This week I attended a presentation about the prospect of employment for women after  graduating from seminary. The findings, which only reflected my particular school, were still pretty discouraging–only a small percentage of women who obtain a Masters of Divinity are able to find full-time jobs in ministry. The study represented a very limited sample (which is why I haven’t cited the exact percentages here–they’re not necessarily representative of the larger population), but I have heard similar statistics in the past. What surprised me about this particular study, however, was the finding that marriage can increase a woman’s odds for employment. Women from my school are much more likely to get hired if they’re married, all because of the life experience they offer. Single women, on the other hand, are perceived as having much less to offer in the way of ministry…minus their Masters degree in ministry and Biblical studies, of course.

These statistics are a real eye-opener for how the church values the leadership of singles (both male and female). Some churches won’t even hire men as pastors if they aren’t married. Aside from the fact that Jesus and Paul were single, I understand that churches have their reasons for these standards, so that is a discussion for another day. What I want to focus on today, however, is what this state of affairs indicates about the direction of women’s ministries in our country.

First, let’s zoom out and consider the leadership of the church at-large.  In particular, consider what the leadership team of a church communicates about the church’s heart. The theology, vision, and direction of a ministry staff say a lot about a church, but so do their race, gender, education, and background. For instance, a multi-ethnic church staff is likely to place a strong value on the diversity in the Body of Christ. A church in which few leaders have attended seminary but many of them have experience as leaders in the secular workplace might promote a business model of church leadership. I could go on, but suffice it to say that the face of your leadership says a lot about what you value as a church or ministry.

With that principle in mind, consider the following statistic: According to a 2008 study conducted by Revive Our Hearts ministry of 900 women’s ministry directors, approximately 1% had attended seminary. Although only 15% of these women were actually paid employees, there is still a clear discrepancy between the number of women who are leading women’s ministries and the number of women with any sort of ministry education.

In addition to the great absence of advanced educational degrees, the Revive Our Hearts survey found that the second most common characteristic of women’s directors is that they are married (90%) and the third most common characteristics is that they are moms (72%). These statistics are surprising given that women constitute one third of students in seminary, and the number of single women in the church is only a third less than the number of married women. Clearly the characteristics of the average women’s director is not representative of the diversity of women in the church.

What these characteristics do represent are the priorities of women’s ministries. When it comes to leadership, the vast majority of women’s ministries value life experience (particularly marriage and motherhood) over Biblical proficiency and ministerial training. That is not to say that women without a seminary education are unqualified to lead–by no means! God’s ministry through the twelve disciples guards us against such academic arrogance. We need women of all backgrounds and experience (most certainly wives and mothers!) contributing to the growth of our churches. However, most churches expect their pastors to go to seminary, and they have good reasons for doing so. Why is our standard for women in leadership so incredibly different?

Experience is indeed an important part of being a good leader. But experience does not a Biblical teacher make. I fear these statistics reflect a preference for teachers who tell funny anecdotes about diaper blow-outs or share the same frustrations in marriage and parenting, over women with a solid knowledge of Scripture and theology. If we begin with our common life experience and then turn to Scripture for advice, we are not teaching women how to read the Bible in a responsible way. We are not equipping women with the skills to study God’s Word and then teach it to others.

When choosing leaders and teachers for your ministry, think carefully about how your choices reflect upon the direction of your group. Make sure these women are first and foremost students of God’s Word (seminary grads or not). They must be Biblical teachers who begin with God’s Word, and then look to experience. Your teachers may be young or old, single or married, but Scripture has the power to bridge the gaps that are often created by our wide array of life experiences. It is the Gospel, not our common life experience, that unites us. Does your ministry reflect this truth?

I know you’re probably wondering what in the world this post is about! I promise this isn’t about some DaVinci Code-esque conspiracy theory that Jesus was actually a woman, but before I explain what I mean by “female Jesus,” let me back up a bit.

