An Open Letter to My Church

Sometimes it's time to raise your voice

I wrote this letter to my pastors a few years back when we belonged to a large church (unnamed) in the San Francisco Bay Area. I worked on this letter for over five years, and had a number of ministry leaders review it; I incorporated some of their comments and made numerous revisions. I asked to read it to my pastors in one of their meetings and they agreed. A few excerpts from this letter will are on Scot McKnight’s Substack today in a post about confronting sexism in a church or organization; if you hop over and read it, you’ll find out what actually happened when I read the letter in that meeting. The full text, except for two edits I’ve noted, is below. It is long and I am sorry/not sorry. I had a few things to say and I tried to say it, and read it, with love. I do the same here.

OPEN LETTER

To the Pastors and Elders

September, 2017

Dear Brothers in Christ:

This Open Letter is an expression of my appreciation for you, along with my ministry testimony and a formal request to change the status quo for women at our church with a few potential solutions. 

A woman’s hand writes on a scroll. Generated with Gemini

For over five years, I've been thinking and praying on this letter and waiting on God's leading, timing, and release. During the wait, I’ve been meditating and working my way through the book of Acts recently; it's such a beautiful and rich promise of the Holy Spirit at work in both men and women. It has encouraged me to pursue this quest—which feels like a risk—to address you here today. I am afraid, but I am here anyway.

First, I’d like to thank you from the bottom of my heart for your leadership and service to me and my family through your own service here at this church. I appreciate each of you, value you, and thank God for you. I once heard a local pastor say that churches are the redemption centers of the world, and our church is a bright light in a dark world in need of redemption. May God bless you richly, replenish you and your families, and recharge you for His service with His perfect grace, peace, and joy.

I love our church and I love our people. I love how the Gospel is preached here faithfully, year in and year out. I love how we support missions on so many different levels. I love the community here, the worship, and the many faithful leaders and members I’ve come to know. Both Pastor K and his wife N have been good friends to me and encouraged me in my writing, and K has also mentored me in ministry. I’ve learned much from him on how to build and lead a team, and how to keep Christ at the center of my life in good times and bad. The Life Seminars have had a huge impact on me, too, as has our Sunday School class.

I’d like to start with a few reasons why you should not listen to me today. I am not on staff. I am not a trained theologian or ordained pastor. I am an imperfect Christian, a flawed wife and mother, and a writer who often procrastinates.

And while I‘ve never been put in prison or beaten by Roman rods, I have battled an aggressive cancer, lived with an autoimmune disorder, had family issues, experienced depression, suffered the untimely death of my father from cancer, had my life threatened, struggled with finances, and experienced all kinds of the difficulties we all face. God has given me handicaps and limitations to keep me from ever having a big head. I’m a weak and broken vessel and these things continue to push me to my knees in prayer and reliance on God.

Next, I humbly request you hear my ministry background, as not all of you are familiar with my story.

I grew up in a Southern Baptist church in Hayward called Elmhurst Baptist Church. I gave my heart to Jesus at five years old and was baptized. This decision stuck. I have always deeply loved Jesus and the church.

My father, Frank Srubar, converted from Catholicism when he was young and served as chairman of the deacons at Elmhurst. He also served as a board member at Redwood Christian Schools before he died of cancer at the age of 47.

My mother grew up in an Assembles of God church in Arkansas, but identified more closely with Baptist beliefs and practices. At Elmhurst, she was a Bible teacher, a Sunday school teacher, a leader in the Bay Area Christian Women’s club, and very active in ministry of all kinds.

Both my maternal grandmother and great-grandmother were active members of their respective Assemblies of God churches.

Notably, my great-great aunt, Birdie Helvern Hoy, also a writer, was a founding member of the Assembly of God church in Springfield, MO, where that denomination rooted and caught fire.

The first Pentecostal church in Springfield was formed in the home of a woman named Lillie Corum, who served as pastor of the church, which came to be called Central Assembly of God. The new church suffered opposition. Two women, my great-great-aunt Birdie Hoy and a woman named Amanda Benedict, joined Pastor Lillie Corum in earnest prayer to defeat the evil forces arrayed against them. They spent many nights praying for victory. They also prayed for and “claimed” a piece of property occupied by a large amusement park, and later a baseball field.

