Remarkable Stories of History-Changing Women

Review of Sacred Friendships
by Robert W. Kellemen and Susan M. Ellis

Reviewed by Keiki Hendrix for Examiner.Com at: http://bit.ly/2qqQii

Remarkable Stories of History-Changing Women

Would you be interested in the remarkable stories of over fifty history-changing women? These are women of character, fortitude and great faith. Would you love to learn about these women who shaped and changed the lives of others?

Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith by Robert W. Kellemen, PH.D and Susan M. Ellis is the place to begin. Thoroughly researched and presented with admiration, you'll find great inspiration here.

As a Bible Study leader, I was amazed at the large list of influential, but often unnoticed, women of great faith. As a woman, I identified with many of the struggles these women faced both as a result of the culture of their day and their own inner conflict.

Reading of these women’s statements from their diaries, journals and other writings as well as statements made about them by their contemporaries, I was challenged and made aware of these “great cloud of witnesses.”

These are the daughters, mothers, wives, and friends of some of those whose names you certainly would remember. Names such as Spurgeon, Edwards, and Wesley—all great men of faith. But the reader also discovers many women whose names and stories you might not encounter unless discovered in reference to another. In this book, these unnoticed women of history are profiled with a focus on the spiritual direction their lives revealed.

It is sage advice that a woman was created to inspire and influence others. As you read the stories of these women, you will find this is the common thread among them. They inspired, comforted and encouraged. They also suffered, remained steadfast, and revealed admirable personality traits as they each pursued their walk with God.

Profiles include Vibia Perpetua, Susannah Wesley, Terea of Avila, and Betsie Ten Boom. Quite a large list follows, too many to list here (over 50 women in all). This is a relationally relevant reference book for any women’s ministry leader. I recommend this book highly and have donated my copy to my church library.

About the Co-Authors

Dr. Robert W. Kellemen

My passion is to equip people to change lives with Christ's changeless truth through Christ-centered, comprehensive, compassionate, culturally-informed biblical counseling and spiritual formation. That's why I authored Soul Physicians, Spiritual Friends, Beyond the Suffering, Sacred Friendships and God’s Healing for Life’s Losses. To learn more about Bob, please visit: http://www.rpmministries.org/

Susan M. Ellis

Susan M. Ellis, M.A. is an adjunct professor and women’s mentor for the M.A. in Christian Counseling and Discipleship Department at Capital Bible Seminary. In these roles she is on the cutting edge of research and development in women’s ministry, and is an expert mentor, training women in the art of soul care and spiritual direction.

Additional Resources

To read a free sample chapter, visit: http://bit.ly/1S1haj

To order your copy at 40% off, visit: http://bit.ly/MG1l5

Women's Studes

Getting to Know Susan Ellis, Part Two

Susan Ellis and I co-authored Sacred Friendships. Readers of my blog know all about me. But what about Susan? I'd like to introduce you to Susan through several blogs interspersed over the next the week or so.

For part one, please visit: http://bit.ly/2o33WZ

*Why do you think the historic voices of women have been silenced in church history?

To put it simply, I think women have been blamed for just about anything you can think of since Eve took a bite of the forbidden fruit and for some people, trying to keep women quiet solves the problem.

*To what extent do you think the voices of women are still being silenced in church ministry today?

That’s hard to say. It partly depends on what part of the world and what cultures we’re talking about. It still exists no matter where you are, but it’s more prevalent in some areas than in others. The sad truth is that we will always have some people who have a bias against other groups of people and women happen to be one of the target groups, even in the church.

Certainly, in the US we still have room to grow, but we’ve also seen a great deal of improvement. Anne Judson paved the way for women in missions. Henrietta Mears opened doors and increased the level of respect for women in Christian education. Scores of women have demonstrated the value of women in the social action area of church ministry.

One of my hopes and prayers is that no matter where someone falls on the issue of a woman’s role in church, they will see that women are a vital and essential part of church ministry; that women were also created in the image of God and have been uniquely designed and equipped to be a part of God’s plan for building his Kingdom. Sacred Friendships demonstrates that women have been effectively ministering to and with men and other women since the onset of Christianity.

*As a female, what was it like to research and write a book on the history of women’s soul care? How has the experienced impacted you?