Last night I was talking with some women who serve as women’s ministers in other parts of the country. We were discussing the fact that, throughout our service as leaders, we are always in the position of discipling other women but rarely in the position of being discipled. When you’re THE woman in charge, most people either think you’ve got your stuff together so you don’t need someone to pour into you, or no one feels adequate for the job. As a result, you’re left with this constant void that you yearn to be filled by an older female friend. And this deep heart cry for discipleship isn’t limited to women in leadership. Most women I know desire to have an older woman who will reach out and mentor them. That seems to be a constant unmet need among women in churches.

However, I have to admit that there is a great irony in my personal desire for a mentor. You see, throughout various seasons of my life there have actually been numerous godly women who counseled and encouraged me, not the least of which is my own mom. While there hasn’t been one, single woman who’s been my spiritual mentor throughout the course of my Christian walk, there have been many women along the way who took the time to listen to me, encourage me, and give me godly direction when I needed it.

Why then, does the yearning persist?

The answer to this question became apparent when I examined my expectations of what this “ultimate mentor” would look like: She would be considerably older, wise and insightful, honest yet gentle, and she would always know the right thing to say. She would be able to see right through my motives and my actions to what is really going on. She would always know the right verse for a difficult situation, and she would get me. She would have the right answer and the most inspirational insight for every challenge I face. And finally, I would feel totally at home with her, like I could be myself and feel completely safe with her.

The thing is, I’ve never met a woman like that. In fact, I’m not sure a woman like that even exists. Which led me to a personal epiphany about this whole discipleship predicament: When I really think about it, I don’t want a female mentor; I want a female Jesus.

I say this because my standards for a mentor are impossibly high. What I want in a female mentor is essentially Jesus in the flesh, comforting me and giving me the clarity I need for tough decisions in life…but in female form.

Maybe this sounds totally off the wall to you, and maybe you have completely normal expectations of a spiritual discipler, but I suspect that unrealistic standard is why so many women feel dissatisfied in this area. I suspect it’s one of the reasons we are easily disappointed with the women who do offer to pour into us. We’re so pre-occupied with yearning for the “perfect” mentor who focuses solely on us and is this tremendous spiritual mind that we don’t recognize the amazing women around us who are helping to fill that job. (Again, I may only be preaching to myself on this and you may have really normal expectations of discipleship, but this is just where I’m coming from)

When you think about it, the one-to-one discipleship model is not a model we get from Jesus. His model was 12 to 1. Of course he was Jesus so he could handle that many disciples without breaking a sweat, but even so, I think we need to be a little more flexible when it comes to the requirement of having ONE woman who is going to focus only on pouring into us. If you’ve found a female friend who can fill that role in your life, it is indeed a gift and I am not at all discouraging those one-on-one, Paul and Timothy relationships. In fact, I encourage you to be proactive in asking a woman to disciple you if you feel that need. But it’s not the only way to do discipleship.

When Jesus departed from this earth he left us with the church, his “body,” and it is through our relationship with Christ’s Body of followers that we grow in discipleship. Different members in the church community present us with different aspects of Jesus at different times. Some women will comfort you. Some women have the gift of wisdom. Some women will just go out and have fun with you. And when you add up all the gifts that these different women bring to the table, you draw nearer to a complete vision of the character of Christ. No woman has all those attributes, because God didn’t set it up that way.

So all of that to say, one-on-one discipleship is a great, Scriptural concept and it can be a tremendous blessing when done well, but what is more important is that you have a group of women around you who can love and support you with their various gifts, speaking truth into your life when you need it. That yearning for a “female Jesus” type mentor who does it all and always knows the right thing to say is more easily fulfilled by a church of women, not just one. And let that also be a comfort to those of you out there who are thinking about pouring into younger women. You do not have to be a female Jesus who always knows just what to say and has your life all together. The young women in your church already have a Savior, but they need you to help them follow him, share your experience with them, and encourage them with your gifts. You not only have a role in discipleship, but you are designed to be a functioning part of the Body of Christ.