During this time, another woman named Rachel Sizelove had a vision during a time of collective prayer and fasting. "I’ve just been in the presence of God," she said. "There I saw a sparkling fountain that came up out of the heart of Springfield. Its healing waters flowed out to the north, to the south, to the east and to the west. I saw the Lord," she continued. "He was sounding a bugle for His angels to go forth and do battle for Springfield. He said, ‘I will do a work in this city that will astonish the world.’ "

Subsequently, the denomination purchased the property owned by the amusement park and ball field, and then took root there. They flourished, and to this day operate from that same exact piece of land the women prayed for. It’s used for training and supporting churches, church plants, missionary efforts, and operating a sizable publishing house. This particular movement of God was dubbed “The Springfield Miracle.”

My Aunt Birdie was a key part of this group of faithful women who prayed and fasted for her church and denomination. Birdie lived to be 93, taught Sunday school to the end, and read through the Bible 50 times in her life. (I want to be like her when I grow up.)

It’s probably no coincidence that although I grew up in a Baptist church, I met an Assemblies of God boy named Robert Flory when I was 18 years old, and quickly discovered he and his family were active members of an AG church called Sequoyah Community Church in Oakland (formerly called First Church). His parents’ business, Flory Construction, built the church building and developed the campus where the church currently meets. His mother is a dynamic and respected Bible teacher.

Thus, I humbly stand before you the beneficiary of an incredible line of godly women and men. I do not take this for granted. It is a blessing and a treasure, and I believe that it is part of the reason for some of the things I’ve done. It is also part of the reason I’m here.

Robert and I have been part of this church since the year 1995. Again, since I don’t expect that all of you know what ministries I have been a part of at our church, I would ask your forbearance as I mention as many as I can remember today. I share this because I believe it’s important to show the different ministries and groups I’ve been privileged to serve in. This breadth of experience will come into play later in this letter.

My ministry life inside our church:  (NOTE: I am not including this list, as it’s particular to our church at that time.)

My ministry life outside the walls of our church: (NOTE: Same here, as my writing and speaking credits aren’t pertinent to the larger topic, other than my career was on an upward trajectory and I received some industry accolades.)

But any writing success is nothing, nothing, compared to my work in ministry. That is where I find happiness and satisfaction. Don’t get me wrong—I am called to write. But worshiping, enjoying, and serving God and his church is my first priority. There have been times where life challenges have pulled me away from certain ministry commitments, but I always find myself back serving, as I can.

After a few years serving at our church, I somehow became a lay leader. This was not my plan. But I seemed to grow in influence and leadership and when I helped plan something, or taught, people paid attention. They listened. They were inspired, and they seemed to reconnect with God and his purpose for their life. In addition, women began to ask me for advice, ask to meet with me, and ask me to mentor them. I began to have the privilege of mentoring and speaking into the lives of other female leaders, along with praying for and with them.

However, as I have grown into my own calling and ministry, both inside and outside our church, I began to experience a challenge in the realization that there were limits placed on me, and on all other women, at our church.

For many years this was of no consequence. I was raised in a very fundamentalist church where women were allowed to teach children and other women, but never men. Women didn’t preach or lead worship or serve communion. All women were expected to submit to all men. Women preachers were seen as unbiblical, although women missionaries were accepted. Our church and my mom were great proponents of Bill Gothard and his Basic Youth Conflicts seminars.

One of Gothard’s seminal illustrations was the Umbrella of Authority, a strict hierarchy with God at the top, then man, then woman, then children. If you left and went out from under your proper place in the umbrella, danger and judgment awaited. This was emphasized and re-emphasized many times at my church. I didn’t question it. I loved God and wanted to obey Him, so I accepted this view of human relationships as godly and perfect. As a teen, I once heard of a female preacher and I remember thinking I couldn’t ever imagine going to a church like that because it seemed sinful and incorrect.

Yet. I was gifted with a love for the Bible and a quick and easy knowledge of Scripture. I was the kind of kid who raised her hand in Sunday School to answer every question, and was told many times to put my hand down and let the boys have a chance to answer. I benefited from some amazing women Bible study teachers as a child and a youth, and I learned as much from them as I did from male teachers and leaders. But from the time I can remember, there was a prevailing sense there that men were favored by God with the authority, teaching, and preaching gifts needed to pastor and lead our church.

