Image: Flickr/Parker Knight

According to Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can’t Stop Talking, 30 to 50 percent of Americans are introverts. Perhaps this is one reason independent Christianity appeals to many of us. You know the type—the Jesus-and-me mindset where we forge on alone, just us, our Bibles, and our Lord. It’s a good, good life.

Or is it?

Breathe.

The doctor had just dropped the devastating news: my youngest daughter was not going to live. Only a few hours had passed since I stared in shock while fire destroyed my home with my little girl and her daddy caught inside.

Just breathe.

I struggled to pay attention as the doctor described the details of her death. The lack of oxygen. The brain damage. I tried to focus ...

I feel a connection with Catherine of Siena, even though she lived in the 14th century. The first inkling I had that we might be kindred spirits was through a “Holy Week Personality Type” chart that imagined how the saints would fall on the Myers-Briggs personality test. Whoever put this chart together decided Catherine of Siena was an INFJ like me. That was just ...

My husband and I decided the time had come to introduce new ministries into our church. We’d planted the church over a year prior, and we now had enough support to build specific ministries for women, men, and youth. We would start small, and grow in God’s timing.

We didn’t expect the ups and downs that we’d experience in the months ahead. Growth came ...

Understanding our identity in Christ gives us purpose. God has a specific purpose for each of us, a unique calling for each individual. Our shared and primary purpose is to become disciples (followers) of Jesus Christ. Our secondary callings are unique and are birthed out of our submission to the primary calling.

The body of Christ misses out when we attempt to force all women ...

All leaders have strong preferences, even about leadership, that are shaped by social and cultural location. Missiologist James Plueddemann states, “The ultimate purpose of the leadership is to bring people into full relationship with their Creator. We are created to know, love, and glorify God.” Beyond that, though, leadership style and practice are culturally ...

Editor’s Note: As we wrap up Women’s History Month this week, we want to remind you that you have a valuable role to play in God’s plan—even if your name never appears in history books. Today we celebrate all the women who have fought the fight, lived fully, and loved generously without public recognition, and that includes you. —Amy Jackson

When ...

The Easter story makes me laugh. Namely because it’s so relatable to women leaders in the church. Consider the scene at dawn on Easter morning. All four Gospels record the story, yet there are some differences. Did you know, for instance, that each Gospel lists different women discovering the empty tomb?

Matthew lists Mary Magdalene and “the other Mary.” Mark’s ...

Early in my life, there were countless times I felt left out. Even when I was included, I often felt like I didn’t fit in. Because of this, I am drawn to the needy and disenfranchised, naturally gravitating toward anyone in the room who seems lonely. Many women leaders experience this as well. In my own loneliness, it feels safer to be the one reaching out than the one ...