One of my favorite things about living in Chicago is that it’s the kind of city where there’s always something going on. There are always amazing people coming and going, which has afforded me the opportunity to meet many people with whom our paths might have never crossed–some of whom are my readers!

Today I got to hang out with one of those amazing people: Jenni Catron. After working in the music industry Jenni left her non-ministry job to become the Executive Director of Cross Point Church in Nashville. She has also started a new ministry for women called Cultivate Her, which is aimed at developing the gifts of women as they serve and grow the church.

I LOVE the vision behind Cultivate Her. It addresses a need that I have long desired to see tackled. Namely, where does the growing number of women with extensive educational and professional experience fit in the church? Jenni and I discussed this topic for some time, so I later did a little perusing of current statistics for women and education and the workplace. What I found was surprising, as well as telling for the future of the church:

• 46.8% of the total U.S. Labor Force is composed of women. That equates to 59.2% of all women age 16 and over in the U.S., and the number is growing. (The U.S. Dept. of Labor)
• Women-owned firms employ more people than all the Fortune 500 companies combined. (The National Association of Women Business Owners)
• 70% of American families include a working mom. (npr.org)
• Since 1980 there has been a 40% increase in the number of women getting bachelor’s degrees, masters, and doctorates. (“The Changing Role of Women in the Workplace,” Sneha Kalyan, 2009)
• In 2006-2007, the number of women attaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees was greater than that of men, and the number of women attaining doctorates was equal to that of men. It is projected that in 2018, women will continue to outnumber men in the achievement of advanced degrees, including doctorates. (National Center for Education Statistics)

These statistics provide us with a glimpse of the future church and the future of women’s ministries, especially in educational and economic centers. The question is, how will the church reach these women? How will the church welcome these women? How will the church use the education and skills that these women have gained in the secular workforce to build up the Body of Christ? How will women’s ministries meet their needs?

As the majority of women move in a completely new direction, churches will have to think creatively about utilizing their gifts and offering a high quality of teaching for women. While respecting every church’s view of women in leadership, we must also work toward a robust understanding of the Body of Christ in which all gifts are not only valued but implemented for the edification of the church. Depending on your church context that will play out in any number of ways. Perhaps women’s ministries will need to offer more theologically engaging teaching, thereby creating even more opportunities for women with the gifts of teaching and leading; if you’re a woman like Jenni with business and managerial skills, you might consider offering your experience to the church.

The changing face of the American woman has some short-comings, to be sure, but we can’t miss out on the fact that women are being equipped to serve the church in ways that they never were before. Let’s not miss that opportunity. And let us not underestimate the grave and long-term consequences of failing to evangelize these women strategically. As women, we need to have a missional mindset towards this growing generation of professional and highly educated women. Otherwise, we might end up with an equal yet opposite dilemma to the last decade–instead of missing men in the pews, we might be missing women.

Today I listened to my mom recount yet another story of a woman in her 40′s who decided she was tired of being a wife and mom, so she abandoned her kids to start living the single life again. Now she drives a trendy SUV and socializes with 20-somethings. Her kids are age 8 and 10.

Several months ago I wrote a post entitled Why Women Leave in which I contemplated the growing trend of women leaving their marriages. Since writing it, I’ve heard many more stories and I’ve continued to ponder this strange pattern. One the one hand, there are plenty of single women who are dying to get married, but on the other hand there are many women who are dying to get out of their marriages. What gives?

As I mentioned in the original post, there are a lot of reasons for this trend, many of which deal with unrealistic expectations of marriage. However, I’ve also begun to suspect some of this behavior is rooted in our culture’s conception of womanhood. In particular, I’ve pinpointed two particular areas of confusion and misdirection when it comes to understanding what it means to be a woman:

1. Independence from Men

2. A Preoccupation with Beauty

Both of these issues have repercussions that can negatively impact our marriages. In this post I’m going to examine the first point. I’ll examine the second in the next.

Independence from Men

To be perfectly honest, there’s a part of me that is definitely a feminist. If feminism means treating women as possessing equal value and granting them equal rights and opportunities in our society, then I am a feminist. Women should be able to vote. Women should be paid the same amount as their colleagues. To that end, I fully support feminism.