Yet. As I grew up and started a more serious walk with the Lord, I began to grow into my own spiritual gifts. First I began to realize I had the gift of knowledge. I loved to learn and had almost a photographic memory. I began to read the Bible and get to know God, and I loved learning from great Bible study teachers. When I was a teen, Liz Fosdahl from First Baptist was the first Bible study teacher who really challenged me to dig into the Word and wrestle with God on what He was saying to me. She seemed to truly see us, see me.

In 1996, when I became an English teacher, I began to grow into my teaching gift. I also realized I had a gift of creative communication when I noticed how my early writing and speaking affected people.

Finally, when I took Seminar 301 from Pastor K here at our church and went through the spiritual gifts inventory, I identified a fourth gift: discernment (also known as the gift of prophecy, in that particular assessment tool). Perhaps this explained my intuition (and what I call my BS detector—very valuable in a teacher, journalist, and a nonfiction writer!)

I scored very low in the stereotypical female gifts: caregiving, helps, hospitality, mercy, empathy. Aahhh. Now I understood why I didn’t like to help in the kitchen or the nursery, why I didn’t care about color schemes at women’s events, and why I often felt like a complete oddball in traditional women’s ministry events at our church.

But there was more. As I began to grow into and mature into my gifts, I also began to look for places and opportunities in our church to use those gifts, and to steer clear of ministries where I didn’t fit well or exhibit much effectiveness. For example, I was a terrible greeter. I hated small talk and smiling! And I’m clumsy—not good in the kitchen. During this time, Pastor K was a great ally in this quest for my “ministry place,” and he brought me on staff part-time in an admin-level Communications job, listened to my ideas, gave me feedback, and often gifted me with the go ahead to try out new ministry ideas, and to teach.

Yet. Even though I was growing into my gifts and starting on a leadership journey, I felt very alone. Where were other woman teachers and leaders in our church? And why was no one talking about this?

At the third edition of an annual Bible Study created by Pastor K and his wife N for the women of our class, we faced a dilemma. I had taught at the first two iterations in the previous years but right before the third edition of the study, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had two surgeries, then faced a course of chemo. I volunteered to still teach, but both K and N wisely suggested I concentrate on getting well.

It was then I noticed something I had never really noticed before. There was no other woman teacher to take my place. This grieved my heart at the time, but I didn’t think too deeply on it.

Also during this period, another touch point happened for me when Pastor R gave his ministry testimony in a church service, explaining how he came to be a pastor at our church. After an internship, he said he’d seriously considered going into business and leaving ministry behind. But Pastor D had brought him in, talked to him, affirmed his spiritual gifts, and suggested that he seriously consider a career in full time vocational ministry. R was bowled over by this exchange, and it changed the course of his career.

This was a powerful story and I’ll never forget it. Again, my heart was unexpectedly grieved because this story could have only happened for a man at our church, not for a woman, even with similar gifts.

This small moment in a single church service stayed with me, and set off a very strong yearning for a change. From that moment on, I vowed to ask God to show me women with these kinds of gifts who I could affirm and encourage through noticing and naming those gifts, then helping them to develop them, however I could.

I knew with all of my being that we had women in our church who had preaching, teaching, shepherding, and prophetic gifts but who were not using them. There were many reasons why—fear, lack of encouragement, lack of study and preparation, lack of mentoring, ignorance, lack of opportunity, lack of role models. Mostly, it came down to a lack of discussion and a lack of nurture. Women in our church who were gifted with pastoral or teaching gifts were not encouraged and nurtured to develop and use those gifts to equip the body of Christ. And it is something no one talks about much.

Leaders need to be developed and “researchers say the great bulk of leadership skill and ability—a full two-thirds—is learned, not genetic….Leadership, for the most part, is born in the crucible of our experiences—our religious experiences, what our parents and siblings taught us, our education and training, our peers and mentors.”[i]

Please hear my heart on this: There is no blame to be assigned here. I am only telling you what I felt and what I experienced as a developing leader.

So I was feeling a deep sense of grief and a growing sense of frustration, almost like a racehorse being held back by a tight bridle and bit. But I didn’t really talk about it, because it was an uncomfortable subject at the time between Robert, and me as we’d both been raised in similar church situations, and it was also uncomfortable to talk about here at our church. No one seemed to talk about the restrictions on women. Even women!! It was the black hole of topics.

