Women challenged to have biblical foundations

SPRING?Developing an effective women’s ministry goes beyond offering the latest topical Bible study. Shirley Moses, SBTC women’s ministry consultant, wants to see women working in their congregations to minister to needs and educate women at a deeper level with an end goal of producing “proven disciples.”

That was the theme of the third SBTC Women’s Ministry Leadership Forum held Feb. 22-23 at Houston-area Spring Baptist Church in Spring. Regional conferences are scheduled for April and September in Odessa and Corpus Christi, respectively.

Moses’ desire to see women equipped with Scripture and guidance on how to implement and maintain ministries seems to have struck a chord within SBTC churches, if attendance at the leadership conference is any evidence. What began three years ago as a meeting of 85 women in the convention’s Grapevine headquarters has multiplied five times with 430 women attending in Spring.

In addressing the closing assembly, Moses asked the women if they were disciples of Christ, content in their salvation, or “proven disciples” who were bearing fruit. Referencing John 15, Moses said, “The purpose of all true ministry to God is to bear fruit in his name, in his power, and for his glory. I’m not talking quantity of fruit but the quality of the fruit.”

Moses asked the women’s ministry leaders gathered for the conference if they were producing disciples within their congregations or just maintaining what had been passed on. Over the next two to three years through the Women’s Ministry Leadership Conference and Regional Women’s Ministry Conferences, Moses said she would urge women to draw deeper from the well of God’s Word.

At the conference, guest speakers Shaunti Feldhahn and Martha Lawley addressed the women about the need to mend and establish healthy relationships at home and surrender completely to the Lord before stepping out into ministry, presumably with the Lord’s blessings.

Feldhahn, author of “For Women Only: What You Need to Know about the Inner Lives of Men,” admitted that she was not a Bible scholar, but a former Wall Street analyst. It is her talent of analyzing substantive studies with regard to relationships between men and women, in the light of Christian
doctrine, that enables Feldhahn to offer advice, she said.

When the relationships in a woman’s life are “off,” Feldhahn said everything is off, even her relationship with Christ.

She said, “We all know we can be useful, but the ideal is: Don’t go to the altar until you’ve made peace with your brother.”

It is the wisdom in the opening verses of Proverbs 24 that Feldhahn wanted to impart?”By wisdom a house is built? through knowledge its rooms are filled.

Lawley, author of the Bible study “Attending the Bride of Christ: Preparing for His Return,” urged women to comprehend what total surrender to Christ means.

Too many Christians, she said, settle for “partial surrender,” chiseling out a cubbyhole in their souls where God is placed, consigning him to a portion of their lives, not the whole. Such “cultural Christians,” Lawley said, live their day-to-day lives peppered with Christ for good measure. Instead, Lawley stressed, Christians must learn to completely empty themselves and be filled, first and foremost, with the Holy Spirit by whom every aspect of their lives, including ministry, is directed.

Moses said it is the cultural Christian she wants to transform. With a deeper comprehension of the Word of God comes an ability to better discern what his will is and to carry it out in the arena of women’s ministry.

Attendees came from across the state to glean from the speakers and workshop directors. With about 20 different breakout sessions to choose from, women heard speakers on a wide variety of subjects from personal enrichment to apologetics. Such offerings included: “Discerning the Full Impact of God’s Call and Your Ministry: Spiritual Giftedness and Relational Styles,” “Defending your Faith: Evidence for the Resurrection,” and “A Biblical Strategy for Kingdom Women.”

A group of women from First Baptist Church in Whitesboro said they enjoyed attending the conferences because of the breakout sessions. Over boxed lunches the women discussed what they had learned from the different workshops they attended.

Each said they liked the discussions on conflict resolution in the church. Acknowledging that no congregation is ever completely free from such troubles, Teri LaQuey said she appreciated the biblically sound advice that was given. They received some insight on how they can better reach the women inside and outside their church and how to discover and minister to the needs of those women.

April Flanagan said she valued gaining insight on how to reach women on the fringes of the church?those who attend church but do not become involved. An intentional, one-on-one relationship must be created in order to draw those women into ministry and help them discover where they can serve.

The women of South Side Baptist Church in Abilene said the conference was a confirmation for them of where God was leading their ministry. Desiring to create cross-generational relationships and mentoring partnerships, the women found more than one workshop and speaker addressing that very subject.

Shana Shuler said South Side Baptist has so many ages and seasons of women that she wanted to make sure she was not focusing on only those within her age group.

Moses said the depth of knowledge and variety of subject matter represented by the ministry team that presents at the workshops gives women like those from Whitesboro and Abilene resources for standing firm in their faith and gaining an even deeper relationship with the Lord.

She asked, “I know as leaders you offer your women Bible studies. But do your women know the basics of their faith?”

To make her point, Moses recalled an incident that occurred soon after her own salvation in 1991. She had been invited to attend church by a friend. This woman, Moses said, had been a member of her church for a number of years. But when it came time to take the Lord’s Supper, Moses leaned over and asked what the elements represented and her friend said she did not know.

With such a lack of depth in spiritual understanding, Moses asked the conference if the women of the churches represented would be easily swayed.

Citing a New Age style self-improvement book, “The Book of Miracles,” endorsed by Oprah Winfrey and highlighted on her website, Moses urged women to have a better understanding of Scripture to better discern the things of God. The book refutes the existence of sin and claims “my salvation comes from me.”

It is the well-intentioned actions of those who are trusted and admired, such as Winfrey, that can easily lead women astray, Moses noted.

To make her point, Moses read 2 Timothy 3:6, “For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passion always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of truth.”