If I could name one word to describe the most surprising characteristic of life as a leader, it would be the word lonely. It's not a word they prepare you for, by the way. Yes, I had heard people say that leadership was lonely, but I didn't really believe them. The leaders who said they were lonely always seemed to be surrounded by plenty of people. They were needed, respected, ...

I like fashion. When I am away with my family and retreating on vacation from the mundanes of life, I gravitate to the style shows. One of my favorites is the show What Not to Wear. The show begins with a human project, someone whose life is not reaching its full potential because of the inappropriate way she physically presents herself to the world. The human projects are ...

Stomach in knots, throat tightened, and holding back waves of nausea…you might think I was battling a virus. Not so. In my mind, it was something far worse: confrontation. My body was reacting to my emotional turmoil as I sat across the conference table from another woman in leadership. And it was not just the two of us. The conflict had escalated to the point where our husbands ...

My sport of choice is tennis. I love the game. During the 2009 French Open Men's Final, a crazed fan leaped over the stands and onto the court to taunt the second-ranked world player, Roger Federer. As you can imagine, it was quite a scene. Tennis, with its air of prestige and sophistication, is not accustomed to unruly spectators. Within those few seconds, the emotions of ...

Several years ago while travelling by ferry overnight in Alaska a scene unfolded that I suspect caused at least one angel to gasp: the expanse of the sky transformed from inky blackness into an infinite canvas on which brushstrokes of apricot, sapphire, and emerald painted themselves into the night sky. Like an oil painting in progress, the colors refused to stand still. The ...

Today I read an article that made me very sad. It was written by a woman whom I respect, though we disagree on some things. This particular article (about which I will not disclose any more details than what I have here) arrived at some conclusions that I do not share, but what disappointed me was the author's tone. It was not loving toward other women. Going beyond disagreement, ...

There was no commissioning or prayer of "sending."

I held two ministry positions; I was dismissed from one, and I resigned from the other. I didn't seem to fit the mold for ministry and I didn't enjoy the administration. The amount of time I spent inside the walls of the church office was killing me. I found myself in trouble for spending too much time out of the office and ...

We have embarked into the 21st century. We have witnessed amazing discoveries in science, medicine, and technology. Despite all the advancements, some churches still permeate with prohibition of women in spoken ministry.

Maturing in biblical knowledge, it baffles me how the church ever got blindsided by the "let your women keep silent" philosophy. God has always achieved miracles, ...

"Ouch!" I breathed one afternoon in my office. Shawn (not his name), our newly hired pastoral team leader (and therefore my new boss), had just commented on how forceful and scary "women from Trinidad" could be. That hurt. I'm from Trinidad. I wondered what about me had allowed him the space to offer such a remark. More, I wondered what it said about him.

On the surface, Shawn ...