However, feminism has a tendency to go awry in so much as it values women more highly than men. To be fair, feminism has offered a much needed voice at times in history when women were treated more like property than people. But there is a temptation to swing too far in the opposite direction. Just the other day I read about a study funded by gay and lesbian activists in which the children of lesbian parents were compared with the children of heterosexual parents. Shockingly, the study concluded that children do better with two moms than children with a mom and a dad! The subtitle of the study might as well have been “Why We Don’t Need Men Anymore.”

More and more, strong womanhood has been equated with independence from men. To confess that men bring something to our culture that women do not is to somehow imply that women are weak or incomplete. So who needs them! We don’t need no stinkin men!

We see this “I am woman hear me roar” ideology espoused in shows like “Sex and the City.” Marriage is viewed as a kind of compromise or a limiting box. It is only truly valued by the Charlottes of the world who don’t have much personal ambition in life. But strong, adventurous women don’t need marriage, and they certainly don’t need men. They’ve got their girlfriends and their careers, and that’s all they need.

Or, you might watch a sitcom in which the beautiful, sassy smart wife is married to the chubby dufus of a husband. Her life is reduced to laundry and putting up with her husband’s latest hair-brained schemes. Her life is little more than a faded shadow of her previously glamourous, single self.

These are just two examples of the very clear message our culture is selling: Men will hold you back. They stand in the way of you and self-actualization. You can’t realize your potential with the dead weight of a husband slowing you down. Men are great accessories, but if they get in the way of your dreams or the glamourous life you KNOW you were destined to have, then kick ‘em to the curb.

This is the message that women are constantly being fed. And as a result, it’s affecting our marriages. The call of freedom can be intoxicating when marriage is a struggle, and the culture is whispering an oh-so familiar lie into women’s hearts: “Did God really say that? Does God really want you to give up your calling, your freedom, or your happiness to stay married?” And like Eve, many women conclude, “Of course not! My God wouldn’t say that!”

In response to this cultural trend, let us not be like the catty middle school girls who tear others down to build ourselves up. We need not denigrate men in order to affirm the value of woman. To do so betrays weakness, not strength. The position of true strength is not threatened by the strength of others.

As Christian women, we have two dogs in this fight. The first and most obvious is our marriages. If we do not affirm the value of men and esteem them as important contributors to our society, families, and lives, we can expect our marriages to suffer as a result. The devaluing of men is the perfect foothold for bitterness and discontent to set in when marriage is challenging.

But more importantly, the character of God is at stake. Scripture tells us that both women and men are made in His image. When we devalue men we belittle the image of God in them. When we question their value and purpose on earth, we question the God who created them.

With all of this in mind, be on guard against the messages you are consuming. How are they shaping the way you see men? How do they affect your relationship with your husband? Are they filling your heart with bitterness and ingratitude towards the men in your life? Are they making it difficult for you to worship God because of the ways He reveals Himself to us through the male gender? These are questions we need to be asking, because our marriages are clearly at stake.

This past semester I had the privilege of co-teaching a women’s Bible study with someone whose teaching style is very different from mine. Whereas my style is more systematic, going through each passage verse by verse, hers was more organic, weaving Scripture into stories and personal testimonies from her own life. As Providence would have it, the combination of our styles was a real gift to the group. At the end of the semester we received feedback from the group about what they learned over the semester, and while some latched on to my style, others were very moved by hers.

The fact that both of our teaching styles, as different as they were, resounded with different women, is a picture of where women’s ministry is today. There has been a movement among younger women to reject the women’s ministries of the past, but that is not, I believe, the wisest idea. Nor is it the answer to the problem. Yes, we should abandon any women’s ministry that is inherently superficial in content or emotionally driven, but we should not mistake form for content–ministry strategy v. ministry substance.

