“Dr. Robert Kellemen and Susan Ellis have done a masterful job bringing together here a wonderful anthology of the stories and voices of Christian women throughout the history of the church. They steer a robust course between feminist misreadings on the one hand and irresponsible neglect on the other. A superb presentation!”
—Dr. Timothy George, Founding Dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University; Senior Editor, Christianity Today

“Sacred Friendships was exhilarating to read! I am recommending it to our students and professors ASAP. It unveils the rich heritage of diverse women in Christian ministry from a global perspective and presents a model of soul care that is powerful. It suggests an approach that provides all of the elements necessary for authentic spiritual transformation. This is a refreshing portrayal and celebration of the impact that women have made in the lives of others that has reflected the image of God in the healing process for those who are suffering. At last we see a book that promotes the fusion of biblical truth and loving grace as the foundation for the complexities of the sanctification process.”
—Catherine Mueller-Bell, MA, LPC, Assistant Professor of Counseling, Grand Rapids Theological Seminary

“An inspiring read! Forget legacy, forget praying wallflowers, and insipid backstage facilitators. I am wowed by these gutsy, practical, courageous and compassionate women of God. Thank you for allowing me to see real women “live Jesus” in each century, caring for and guiding women and men in their sphere of influence. As I walked this women’s Hall of Faith it has freed me to minister more fully to others from my God-empowered woman’s heart, doing my part to accomplish His purposes. The entire book was totally applicable to my daily ministry among Internationals, women, and church staff. It is incredibly expansive in scope and insightful in viewing how God has designed and is using women to further His Kingdom. Super encouraging to me personally. I have and will be encouraging all to read it.”
—Dr. Julie Stoll, Director of Cross-Cultural Ministries and World Missions, McLean Bible Church, McLean, VA

“With a flair for history and facility for detail, Sacred Friendships unfolds the edifying soul care ministries of godly women through the centuries. As a spiritually enriching and biblically faithful sequel to Beyond the Suffering, this work breaks fresh ground in the burgeoning field of spiritual formation and direction. Equally, it encourages us today to become more effective, Christ-centered physicians of the soul. I heartily endorse it!”
—Dr. Bruce Demarest, Professor of Christian Theology and Spiritual Formation, Denver Seminary

“Dr. Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis, in their compelling work, Sacred Friendships, provide a voice for the voiceless. Like never before, they tell ‘her story’—the story of our great female forbears in the faith. As we listen, we do not simply learn historical facts; we are empowered and equipped to practice soul care and spiritual direction today. Lay people—male and female, students, Christian counselors, pastors, and spiritual directors will all glean a wealth of life-changing ministry principles from the unburied treasure of historic feminine soul care and spiritual direction.”
—Julie Clinton, President, Extraordinary Women

Hebrews 12:1 speaks of a great cloud of spiritual witnesses. Ordinary people who lived extraordinary lives. For the past 2,000 years, that cloud has expanded exponentially. What we so often fail to hear is the incredible testimony of those extraordinary women in that great cloud, their godly lives, life lessons, and powerful ministries.

A Compelling Book for Men and Women

Dr. Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis, in their compelling work, Sacred Friendships, provide a voice for the voiceless. Like never before, they tell “her story”—the story of our great female forbears in the faith. As they tell it, and as we listen, we do not simply learn historical facts; we are empowered and equipped to practice soul care and spiritual direction today.

By the way, please do not assume that Sacred Friendships is for women only! Nothing could be further from the truth. Sacred Friendships is a gift from women of the past to women and men of the present—a gift that teaches all of us how to use Christ’s changeless truth to change lives in our ever-changing times.

That said, Sacred Friendships is also a gift to women. It validates the twin truths of the spiritual equality of women and of the spiritual giftedness of women. I promise you, you can’t read this book without praising God for how He has and will continue to use women to advance His Kingdom purposes. As you read the previously untold stories of over fifty extraordinary women, if you are a woman, you will never look at yourself the same way again. If you are a man, you will never look at your wife, daughter, mother, or sister the same way again.

A Wealth of Life-Changing Principles

Lay people—male and female, students, professional Christian counselors, pastors, and spiritual directors will all glean a wealth of life-changing ministry principles from the unburied treasure of historic feminine soul care and spiritual direction. You will finish Sacred Friendships saying, “I never realized how fascinating church history is. I never fully appreciated the depth of the spiritual riches that arose through the previously unheard history of women’s ministry. I never understood how relevant it is to my life and ministry today.”

Sit back and enjoy this amazing gift.

Warmly,

Julie Clinton

President, Extraordinary Women

How We Lost Our Way

Yesterday’s post (http://tinyurl.com/m945pr) explained that the failure to integrate the African American comprehensive perspective of suffering and sin is one reason why White Evangelical biblical counselors lost their way.

Today we add another example of intercultural dearth: the failure to focus on the contribution of Christian women soul care-givers and spiritual directors.

This dearth is why RPM Ministries is so passionate about Christ-centered, comprehensive, compassionate, and culturally-informed biblical counseling. When our counseling is predominantly taught by one segment of one cultural group (in this case, White males like myself), we lose the comprehensive perspective.

In the new book released later this summer, Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith (http://tinyurl.com/ql8fqc), Susan Ellis and I share life-changing and ministry-altering narratives from 52 Christian women in Church history. Consistently they unite biblical ministry for suffering and sin.

Following Christian Women’s Historical Compass

The biblical counseling approach of women in Church history is holistic, comprehensive. They practice sustaining and healing soul care for suffering and reconciling and guiding spiritual direction for sin. As Susan and I show in our Introduction:

“Susanna Wesley (1669-1742), mother of Wesleyan pioneers John and Charles, exemplifies in one breath these four interrelated callings. “We are to be instructed, because we are ignorant [guiding]; and healed, because we are sick [healing]; and disciplined, because so apt to wander and go astray [reconciling]; and succored and supported, because we are so often tempted [sustaining].”[i] Susanna Wesley and uncountable Christian women like her followed a spiritual compass. Instead of N-S-E-W, their soul care and spiritual direction compass points read S-H-R-G: Sustaining, Healing, Reconciling, and Guiding. Throughout Sacred Friendships, they will gift us with their wisdom—wisdom for ministry today to God’s glory forever.”

Don’t for a moment imagine that Christian women only focused on the “touchy-feely” area of suffering. Read Sacred Friendships and you will see that they out-confront the best male biblical counselor! It’s not that women provide the “softer side” of biblical counseling. It’s that women offer the comprehensive, non-compartmentalized “both sides” of biblical counseling.

Conclusion

Because we White Evangelical male biblical counselors pulled the pendulum back from a focus on self and because we did so with too little awareness of and connection with our sisters in Christ, we compartmentalized sin and suffering and minimized the development of biblical counseling approaches that produced comprehensive sacred friendships.

Where Do We Go From Here?

In our next post, we’ll explore additional reasons why some biblical counseling compartmentalized sin and suffering and focused too little on equipping God’s people to be a hospital for the hurting.