It was great. I was so encouraged by the godly strength and courage of the women we studied. But perhaps even more than that, I was inspired to see the way they infused feminine grace and gentleness with their strength and courage. Many of these women were faced with strong opposition and challenging circumstances and yet, somehow, they never seemed to lose their femininity. It’s impressive to see how great an impact these women had even during times when women were much more stifled than they are today.

One of my biggest take-aways from this experience is that we don’t have to try to be like anyone else. We don’t have to do the things other people are doing. We simply have to do what God is asking us to do. When I was researching Anne Judson, the first female missionary from the US, I felt so inadequate. The only missions trip I’ve ever been on was like an extravagant vacation compared to the life she chose. And, not only did she choose it, she had to fight to get it.

But as I continued my research, I came to internalize what I knew in my head to be true. God has designed each of us differently and uses us to impact His Kingdom in different ways. Our children and next door neighbors need to know Christ just as much as the people living in the most remote and dangerous parts of the world.

How I minister will also look different from how someone else ministers and that’s ok, too. As you read about the women in Sacred Friendships, you’ll see commonalities. They all spoke the truth in love, for instance, but they did it differently. That’s very freeing.

Learn More

Learn more about Susan at her author website: http://www.eternalcommunity.org/.

Also return to my blog in the coming days for more Susan Ellis author Q/A.

50 History-Changing Women

50 History-Changing Women

Keiki Hendrix over at Vessel Project (http://vesselproject.wordpress.com) joined the Sacred Friendships Blog Tour today.

To read her entire book review, please visit: http://bit.ly/2cvBI8

To get your copy of the book, please visit: http://bit.ly/MG1l5

Here's a sampler of what Keiki shared:

Would you be interested in the history of fifty history-changing women? Women of character, fortitude and great faith? Would you learn about these women who shaped and changed the lives of others?

Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith by Robert W. Kellemen, PH.D and Susan M. Ellis is the place to begin. Thoroughly researched and presented with admiration, you’ll find great inspiration here.

As a Bible Study leader, I was amazed at the large list of influential, but often unnoticed, women of great faith. As a woman, I identified with many of the struggles these women faced both as a result of the culture of their day and their own inner conflict.

Mark Tubbs Probes the Core of Sacred Friendships

Mark Tubbs Probes the Core of Sacred Friendships

Many people in Evangelical circles are very familiar with the name Tim Challies because of his insightful book reviews (http://www.challies.com/).

A number of years ago, Tim decided to expand his reviewing influence by starting a second book review site, Discerning Readers (http://discerningreader.com/). At DR, Tim has over a dozen other reviewers working with him under the excellent leadership of Mark Tubbs.

About three months ago I started doing reviews for Tim and Mark at DR and have truly enjoyed my connection with these men.

Mark graciously agreed to join the Sacred Friendships Blog Tour and he created some very thought-provoking author Q and A interactions for me.

For instance, Mark asks:

Q: You mentioned (in Author Q & A # 6) that the historic voices of women have been silenced in church history due in large part because the writers of church history have been men. Do you believe it is possible for a church or denomination or movement to have a healthy, biblical view of women’s roles in the church even if women’s stories have been lost, or is it absolutely vital that we recover the stories?

Would you like to know my answer to this question and a bunch of others like it? Sure you would. Check them out at the DR site at: http://bit.ly/2Fpv7Y

And don't forget to pick up a copy of the book. As Mark says:

Having read portions of the book - but I highly recommend you read the whole thing, as I plan to - I posed Bob some questions.

Get your autographed copy at 40% off at: http://bit.ly/MG1l5

Rock Solid Narrative

Rock Solid Narrative

As the Sacred Friendships Blog Tour nears its halfway point, Rick Howerton over at Serendipityblog.com posted his review today. You can also link to him via this shortcut: http://bit.ly/2DlqSW

Among other insights, Rick calls Sacred Friendships "rock solid narrative."