We need to think about women’s ministry the way church planters think about planting churches. When it comes to outreach, it’s not always a matter of where you want people to be, or even where they should be–outreach is about meeting each demographic where they’re at. If you’re reaching out to 20 something college women in New York City, then inviting them to a tea party may not be the best plan. But if you’re doing women’s ministry at an aging church in a small town in Georgia, it’s not such a bad idea. Remember, the idea is to host events that would be appealing to non-Christian women, events that women can invite their friends to. But the event itself should not be confused with the substance of the ministry. Women’s ministries, no matter the form, should be founded on strong Scriptural and theological content.

Which brings me to my second concern about the rising dissatisfaction in women’s ministries. While a women’s ministry should certainly be founded on solid, doctrinal principles, our theology should include a robust understanding Christian fellowship. This is one thing that women’s ministries tend to do very well because women are, generally speaking, very relational creatures. That is also why so many women love to hear other women share their testimonies and their triumphs over hardship–we encourage and empower one another to persevere. This is a truly important aspect of women’s ministry, which is why I caution against a total rejection of emotionalism in favor of intellectualism. In a culture that has profoundly wounded women, we must tend to their hearts, and a solely intellectual ministry will fail to do so. You may not be walking through a season of life when a more emotional style of teaching or setting is appealing to you, but trust me, other women are.

All of that to say, if our women’s ministries are to reflect the diversity of Christ’s Body, we must stop blanket condemnations of women’s ministers whose styles we simply do not like. Beth Moore, and women like her, have taken the brunt of this in recent years. They have a flourishing ministry all over the world and their content is extremely Biblical, so we should be THANKING GOD for this strong arm of the church! Unfortunately, this brand of women’s ministry has undeservedly become the scapegoat for a lot of women’s frustrations that there are so few options for us. The answer is not, however, to do away with them (and subsequently all the work God is doing through them). The answer is to add to them. Women come in all different shapes and sizes, which means women’s ministries should as well. Wherever you are, figure out what women in your community are looking for. More than anything else, they need the Gospel, but it’s your job to figure out the best way to present it to them.

I’ve recently been reading a book on Women’s Ministry that has given voice to some of my own thoughts on women’s ministry, as well as adding some perspectives I had never before considered. The book is entitled Women’s Ministry in the Local Church and it’s written by J. Ligon Duncan and Susan Hunt. Duncan is a PCA pastor in Mississippi and Hunt is the former Director of Women’s Ministries for the PCA. Hunt has also authored a number of other books that I am eager to check out, including Leadership for Women in the Church and Spiritual Mothering: The Titus 2 Model for Mentoring Women.

Now before I fully endorse this book, I have a caveat. The book is written from a Complementarian perspective (That is to say, men and women are equally valuable but fundamentally different) which means that some of you will totally agree with it. Others of you will object to parts of it. I have not read the whole book so I’m not in a position to come down either way. Today, I simply want to share some of the wisdom I’ve been encouraged by thus far.

In particular, I wanted to include some excerpts from the chapter entitled “The Need.” This chapter addresses the specific reasons why the local church needs Women’s Ministry, and it begins with some of of the common mistake that churches make in this regard.

Here I want to highlight a specific one: Amidst the placing of boundaries on what women cannot do, there is little teaching about what women can do, or more importantly what the church needs women to do. Because of this breakdown, women are left feeling frustrated and restless, possessing God-given gifts with no outlet for expressing them:

Some churches do not have a women’s ministry because of a concern or even experience that if women are organized they will make demands or seek power. In this vacuum of isolation and underutilization of women there is the potential for frustration and anger-birthed leadership to erupt among the women, and the very thing the church is attempting to avoid becomes a reality.

I myself have experienced this frustration. There is a constant battle with the temptations of anger and bitterness when this dynamic occurs. So while a church’s failure to enable women to use their gifts in NO WAY justifies the indulging of sinful compulsions, it was encouraging to have my feelings articulated so clearly, and it offers a helpful insight for church leaders to consider.

