2011
Why Strong Women Don’t Get Respect
"Must be my hormones again."
"Oh, it's just estrogen."
"I'm just a chick with a bad thyroid."
These are the kinds of things I hear women in high-profile positions say about themselves—and by extension, about all women.
Recently, a writer submitted an article for our staff to consider for publication. In it the author bitterly ...
4 Creative Ways to Thank Volunteers
'Tis the season—the season when church leaders and volunteers feel the squeeze of work and family life. From Christmas cards to gift wrapping to party planning, Christmas adds a new dimension to our already hectic lives.
And then there's church! For weeks, volunteers have been feverishly preparing Christmas programs, organizing gift markets, coordinating food ...
Bringing Justice to Bangladesh
When Sarah Aulie travelled to India in her mid-20s, she went seeking direction and clarity. Like so many of her post-college peers, she wasn't sure what path her life should take. While she was in India, though, a series of unplanned events unfolded–experiences that changed the course of her life and the lives of women in India and Bangladesh.
One of those events was visiting ...
Caring for Our Souls at Christmastime
The emails flying back and forth create a picture, comical yet somehow sad: "Would love to see you all, but can't do tomorrow, maybe the 10th?" and "I can't do the 10th, how about the 19th?"
Five of us, my closest girlfriends, are trying to find a time to get together during December. Just us, we wouldn't even dare attempt trying to include spouses ...
How Did Jesus Teach?
Recently, a friend shared a conversation she'd had with another woman in leadership. "All she talked about is how no one will support her preaching, and how she's having a hard time getting ordained. Not once did she talk about serving, or call, or God's direction."
Ambition isn't unique to women. Men strive to get ahead just like we do. But within women's leadership circles, ...
4 Ways to Prevent Unintentional Gossip
Sometimes I'm taken aback by how much gossip has become an acceptable part of our culture. Whether it's learning the 411 on the celebrity of the hour or following the latest political gossip on Twitter, it's hard to turn on the television or walk through the checkout lane of the grocery store without catching a whiff of some juicy news that may or may not be ...
Embracing Weakness
Christian leaders love to talk about strengths. Want proof? Just ask your pastor to list her spiritual gifts, talk about his areas of passion, or tell you her Myers-Briggs profile (any other ENTJ's out there?). You're sure to get an enthusiastic response. But ask that same leader to tell you about her areas of weakness, and she might be slightly less excited to engage with ...
Remember When
How's your memory? More specifically, how's your faith-memory, your ability to remember and hold onto powerful moments with God long after they've passed? Turns out that reminding ourselves—and helping others do the same—builds the kind of faith that pleases God.
Recently my friend's grandmother passed away. In her final hours, God pulled out all the stops to get my friend ...
The Cure for Influence-itis
"I understand how to tell people that I can't meet with them soon," I said to my pastor over coffee several years ago, "but how can I possibly tell them I can't meet with them ever?" I was experiencing my first round of influence-itis, the toxic, nagging feeling of being needed by too many people.
The first time I asked this question, I was a volunteer women's director with ...
God Will Make a Way
There's an idea floating around Christian women's circles. I'm hearing it more frequently. I've heard it from missionary colleagues and women at church. I've read it in books and seen it posted in comments on blogs. It goes something like this: If God has gifted and called a woman to lead, teach, pastor, or preach then he will make a way for her to fulfill ...