Published 25 Apr 2025
Sticking together
How community can strengthen your resolve.
A blog post Women Scholars and Professionals
What happens when historical evidence for women’s leadership in church is buried and even forgotten? Historian and professor Beth Allison Barr joins us on the podcast to discuss her recent book Becoming the Pastor’s Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman’s Path to Ministry. Beth traces the way centuries of women’s leadership were swept aside as female ordination declined and the role of the pastor’s wife was elevated in the white evangelical church. In the conversation, Beth discusses her scholarship, including some of her practices regarding teaching and collaborative research, and we hear Beth’s reflections on our current cultural moment and how we can thrive as women academics. And if you listen all the way to the very end of the episode, you’ll hear an excerpt from our conversation where Beth shares her thoughts on the benefits of working with a supportive writing group.
“The pastor’s wife, in many ways, embodies the history of the Protestant church…. Refocusing on her and putting her at the center helps us to understand the bigger picture of the role women play in church history and how women are overshadowed by these patriarchal structures.”
The practice of group discussion and engagement can be so powerful, whether you’re writing together, reading together, or supporting one another. We’ve recently wrapped up our Spring Book Club — but if you missed it, perhaps you might like to host one of your own! Our book club host, Jasmine Obeyesekere, generously publishes the questions she writes for our book club meetings. You can find the most recent discussion guide for Habits of Hope, or check out our whole catalogue of guides, or consider joining our next online book club which starts next month. Whatever your circumstances, we hope that you can find some likeminded friends to support one another through the ups and downs of our lives. It’s through this kind of community that we often experience the loving hand of Jesus.
“As folks who aren’t satisfied with the status quo and look with hope to God’s future, we can embody Christian hope in the particularities of our work.”
Would you (or someone you know) enjoy working with Women Scholars and Professionals? We’re looking for people with skills in marketing & communications. Check out our job listing!
Pray with us! You can join our online, 30-minute guided prayer meetings on Fridays at 8 am, 9 am, and 12 pm (Eastern). Can’t come? Send your prayer requests anyway by emailing us at wsap@intervarsity.org. Ready to pray? Join the Zoom meeting here for those Friday meetings.
Summer Book Club. Mark your calendars and join Women Scholars and Professionals this summer for a discussion of Steven Garber's The Seamless Life: A Tapestry of Love and Learning, Worship and Work. We’ll meet three times over the summer beginning on May 20. Click through for details!
FROM OUR FRIENDS AT INTERVARSITY PRESS
Transform Your Writing: A Workshop (June 23-27, 2025) Do you feel called to write but wish you had more time to focus on it? Would you like to improve your craft or learn to write more effectively? Do you need encouragement or consultation to discern next steps on your writing? If so, the Transform Your Writing workshop might be for you. Space is limited, so apply now!
IVP Faculty exam copies. Professors can request a free exam or desk copy. Register for a professional account to access this benefit!
Are you an InterVarsity alum? Use promo code IVCFALUMNI to get a 25% discount at ivpress.com.
OTHER OPPORTUNITIES
Ages & Stages: How Women Work & Lead Across Seasons of Life. This spring the DePree Center at Fuller Seminary joins Women, Work, & Calling at The Denver Institute for Faith and Work to host a four-part webinar series explores the challenges and opportunities unique to distinct seasons of life through the experiences of women who have lived and led through them. Click through to learn more.
The Faculty Theological Collaborative (August 4-6, 2025) supports Christian professors at secular universities in faith-informed research and teaching. Cosponsored by Regent College, the Center for Christianity and Scholarship, and the Consortium of Christian Study Centers, this three-day workshop at Duke University provides advanced theological training, living examples of the unity of faith and scholarship, and rich fellowship with Christian faculty across institutions and disciplines. Click through to learn more.