Later on in the chapter, the authors list 5 reasons that the local church needs a Women’s Ministry, and I wanted to highlight the fifth one here:

We need to help Christian women appreciate the manifold areas of service that are open to them in the church and to equip them distinctively as women to fulfill their ministry. But this will never happen if our approach to discipleship in the church is androgynous–that is, if it refuses to take into account the gender distinctives of the disciple.

This last point was particularly interesting to me because it is a point well made. Paradoxically, many churches that espouse a Complementarian perspective have a practically androgynous approach to discipleship. Though small groups may at times be divided along gender lines, the intentionality given towards shaping specifically Christian women ends there.

Those are just two points that have stood out to me in the book thus far. There are numerous others, but I hope it will give you a taste of the book, as well as encouraging you in your thinking on this subject. Given that women constitute one half of the Body of Christ this topic certainly warrants our attention, so I was delighted to learn that there are key evangelical leaders who are wrestling with these very important questions.

In recent years there has been a lot of criticism of the “feminizing” of the church. Much of this language became popular with the publication of books like Wild at Heart that blamed the drop in male attendance on the overly female conceptions of Jesus. Jesus seemed too passive and gooey to attract the average man. The solution? Remind men of the red-blooded, radical, masculine Jesus.

Since then, this language has remained popular. In more recent years, church leaders like Mark Driscoll have critiqued the sweater-vest wearing pastors and soft music playing churches that women supposedly love but men seem to hate.

And this reclamation of the masculine has seemed to result in its desired goal. A whole sub-section of men who were somewhat alienated from the church appear to be returning. And for that I am truly grateful.

I am not opposed to altering a church’s style of worship in order to remove obstacles from attracting men. However, there are a couple of cautions that we need to keep in mind to prevent the church from swinging too far in the opposite direction.

Gender Distinctions v. Gender Stereotypes

While I firmly believe that God created men and women in different ways, we need to beware of language that reinforces worldly stereotypes. For instance, the language of “feminizing” can be quite derogatory towards women given what it implies. It assumes that ALL women, or at least the majority of women, prefer soft music and passive leaders. It equates fluffy theology with femininity, and it implies that passivity is in some way inherently feminine, which it is not. Women may be called to submit, but they are not called to be passive. That is an important distinction.

This language also has worrying implications for how we understand masculinity. There is an implication that the majority of men, or at least strong men, dislike these supposedly feminine styles of worship. Again, this is a dangerously narrow understanding of gender differences. My dad, for instance, is one of the strongest men and greatest leaders I know, but he can’t stand the loud, more “manly” styles of worship that are popular today. He prefers the hymns and the more contemplative styles of worship. Where is the evangelical construct of masculinity that accounts for men like him? Have we blurred the lines between evangelical culture and Scripture too much?

All of that to say, we must be extremely cautious when we slap the label of “masculine” or “feminine” onto styles of doing church, especially when the subtext of those labels is “right” and “wrong.” We not only flirt with the line between culture and Scripture, but we run the risk of excluding anyone who does not fit our extremely cultural constructs of gender. In doing so, we are not far from the judgmental Pharisaism described in Scripture.

A Misdiagnosis of the Problem

While I certainly understand and support any method of outreach that reaches individuals who the church failed to reach in the past, I would caution against any language of making the church more “masculine” or less “feminine.” If something has gone awry in our church, then our re-centering should not pivot upon gender. It should center around Christ.

A particular emphasis on reaching men can convey the subliminal message that women are somehow less sinful or lost than men. Even though women are no less likely to go to church than men, I have not witnessed the same intentionality in reaching women.

Yet if we stop being intentional about reaching out to women then we can be certain they will stop coming. We live in a culture that FEEDS upon women. Every day it chews them up and spits them out, so we need to be fighting for women with as much zeal as we fight for men. Otherwise, we will not only see a decline in the number of women in church, but an increase in the number of broken women in our country.

