Chapter 4: Leadership Thread Four: Spiritual

Women’s voices and wisdom have been either silenced or suppressed by the Christian faith, which is built on patriarchy. It is only within the last century that women have been given the rights of ordination, and only within certain Protestant denominations. In some churches, women are not even allowed to speak or teach from the pulpit. They are confined to working in children and youth ministry programs.

This chapter will uncover women’s voices of wisdom that have shaped the Christian in different and profound ways. Even in heavily patriarchal societies, some women were given unique authority and even advised bishops, popes, and kings.

This Spiritual Leadership chapter is part personal narrative and part feminist theology. The author will weave her personal narrative as a pastor in the United Methodist Church with various streams of wisdom from women in the Christian tradition. She will review the wisdom from three sources. One source is women mystics of early Christianity, such as Julian of Norwich. The second source is early Christian feminists, such as Rosemary Radford Ruether. The last source of wisdom is contemporary women leaders in the Christian faith, such as Nadia Bolz-Weber.

The author will identify common wisdom themes through this process, such as deconstructing the patriarchy of the church, a focus on ministry with the sick, needy, and poor, and on professing the infinite love of God. These themes from women’s wisdom contrast with the traditional thinking of the day.