I began seriously and passionately tangling with the Bible on these matters. I read and studied and asked questions, talked to scholars and leaders, and finally, what really changed my mind about the role of women in the church, and prompted me to leave behind the strict teaching of the church of my youth, is this very simple and straightforward thing—that is, the gifts of the Holy Spirit are given without regard to gender. The Spirit decides who gets what gifts, and those gifts are given for the common good. The gifts of the Spirit are on display for those who have eyes to see, and they need to be affirmed and nurtured to develop and be effective.

With this realization, the bridle came off and I felt so light, free, and unburdened. God, through His Spirit, had given me certain gifts. And it was my responsibility to develop and use those gifts to spread the Good News and to serve the church. So I did, and I do, to the very best of my ability and with what strength and help and opportunities are given me.

I also began to look for these kinds of gifts in other women both inside and outside our church, and to encourage, affirm, pray for, and mentor them when I could and as God directed. I became convinced, and I still am, that large portions of the modern church can do better at this.

But our flawed human nature always seems to send us back to living by rules, when in Christ we are free. We are all one in Christ, no slave or free, no male or female, no Jew or Gentile. We are all priests. We are all parts of the body, and no parts are to be looked down on, or left out or behind. There is no favoritism.

I became convinced the letters of Paul were written to specific churches with portions of those letters addressing specific problems and people, and I believe we cannot turn Paul’s instructions into rules for all people for all time. Theologically, I see Paul erring on the side of freedom, not of rules.

After this, I began to comb through the Scriptures for stories about women, and was gratified to realize there are many, many examples of all of the spiritual gifts on display in the lives of women in the Bible. I currently cling to Joel 2:28-32, which describes the Day of Pentecost where men and women are both in receipt of the Holy Spirit, with both women and men prophesying. This prophecy was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost, and this prophecy continues to be fulfilled today.

I found Old Testament history includes accounts of strong female leadership in many roles, including Miriam the Prophet; Deborah, both a prophet and a judge who ruled Israel; and Huldah, also a prophet, who authenticated the scroll of the Law found in the temple and helped spark religious reform in the days of Josiah (2 Kings 22:14–20; 2 Chronicles 34:22–28).

I also found the New Testament filled with women who served key roles in the life and ministry of Jesus, as well as in the early church.

Tabitha (Dorcas) initiated an effective benevolence ministry (Acts 9:36). Philip’s four unmarried daughters were recognized prophets (Acts 21:8,9). Paul singled out two women, Euodia and Syntyche, as “women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers” (Philippians 4:2,3). Priscilla was another of Paul’s exemplary “fellow workers in Christ Jesus” (Romans 16:3,4) who mentored Apollos. In Romans 16, Paul greets numerous ministry colleagues, a large number of them women. In these greetings, the word Paul uses to speak of the work (kopiao), or labor, of Mary, Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis (Romans 16:6,12) is one he uses extensively for the labor of ministry (1 Corinthians 16:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:12; 1 Timothy 5:17).

Phoebe, a leader in the church at Cenchrea, was highly commended to the church at Rome by Paul (Romans 16:1,2). Unfortunately, translation biases have often obscured Phoebe’s position of leadership, calling her a “servant” (NIV, NASB, ESV). Yet Phoebe was diakonos of the church at Cenchrea. Paul regularly used this term for a minister or leader of a congregation and applied it specifically to Jesus Christ, Tychicus, Epaphras, Timothy, and to his own ministry. Depending on the context, diakonos is usually translated “deacon” or “minister.” Though some translators have chosen the word deaconess (e.g., RSV, because Phoebe was female), the Greek diakonos is a masculine noun. Therefore, it seems likely that diakonos was the designation for an official leadership position in the Early Church and the proper translation for Phoebe’s role is “deacon” (TNIV, NLT, NRSV) or “minister.” Moreover, a number of translations reflect similar biases by referring to Phoebe as having been a “great help” (NIV) or “helper” (NASB) of many, including Paul himself (Romans 16:2). The Greek term here is prostatis, better translated by the NRSV as “benefactor” with its overtones of equality and leadership.

Junia was identified by Paul as an apostle (Romans 16:7). Beginning in the thirteenth century, a number of scholars and translators masculinized her name to Junias, apparently unwilling to admit that there was a female apostle.[ii]

Clearly, Paul was a strong advocate of women in ministry. And the women of the Bible in scripturally commended leadership roles affirm that God does call women to spiritual leadership. I hold to this: A woman’s place is wherever God has called her.