Ultimately, the church doesn’t need to be “less feminine” or “more masculine.” Yes, there are logistical elements to be considered in facilitating church growth, but the language of “feminine” and “masculine” is usually a complete misdiagnosis of the problem. Our problem is not feminine churches. Our problem is the lack of unapologetic preaching of the Gospel and the passionate worship of God. The lack of those two pillars is not feminine; it’s flat-out broken. That means that no amount of tough guy personas or drums in worship can compensate for their absence, nor can any sweater vest detract from them. Let us not be so distracted by misplaced gender stereotypes that we altogether miss the conversation we should really be having.

Since it’s been at least a month since I’ve excerpted something from Wendy Alsup’s blog, and I’ve essentially become her blog stalker, I think it’s about time I post something else.

Wendy recently posted a blog entitled “Equipping Women for Gospel-Centered Lives” in which she examines the noticeably different messages imparted to women at various stages in their lives. While our teaching of women’s discipleship often focuses on the struggles of particular life stages, Wendy highlights a pitfall in this method. By subdividing women’s ministry by life circumstances (ie. books and conferences for singles, marrieds, women struggling with infertility, homeschooling moms, etc.) one runs the risk of emphasizing our differences rather than our unity in Christ. This is why, for instance, many single women feel so greatly divided from their married counter-parts.

It’s not that books for women on marriage and parenting are bad things. They’re not. But these resources represent the majority of books available to women. What is missing are solid books focusing on the most basic foundation of of the female identity–Christ–and the ultimate source of women’s struggles–sin. That is the big picture. The smaller picture, the details of how that theology plays out, can be found in books on marriage and singleness.

With that in mind, here are Wendy’s own thoughts. As a teacher, I am greatly challenged by them:

“May I speak for a moment to those leading women’s ministries and organizing women’s teaching events? If your message doesn’t resonate as well with the single woman watching her biological clock ticking away without a date in 8 years as the wife and mom who homeschools her children, you have missed the fullness of the message of the gospel. You may have communicated some out of context Scripture on women’s roles in the church and home, but you missed the gospel that equips us to bridge the gap between God’s good plan and the depraved world in which we live. That’s a bold statement, I know, but hear me out.

If by the term conservative you mean someone who believes Scripture means what it says and its instructions can be taken at face value, then I am as conservative as they come. But I am not comfortable with the tone of teaching I have heard the last few years from conservative evangelicals on women’s issues. Day in and day out, I hear from woman after woman who doesn’t fit the mold, perhaps by her choice but more often by circumstances completely out of her control, who feels lost in our evangelical construct of what the godly woman looks like. The problem is that she was not taught clearly that the image in which she was created is God’s and the image to which she is now being conformed is Christ’s. She feels pressure to be like Ruth or the Proverbs 31 woman but not so much to be like Christ. But Scripture doesn’t give us that leeway. She was created in God’s image and is being conformed back to Christ’s. Period.“

As I said, it’s not that teachings on submission, Proverbs 31 or women’s roles are wrong–not in and of themselves. The problem arises when we take those good things and made them into God things. Women’s ministry can be guilty of focusing on these issues in a way that supplants the Gospel. Some teachers and authors have so thoroughly equated Christian womanhood with marriage and motherhood that we not only exclude singles and widows in the process, but misconstrue the very heart of Christian discipleship.

The identity of a Christian woman is not to be found in her role as wife or mother. It is to be found in Christ alone. Any teaching that implies otherwise is a form of idolatry that we must be cautious to avoid. Wendy’s challenge to preach a Gospel that resounds just as powerfully with a woman struggling with infertility as it does with the homeschooling mom of seven is certainly one I hope to live up to.

This semester I am co-teaching a Women’s Bible Study at my church and we’re going through the book of Philippians. I will be posting the audio from each week as a resource to the women in the study, but I also thought my regular readers might enjoy it as well!

I’ve really loved studying Philippians because the church at Philippi in particular is a testimony to the amazing things that God can do through the service of women. It’s really incredible, but also very challenging!

