2013
Jesus Feminist
by Sarah Bessey
Foreword by Rachel Held Evans
What if the title Jesus Feminist didn’t raise eyebrows sky-high in the Church?
Written with poetic rhythm, a prophetic voice, and a deeply biblical foundation, this loving yet fearless book urges today’s church to move beyond man-made restrictions and fully welcome women’s diverse voices and experiences.
For centuries, the role of women in the church has been a subdued one, with many limitations. The time has come, argues Sarah Bessey—called an “accidental grassroots voice for postmodern and progressive evangelical women”—to take a new look at Scripture and challenge old assumptions.
In Jesus Feminist, Bessey shares her spiritual journey, which ranged from growing up in a post-gender-debate home to learning about the worldwide struggles of women and the obstacles even a well-meaning church can pose. Through disarmingly intimate storytelling, she tells how she grew to understand the story of God and the vastness of his work through women. Never one to shy away from the hard questions, Bessey engages critically with Scripture and church practices that are often used against full equality and shares how following Jesus made a feminist out of her.
Filled with beauty, hard truth, and brave vulnerability, Jesus Feminist urges the church to stop asking “man or woman” as a qualification for ministry and to start helping everyone find freedom in the fullness, hope, glory, and work of Christ.
What People Are Saying
““If you never imagined yourself as a card-carrying Jesus Feminist, this book will give you second thoughts. Sarah Bessey makes her case—not as a fire-breathing debater—but as a woman utterly captivated by Jesus who will stop at nothing to follow him. Her winsome writing made me laugh, cry, and stand taller as a woman. Unless I’m mistaken, it should swell the ranks of Jesus Feminists too. Sign me up!”
— Carolyn Custis James, author of Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women
“I think of Sarah as a big sister in the faith, a woman whose wisdom and maturity challenge me, but whose honesty and vulnerability remind me that she’s walking by my side in this journey, one arm over my shoulder. Sarah does what all good storytellers do: she gives us permission—permission to laugh, permission to question, permission to slow down a bit, permission to listen, permission to confront our fears, permission to share our own stories with more bravery and love. As she puts it, “There is more room! There is more room! There is room for all of us! One word at a time, Sarah liberates us from the agony of bearing our stories alone, so we can follow Jesus (my favorite feminist) with more freedom and joy. I am so grateful.”
— Rachel Held Evans, author of Evolving in Monkey Town and A Year of Biblical Womanhood (excerpted from the Foreword)
“I love writers who are insightful enough to be cynical but choose not to be. I love books that help me see things I’d never noticed before—in life, in myself, in others, in the Bible, in Jesus. I love writing that makes reading enjoyable and easy, because I know how hard it is to write that way. For these reasons and more, I love Jesus Feminist. It’s not ‘just a woman’s book.’ In fact, it’s the kind of book that will help both women and men see how unhelpful that distinction is.”
— Brian D. McLaren, author, speaker, activist
“Heavens. When I grow up, I want to write like Sarah Bessey. What she does with words is extraordinary, and the topic she’s chosen is so deeply important. Jesus Feminist is a beautiful, challenging, rich, gutsy book, an absolute must-read.”
— Shauna Niequist, author Present Over Perfect
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