Authority is a hard topic for women, especially women in the church. What does it mean to have authority and to act in our authority as women? Too often, a woman in authority is called bossy rather than authoritative. We don’t want the bossy label, but how do we act in our God-given authority? More…
Once again, it was Winnie and me behind the bake sale table, while all the real excitement of the annual plant sale swirled through adjacent rooms. Winnie is a whiz at organizing the diverse, nearly random donations from friends of the land trust. Arrayed around us on three cloth-covered tables are blueberry cake, rhubarb and…
When I was a kid, I impressed the neighborhood boys with my ability to lift cinderblocks, climb trees, and run fast; I was strong. But when I played dolls, house, or school with the girls, it was never about demonstrating strength. Strength was domination, force, or power, not cooperation, design, or instruction. So I became…
My last church experience was a mixed bag. It started off strong; my husband and I were brought on as leaders. The pastor was ecstatic about our experience in ministry and told us we were going to be “juggernauts” in the church. I became the office manager, I gathered a group of women together to…
When I first accepted my congregation’s call to ministry, a friend from another church said, “I don’t know whether to say congratulations or condolences.” He was familiar with the stress that can come with any ministry. “I’m worried for you,” he said. He didn’t want me to become another church casualty. I have now been…
I love to lead and teach. It’s a part of my natural gifting, the way I’m wired. These traits have been evident from an early age. My mom recalls with fondness the authority with which I lined up my stuffed animals in my bedroom after school, demanding their attention and presenting the new material I’d…
I have the pleasure of introducing you to Jenny Rae Armstrong, a teaching pastor of Darrow Road Wesleyan Church in Superior, Wisconsin. Jenny is an award-winning freelance journalist who writes about faith, social justice, missional living and women’s issues for Christian publications such as Relevant, Her.meneutics, Mutuality and Red Letter Christians. She is a…
I’ve always been drawn to hurting people. However, when I first began to reach out to those who are wounded, I was naïve. I believed that if I could introduce them to the truths of Christ, their problems would be solved. In some cases, that is exactly what happened, although it was an extremely slow…
We were raised to be timid, most of us. In the tiny white churches speckling the countryside, we were taught to be cautious, to be courteous, to be kind and good and avoid even the appearance of evil. Being a good Christian looked like wearing clean, pressed clothes to Sunday School, like going to grandma’s…
“Trust God with the details, you were called!” “God has called you, it’s all going to be great!” “I’m so excited to see what God’s going to do as you follow God’s call.” I heard lines like this over and over again as we prepared to leave our home in Colorado to be near family…
As I prayed this morning, so saddened by the news of another leader confessing “moral failure,” I remembered a story that renewed my hope. Here’s the story re-told: Once upon a time, a man a young man, a small shepherd, was chosen by God to be king… a son, a friend, a husband, a father, persecuted by…
I love ministry; I hate the temptations that accompany it. The temptation to believe our work is meaningless. Ugly thoughts intrude at times, even though I’d rather pretend I don’t have them. But from what my coaching clients and others tell me, we all struggle at times with the temptation to believe that what we do somehow doesn’t…
We were raised to be timid, most of us. In the tiny white churches speckling the countryside, we were taught to be cautious, to be courteous, to be kind and good and avoid even the appearance of evil. Being a good Christian looked like wearing clean, pressed clothes to Sunday School, like going to grandma’s…
Each of us wants to believe that we matter. That we have something to offer. That our contributions to building God’s kingdom are needed and valuable. But as I travel the world speaking to women in ministry, I have found a substantial obstacle to seeing that happen. One might think the biggest barrier would be…