And to this: It is my strong conviction that “men and women are not the same, but are equally capable of leading, ruling, and reigning with Christ.”[iii]

In my work and ministry, I’ve had the privilege of getting to know women in all sorts of churches, and serving at all levels of ministry. I’ve also personally served (through speaking and teaching) in many different kinds of churches and denominations. And while we all have Jesus in common, there is great variation in how women are viewed in terms of ministry and roles. I respect those brothers and sisters who believe differently from me on these things, as I once believed something quite differently myself.

But I return again and again to the distribution of spiritual gifts. They are given without regard to gender. Who are we to quench those gifts, or not affirm and encourage them, so they can be used by God to build up the body of Christ?

Women make up over half of our church and there is a huge reservoir of time, talent, and treasure that is not being fully utilized for the mission of our church: Life Transformation Through Following Christ.

My belief, passion, and strong conviction that the Church Universal, as well as our own church, must carry out the Great Commission to the best of our ability, and that requires all of the gifts bestowed on every believing, Spirit-filled man and woman, working to the best of our abilities together in spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ, making disciples, and encouraging, affirming, and equipping each other to do so.

In light of this mission, my challenge to the leadership of our church is this:

-       For women to be allowed full participation in every facet of church leadership and administration.

-       For spiritual gifts to be identified, named, and encouraged equally in men and women, with a special concentration for women in the areas of leadership, preaching, teaching, knowledge, and discernment/prophecy (for women, specifically, because we have not fully done so in the past).

-       For women with teaching, preaching, shepherding, apostolic, and prophetic gifts to be encouraged, equipped, and allowed to serve the body of Christ fully.

(NOTE: This must come with the understanding that these gifts take time to develop, and we must not set the bar of performance so high that women are afraid to try, and fail. In my experience, becoming a skilled preacher or teacher takes years of practice and development, particularly when this is a new opportunity for a class of people who previously did not have this opportunity.)

-       For women to be encouraged and allowed to be up front in the worship services, classes, Bible studies, and communities, engaged in teaching, speaking, preaching, and leading, in a renewed focus on evangelism and making disciples.

-       For women to be allowed and encouraged to become elders, pastors, teachers, mentors, and spiritual directors.

-       For women to be involved in policy discussions and decisions at every level at our church.

-       For cultivation of an atmosphere of open discussion, encouraging questions and discussions in this area.

-       For intentional and strategic affirmation and encouragement of women who are scared to talk about this, and who don’t want to make waves or be marginalized, shunned, isolated, or alienated from the body of Christ.

-       For women to be made aware of and encouraged to get training in seminaries and Bible Study teacher or leadership training programs, to develop their spiritual gifts and ministries.

-       For all ordained, appointed, staff, and lay leadership to pray for boldness and wisdom and the Spirit’s leading to move beyond the status quo as quickly and carefully and effectively as possible.

-       For our church leaders and decision makers to be willing to make the changes that empower all members to use their gifts to join God in kingdom building work.

-       For our church leaders to accept their responsibility without assuming all of the responsibility, because women have to lean into their opportunities and follow God’s leading in identifying, developing, and using their gifts.

Any changes in the philosophy of staffing and leadership structure are necessarily in your hands at this point in our church’s history, but I pray you will  invite qualified women into this discussion, and these decisions, at the highest levels as soon as possible.

In addition, I would urge you to:

·      select women for leadership positions

·      develop women for leadership positions

·      increase the visibility of female leaders, thereby creating role models

·      create mentoring programs for female staff

·      educate staff on gender issues, increasing staff members’ awareness of perceptions regarding gender and leadership and their practical significance in ministry

·      put into place educational opportunities followed up with organizational initiatives to move our church toward a more gender-balanced leadership structure

At the lay level, we could potentially start out energizing our women by utilizing a three-pronged programmatic approach to affirming the spiritual gifts of our women and in helping them develop those gifts.

First, create a new one-day onsite women’s conference with dynamic speakers, much like a revival, to wake our women up to the possibilities of who they are in Christ and what they can do with their gifts as a woman in the church.

Second, identify and raise up a group of gifted, prepared, trained teachers to lead Bible studies to wake up and equip our women for the good works God has prepared for them in advance.

Third, create a leadership-training program, either from scratch or perhaps in partnership with a seminary or other educational program.

