The Christianity Today cover blared “50 Women to Watch.” After flipping through the article in vain for my own name, I settled down to read the about the “50 Women You Should Know.” As I read I began to assemble a long list of blogs to subscribe to and books to read.
The article had some of the expected names in the Christian community (Joni Eareckson Tada and Beth Moore spring to mind). It contained some of my favorites like Lauren Winner and Leslie Parrott. The inclusion of few entries disappointed me (I’ll leave it to you to figure out which). And some I had never heard of or had heard of but never taken the time to learn about or from.
One of my new favorites is Kim Phipps, the president of Messiah College, who is quoted as saying this: “[Academic hospitality] is a methodology of inquiry that humbly assumes that we can learn as much (or more) from those with whom we disagree as we can from our like-minded colleagues.” The article goes on to say that she “grounds her case for hospitality in biblical authority. To take the thoughts and experiences of others seriously is to respect the image of God in each human being.” I believe that applies to much more than the academic community. In fact, I think it addresses this culture of screaming at one another and demonizing one another that has invaded Christian conversation at least as much as it has the world’s.
There were some women I looked for in the list but who were missing (of course). One is Jo Saxton, who is with 3DM, and is a leader in the missional church movement. I’ve read her book (More Than Enchanting: Breaking Through Barriers to Influence Your World) and I look forward to hearing her at Missio Alliance in D.C. in April.
Enjoy the article and then tell me who you think is missing. Who are the women you think we should know? I look forward to finding out from you some more women to watch.