I’ll be writing some posts based on ideas from my talks, but to hear more about the birth of the Philippi church and the role of women in the spread of the Gospel, you can listen to my first talk below:

For the second talk by my co-teacher, Cas Monaco, you can listen to the audio below.Whereas my talk was a basic introduction to Philippians, Cas dives into Philippians 1:1-11.

I’ve already learned so much and been so encouraged by the book of Philippians. In this book we find a perfect balance of comfort amidst suffering, mixed with vision for the Kingdom of God. Philippians has a great word for women today, so I hope you will join me as I dig deeper into this challenging letter!

As I’ve mentioned in several of my last posts I was out of the country last week, but I don’t think I ever actually revealed where I was. I spent the week in Dubai with some friends of mine who now serve as church planters in Central Asia. The trip was incredible! In case you’ve never been to Dubai, everything is over the top and most of the residents are ridiculously wealthy–they’ve built islands in the ocean and one of their malls has an indoor ski slope. It’s seriously insane.

The region itself is quite Western due to all the visiting tourists, but it still maintains its Muslim principles. Everyday, 5 times a day, the Call to Prayer is blared across the streets and through the malls. All the local women dress in traditional Muslim garb, and the malls are filled with signs urging women to dress appropriately, “covering their shoulders and knees.” Because Dubai is a little more relaxed, you’ll occasionally see a Muslim husband and wife walking hand in hand, but more commonly you see the wife following a step and a half behind her husband, as expected.

As I absorbed the culture and heard about my friends’ time in an even more conservative Muslim country, I was struck by what a revolutionary message the Gospel is for women. Unlike the U.S. where women are free to go and do whatever they want–even free to objectify themselves–women in many parts of the world are still viewed as property. Arranged marriages and polygamy are common. In fact, some wives secretly hope their husbands will take another wife or two so that they aren’t as obligated to the husbands they don’t love. Another woman or two can help shoulder those undesirable wifely duties.

I heard one story of a man who’d been married to a woman for years and had multiple children by her. Then he met a 19 year old that he preferred and wanted to marry her as well. As he explained it to one of my friends, “Now I can be married to someone I love.” Meanwhile, the older wife could do his laundry and cook his food for him. Basically a free slave.

Here in the States we read books like Captivating and talk about the Father in Heaven who pursues us, a healing message in the face of the world’s rejection. This is indeed a crucial message for us women to hear and accept. However, I’d never given thought to what that message means for the rest of the world. Not only is God’s pursuit of us a wonderful alternative to a culture that devalues women, but it is radical! In cultures where women are little more than goods to be traded, the Gospel romance offers a startling paradigm shift.

The message of the Gospel does more than offer an encouraging word to women in cultures that oppress them. It offers a critique of the entire culture, as well as the religions that drives them. What to us is a splendid love story of a King and His precious daughter is a life-changing, bond-breaking message to women in other parts of the globe.

All of that is to say, women’s ministry is about more than propping up our self-esteem when the world tears us down. Yes, healing and wholeness are important, and God offers us a love that the world cannot. But women’s ministry should be more. Women across the world are being oppressed, used, objectified, and devalued, but the Gospel has a message for them! In cultures where women are not allowed to make eye contact with men, we can share the story of Jesus, who broke his own cultural norms to seek out women and care for them. Here, we’re used to men talking to women so we forget how radical an act that was. But it was indeed radical, and other women need to hear it!

The message of the Gospel, the romance of the Gospel, is revolutionary. Let us not forget the implications it has, not just for ourselves but for women around the world. And we need to bring it to them. The boundaries of women’s ministry must not end in our own churches and small groups. They should expand across every tongue and nation.

As you think about women’s ministry in your own context, I challenge you to broaden your scope. Don’t minister to women solely to benefit those in your immediate area of influence. Dream bigger. Our churches need to be hubs for sending women out into the community and the larger world with the transformative message of the Gospel. Women all over the world are aching for it. The brightness of its message will surely sparkle in the darkness. The women are ripe for harvest! So go and reap. Millions of women are walking a step and a half behind their husbands, but God wants to hold them in His arms. We need to tell that love story.