My pledge: I will help in any way I can, in any of these areas, as needed (and if you will have me). I am blessed that my career outside the church has offered me special and privileged access and connections to many contemporary women writers, teachers, speakers, theologians, and thought leaders who can help us with encouraging and training our women.

In conclusion, my heart is to see women with leadership, teaching, preaching, pastoral, and apostolic gifts raised up in our church, edifying and discipling our members, and carrying their gifts into ministries and works outside our church walls, as well.

My dream is for us to cultivate and encourage dynamic and passionate women missionaries, ministry founders, seminary professors, theologians, church planters, writers, speakers, preachers, and teachers. What if, even now, we have in our congregation the next the next Beth Moore, or Anne Graham Lotz, or Priscilla Shirer, or Lynn Cohick, or Megan Boudreaux, or Kat Armstrong, or Lisa Harper? What if your own daughter, granddaughter, or great-granddaughter is meant to lead, teach, or preach to edify the Church?

We need every member of our church, male or female, to use the gifts God has given them to the fullest extent possible, to win souls to Christ.

Let’s consider deemphasizing some of the nonessential activities we sometimes fall into and major on the things only the church can do—lead people to a saving knowledge of Jesus, nurture spiritual growth, make disciples, send out leaders and preachers and teachers and missionaries, and work together in an atmosphere of teamwork and partnership on these things.

Let’s encourage and equip our women.

Let’s stir them up to good deeds.

Let’s name their gifts.

Let’s show them amazing women role models in these areas.

Let’s educate and train them to teach the Bible, and preach and share the good news.

Let’s show them how to create and shepherd new ministries.

Let’s unleash our women. We have no time to waste.

My prayer, and my heart’s desire, is that we continue the Springfield Miracle here to our church. May the women and men of our church continue to rise up in their gifts and callings and bless our community and beyond with the Gospel, and in making disciples, and to do so in even greater measure and greater urgency than ever before. The time is short.

Thank you for this incredible opportunity. Grace and Peace to you.

Susy Flory

September 25, 2017

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Helpful sources for me in crafting this letter

https://ag.org/Beliefs/Topics-Index/The-Role-of-Women-in-Ministry

Anderson, Hannah. “How Brainy Women Benefit the Church.” Christianity Today, April 21, 2017.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/april/how-brainy-women-benefit-church.html

Armstrong, Jenny Rae. “Listening to Women.” Sept 1, 2016.

Beach, Nancy. Gifted to Lead: The Art of Leading as a Woman in the Church. Zondervan, 2008.

Bruce, F.F. Women in the Church: A Biblical Survey. https://theologicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/cbr/women_bruce.pdf

Fincher, Jonalyn Grace. Ruby Slippers: How the Soul of a Woman Brings Her Home. Zondervan, 2008

Fulthorp Debbie. “Ten Ways to Promote Women in Your Church.” Guest post on Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed blog at Patheos. May 23, 2016.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2016/05/23/ten-ways-to-promote-women-in-your-church/#XKFyqBz5HJAL9rCt.99

Johnson, Alan F (editor), with Dallas Willard (Foreword). How I Changed My Mind about Women in Leadership: Compelling Stories from Prominent Evangelicals. Zondervan, 2010

Matthews, Alice. “How Jesus Discipled Women.” Christianity Today, July, 2017. http://www.christianitytoday.com/women/2017/july/how-jesus-discipled-women.html

Medina, Gricel. “8 Strategies for Lifting Women into Ministry in Your Church.” Guest post on Scot McKnight’s Jesus Creed blog at Patheos. June 5, 2017.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/jesuscreed/2017/06/05/lifting-women-ministry-church/#bMs37WXVAItFsS4D.99

Moore, Carolyn. “Making the Most of Women in Leadership.” Catalyst. http://www.catalystresources.org/making-the-most-of-women-in-leadership/

Murrill, Bev. “Mentoring in the Church: Apollo had Priscilla, Phoebe had Paul.” The Junia Project.

http://juniaproject.com/mentoring-church-apollo-priscilla-phoebe-paul/

Scott, Halee Gray. Dare Mighty Things: Mapping the Challenges of Leadership for Christian Women. Zondervan, 2014

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[i] Scott, Halee Gray. Dare Mighty Things. Zondervan, 2014.

[ii] https://ag.org/Beliefs/Topics-Index/The-Role-of-Women-in-Ministry

[iii] Amber Picota