Women Leading Women

This book was required reading for my current SWI course, Leadership II. We only have one class left this term, and then we'll party at the annual Spring Celebration the following week (and I hear they have excellent door prizes...so keep your fingers crossed for me). I'm working on my final paper for the class now and will have then completed an entire year of SWI courses (well, except I’m still working on papers for the Seminar Saturday held back in March). For the most part, my SWI experience definitely exceeded my expectations; I am so thankful the Lord placed me in Discipleship I and II last semester because I got to be good friends with some great women, including this girl and this girl and all the others who don't have blogs (which is still very upsetting to me and Jessica especially). At any rate, I'm going to continue taking classes through SWI because it's good to continue learning and there is a great natural support system built in to the classes (i.e. we’re all poor seminary wives trying to support our husbands through this crazy season). I'm not entirely sure of the class I'm going to take next semester, but you can be sure I'll let you know about it!

Back to the book. If you weren't aware, there is an ongoing debate about in the Church about biblical manhood and womanhood and the role of women versus the role of women (especially specifically related to the Church). The words 'complementation' and 'egalitarian' are thrown around a lot these days. This book doesn't directly discuss the whole complementation versus egalitarian debate a great deal, but the authors do focus a great deal of attention on women's ministry and leadership in the church. In fact, the book is all about women and how we serve the Church within our God-ordained roles. I'm not going to get into a debate about complementation and egalitarian views, but I will state that I am a staunch holder of the complementation view. Take it or leave it for what it's worth, but please don't begin a nasty debate (not all debates are nasty, but it sure seems that Christians seem to get in a lot of nasty ones, especially over the internet, which is both heart-breaking and disturbing).

Women Leading Women: The Biblical Model for the Church assumes a complementation view, and addresses the who, why, what, and how questions of women's ministry. Not every church needs to have an official women's ministry, but it is important (and very biblical) for women to minister to women within the context of the local body. I know some individuals may spurt, "You think women should only minister to women?" Well, of course women don't only minister to other women; we minister to the entire church through our service; we minister to our children- both the girls and the boys- as we raise them up in the faith. But women don't lead men in ministry. That's not simply the way God set up His creation. Women lead other women because...well, we're women. Just as men need other men in their lives who will minister to them- hold them accountable, study the Word together, and work through sin in their lives- women need other women to minister to them.  I'm not suggesting a woman never shares the Gospel with a man or vice versa (because the Lord can use whomever He chooses to proclaim His message), but I can't get one statement from the book out of my head. It's convicting and beautiful and stirs me to my core:

"Traveling through a town in Algeria, I was sitting on a bus watching the women as we drove by. The women walking those streets will never hear the gospel of Jesus Christ unless a woman tells them."

I pray that women in the Church would realize their calling to proclaim the good news of Jesus the Christ to other women in their neighborhoods, in their cities, in their states, in their nation, and throughout the entire world. How can this calling be seen as anything less than a man's?