Women's Ministry

After turning down an invite to go to a women's rally with some friends, I couldn't help but question why I had such an adverse reaction to the thought. What about "women's rally" makes my skin crawl? Granted, I have never liked doing what everyone else is doing (hence why I refuse to watch Lost and join Pinterest) but I get icky feelings about certain things: women's ministry is one of them, and I'm still trying to figure out why.

Now, don't get me wrong, I have taken part in a couple women's ministry events and quite enjoyed myself. I also think there is a need for women's ministry and community. However, I tend to be opposed to all things "womanly." The thought of quilted Bible covers, Joyce Meyer, giving strangers backrubs, touchy-feelyness, and women sobbing so intensely they have snot pouring out of places I didn't know existed make me shutter.

Women's ministry that focuses on baking tips, decorating, crock pot recipes, and those silly at home parties where you feel like you have to purchase over priced makeup from a magazine is really not women's ministry at all. Though there is a time and place for all those things. I`m choking on cutesy pink things and Christian sayings that girls are supposed to think is cool (i.e. "Modest is hottest!" Seriously, say that to someone with a straight face.) I throw up in my mouth a little when women of the church dress alike, and do cheerleading routines aimed at Jesus. I don't need women's ministry for that, that is milk for babes-not women. I want raw vulnerability. I want deep, intentional community. I don't want churchified answers to why my dog pissed on the floor on my way out the door. You know what I want? I want Jesus. All of Jesus.

All women aren't all mothers. We aren't all wives. Some of us are single women, divorced, widowed, struggling, depressed, empty. Is womanhood only about being a wife and mother? We aren't all in the same season of life. We don't all come from the same backgrounds, so stop pretending like we do. We are diverse image bearers of a divine God.

You know what I want instead of hearing you tell a joke you read out of the latest lady magazine? I want to hear the testimony of the lady sitting beside me. I want the lady that brought the apple tart to stand up and tell me of the worth she found in Christ. As a friend once said, "Please stop treating women's ministry as a safe spot for the little ladies to play church."

Perhaps I don't like women's ministry because if I start to like Joyce Meyer, luncheons (why don't they just call it lunch?) and decorating tips, everyone will see right through me. They'll see that I am lonely and scared at times. I doubt more than i would like to admit. I can often feel a failure as a supervisor, a student, a friend, a daughter, a Jesus follower. Perhaps, you'll begin to see all those things i don't want you to see.

How can I still make fun of the fluff, if the fluff isn't really worth making fun of? What if women's ministry talked about theology, politics, and wrestled with questions larger than who has the best sales on Black Friday. Women can love. But women, all women, need to be empowered. We need community with other women. Is your church challenging you in its ministry? What are your thoughts women? Am I completely off target and the only one who has felt this way at times?