I had the privilege of hearing Sarah Bessey preach yesterday at UBC (University Baptist Church) in Waco, TX. As of yesterday, I didn’t know about Sarah, but since the message yesterday, I have read several of her blog posts and am looking forward to reading her book, Jesus Feminist.
It’s pretty clear that Sarah and I wouldn’t agree about everything; that being said, isn’t that true about everyone?
After hearing her preach and reading several of her blog posts, I wanted to include her in this series “Celebrating Women” for International Women’s Month (only 4 more days after today!).
The main reason I want to include her is because I have been trying to put words to a thought that has been stuck in my head. I have been wanting to describe:
- that one can be both authentically Christian and a feminist (whether you are a man or a woman),
- that you don’t have to be a feminist inspite of your Christian convictions, but that you should be a feminist because of your Christian convictions,
- that some who proclaim the themselves mostly loudly as Christians and feminists do things that embarrass me as a Christian and feminist, and
- that I feel both of these terms, Christian and feminist, have been hijacked, but that I am unwilling to give either of them up!
In Sarah, I found someone that for years has been putting words to feelings and thoughts that I have been having for years. Therefore, today’s post simply points to a blog post that she wrote earlier this year. I hope you enjoy it, I hope it challenges you, and I hope to hear your thoughts in the comment section.
Even though I have only known about Sarah for a short time, she is one of the women for whom I am thankful. Who deserves to be celebrated whether you are a Christian or feminist — or if you have the good fortune of realizing that you are both.
Here is the post: “On Being a Christian and a Feminist: And Belonging Nowhere.”
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March is International Women’s Month! It is my hope that you will join me over the course of the rest of March in celebrating the women who have had a significant role in influencing me. I will post daily blog-posts — some of these posts will be from me talking about the women who have had a significant role in influencing me and some of the posts will be from these women themselves, childhood friends, mentors, teachers, co-workers, etc.
My hope is that this series, “Celebrating Women,” will accomplish three things:
- to serve in a small way as a “Thank You” to all the women who have influenced me
- that you will gain wisdom from those who have spoken wisdom into my life
- that it will serve as a reminder to say thank you and to recognize all the amazing women in your one life
Click here to see all of the posts related to “Celebrating Women.”
From The Margins Of My Bible 