Relationships
Why We Need Single Women Leaders
Editor’s Note: This article is part of “Change Makers,” our recent CT special issue focused on some of the ways women are influencing the church, their communities, and the world. It includes articles that explore trends in women’s discipleship, examine research on women and leadership, highlight women who are making a difference, and grapple with the ...
Ally or Adversary?
Editor’s Note: This article is part of “Change Makers,” our recent CT special issue focused on some of the ways women are influencing the church, their communities, and the world. It includes articles that explore trends in women’s discipleship, examine research on women and leadership, highlight women who are making a difference, and grapple with the ...
Personal Branding, Platform, and Pride-Management
The topics of personal branding and platform building permeated the conversations of a recent conference I attended, including concepts by which Christian leaders can promote their ministry and message. The advent of social media now allows people to engage in ministry faster and with more people than ever before.
When I first started in student ministry, Facebook hardly was ...
3 Ways to Maximize Co-Pastoring
It was official. We were co-pastors, elected by our church to serve as a husband and wife team. Now what?
As the bright light of excitement from starting our new co-pastoring journey dimmed, and we settled into the daily grind of parish ministry, we were dismayed to discover we had no idea how to co-pastor. None at all. We both had degrees in ministry and were pursuing master’s ...
Imagining the Next Generation of Women in Leadership
I’m purposeful in how I develop my staff members as leaders. I tell them what I see in them, put them in new situations which stretch them, sit with them regularly to ask, “How do you need to vent, process, or pray with me?” And, as uncomfortable as it makes me, I let them see my own struggles so they’re not surprised when leadership is hard. Without ...
8 Guidelines for Ministering to Men
My cell phone gets me. If I type the letter “B,” it knows I probably want to text my husband. If I enter the word “World,” it suggests “Relief,” knowing I’m probably headed in that direction. My phone knows how to read the room and respond accordingly. It’s a skill much of evangelical Christianity has not cultivated, particularly ...
You Are Enough
This article has been excerpted from our new resource, Navigating Singleness in Ministry.
If you are a single woman in ministry, you have probably asked yourself the question, “Am I enough?” at least once―or a hundred times if you’re anything like me. The short answer is yes―you are enough just the way you are. You are called and equipped by God to lead.
Now ...
How to Advocate for Singles in Your Church
Based on the messaging in many evangelical churches today, one might think that Christians believe that people are only able to fully practice Christianity as spouses and/or parents. This is a bit ironic because the two men whose teachings have formed the foundations of our faith practices—Jesus and Paul—were neither! Meanwhile, the last census revealed that 45 ...
Pariah and Paragon
I went to a liberal arts college for my bachelor’s degree, and while it was a great experience in many ways, I can’t count how many classes I attended where the professor asked, “Is anyone here a Christian?” Nine times out of ten I’d be the only person who’d raise their hand. I began to dread that question because my opinions or explanations ...
The Problem with Colorblindness in Pastoral Counseling
The topic of racial diversity has grown louder and stronger in recent years. As a fourth generation Chinese-American woman who was born and raised in Hawaii and currently lives in the Pacific Northwest, I am happy that race and ethnicity are being brought into the forefront, and that there are movements across the nation to increase awareness about these issues. What bothers ...