of us can have any time ( and I love it how these same Bible thumpers ignore the biblical story of Deborah , who was a judge in the Old Testament -- and was over men ) . But what is a greater issue is that Lifeway clearly has no respect for freedom of the press . Here is arguably the top Christian bookstore in the country making a decision based on their teachings and applying it to a magazine . A spokesman for Lifeway Resources , which runs the stores , was quoted in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution last week as saying of female pastors , `` It is contrary to what we believe . '' So does Lifeway and , by extension , the Southern Baptist Convention , fight vigorously for freedom of religion , but it does n't give a hoot about the other freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution ? I now wonder whether Lifeway makes it its business to cull through any number of magazines and search for stories that go against its doctrine and pull them from the shelves . This is the kind of nonsense that drives more people away from religion . I suppose it 's fitting that this story would come out the same time as Bill Maher releases his religious documentary , `` Religulous , '' which skewers all the major religions for their dogma . I 'm sure he feasted on positions of the Southern Baptist Convention . The conduct of Lifeway and the Southern Baptist Convention is shameful , and they owe Hairston an apology for their actions . Yet she 's taken it in stride , saying that instead of giving the company hell , she 'll `` give them heaven . '' I say , give them a lot of hell for this , because they deserve it for actions . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the writer .
Lifeway stores put Christian magazine behind counter . Magazine featured female pastors on its cover . Lifeway has no respect for freedom of the press , Martin says . Lifeway , Southern Baptist Convention should apologize , he says .