Book Review - Preaching that Speaks to Women

Preaching that Speaks to Women was written by Alice P. Mathews. The book got my attention because the introduction is written by Haddon Robinson. The book is not about women's role in the church. It is a rather good attempt to help preachers understand a group that represents more than half of any congregation.

Ms. Mathews first chapter deals with the myths of the differences between men and women. She acknowledges that there are biological differences and discusses how she sees our culture mitigating those differences in women. She ends up somewhere in the middle of the discussion of "nature vs. nurture." She tries quite hard to end up in the discussion where she admits the differences but doesn't want anyone to think she believes in a stereo-typical male or female mindset. I think that some other authors will do a better job of showing the biological differences between the two genders but Ms. Mathews does a good job of showing that the differences exist and how those differences need to be considered by the preacher.

She organizes her book around the biblical statement that we are to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. Each of the statements refer to areas of importance to women.

chp.2 - love with our hearts: deals with ethical decisions.
chp.3 - love with our souls: deals with the psychology of women
chp.4-6 - love with our minds: deals with epistemology (I thought this was the best of the book. Her discussion on postmodernism is quite good. this is also the hardest section of the book because of the deep subject matter)
chp.7-8 - love with our strength: deals with women's abilities and gifts
chp.9 - how women feel marginalized
chp.10 - practical advice

Each chapter is organized by the following pattern:
1. Discusses the topic
2. How this topic applies to preaching
3. Summing up the chapter
4. Questions to Ponder

I really liked this book and heartedly recommend it to every preacher. The author did not have a theological agenda about male/female roles in the church. I think that any preacher from conservative to liberal will find a lot to chew on and digest. One thing to note, this is not an easy read. She doesn't use big words but she delves into concepts (postmodernism, epistemology, etc.) that require a good deal of thinking. Some may see her practical suggestions in chapter 10 as concession to feminism but I think if we dig a little deeper we will see that we speak to a different breed of people today and we need to alter our terminology without altering our doctrine. I think her suggestions will play well in any congregation.

One goal that I've made concerning my sermons is paying closer attention to my illustrations. In one of her chapters she recounts a speaking engagement where she opened using an illustration concerning her sewing machine. She jokingly said at the end that this illustration was payback for all the football illustrations used by male preachers. She got quite a laugh and response to that joke. I got the point real quick. I'm trying to limit but not avoid stories or jokes from the male realm of things. I hope that this focus will engage the ladies in my congregation more.