See what else Rick has to say at http://bit.ly/2DlqSW

If you'd like an autographed copy at 40% off, please visit: http://bit.ly/MG1l5

Blog Tour Day Three: Podcast Interview

Sacred Friendships Blog Tour Day Three

For day three of the Sacred Friendships Blog Tour, check out Stacy Harp's podcast interview of me at:

http://stacylynnharp.blogspot.com/ and http://www.blogforbooks.com/

Here's part of what Stacy says on her blogs:

"And let me also tell you this, if you want a book that is going to build your faith, is easy to read, and inspiring, this is a great read. I’ve been reading my copy and love it….and Bob did not pay me to tell you that!"

Sacred Friendships Blog Tour

Sacred Friendships Blog Tour

Whew! It's a lot of work organizing a blog tour.

But...it's also a lot of fun...and it provides a great excuse for re-connecting with old friends and making fresh connections with new friends.

So...we have 30 stops on our Sacred Friendships Blog Tour. Every Monday-through-Friday, September 21 to October 30, for six weeks, someone new will be blogging about Sacred Friendships.

Some will do Podcast interviews.

Some will do full book reviews--and they can say anything they think, no strings attached.

Some will review portions of the book.

Some will have Susan Ellis and me respond to their own Author Interview Q/As.

Some will post excerpts from the Author Q/As Susan and I prepared.

A few days before each blog post, I'll list the web address, and then list it again, so people can be sure to visit.

And...get involved. Five people who comment on any of the blog sites will be randomly selected to receive a free, autographed copy of Sacred Friendships.

Many thanks to all my blogging friends new and old who have agreed to give of their valuable time and blog space to join the journey.

By the way...I pick up copies of the book tomorrow from BMH Books!

Have you ordered your very own copy yet? Here's your link: http://bit.ly/MG1l5

Be empowered and have your life changed by the amazing stories of over 50 remarkable women. You'll never think about ministry the same again.

Bob

PS: Are you an author and you'd like to learn about blog tours? Well, I'm a "rookie" just one month ahead on the journey, but I love helping others to succeed. So...whatever I've learned and will learn along the way, I'm glad to share. Email me your questions: rpm.ministries@gmail.com

African American Women of Faith

A Voice for the Voiceless: African American Women of Faith
Part 2: Octavia Rogers Albert: Throbbing with Sympathy

Note: Taken from Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith. For more information on this book, please visit: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

Note: For part one of this blog mini-series, please visit: http://bit.ly/T7Zas

An Ear to Hear; a Mouthpiece to Speak

According to historian John Blassingame, Octavia Albert was one of the few well-trained and one of the most interesting interviewers in the country during the Reconstruction era. She combined academic excellence with sympathetic brilliance. That combination, important to researchers today, was vitally meaningful to the ex-slaves who shared their stories with her.

As the educated “First Lady” (pastor’s wife) of an African American church, she represented to them a figure of compassion, accomplishment, and status. So it is no surprise that when she moved to Louisiana her home became a gathering place for former slaves.

“There she offered them food, read them scriptures, taught them to read and write, and encouraged them to talk about themselves and their slave experiences.”

None But Jesus!

Her decision to offer them a listening ear and to be their mouthpiece surprised even her interviewees. Among those Octavia ministered to, Charlotte Brooks was preeminent. Octavia tells Charlotte that she has greatly enjoyed their conversations, has listened to every word of her “past unhappy life” in the cane fields of Louisiana, and that “I desire to write it in your own words.”

Charlotte bluntly expresses her shock that any human would identify with her.

“La, me, child! I never thought any body would care enough for me to tell of my trials and sorrows in this world! None but Jesus knows what I have passed through.”

And not just anyone—but the “First Lady” valued “Aunt Charlotte” by dispensing the sustaining grace of listening to her story of suffering. As “Jesus with skin on her,” Octavia’s ministry was life changing.

Listening to Her Sad Story

Octavia records her own perceptions of her soul care of Charlotte.

“It was in the fall of 1879 that I met Charlotte Brooks. She was brought from the State of Virginia and sold in the State of Louisiana many years before the war. I have spent hours with her listening to her telling of her sad life of bondage in the cane-fields of Louisiana.”

If one picture is worth 1,000 words, then this one example is worth 1,000 pages of training in sustaining. Spend hours listening to people tell their sad story of suffering. Our quick-fix, solution-focused, speak-first culture desperately needs to develop the relational competency of sustained listening.

The Rest of the Story

For the rest of the story, please return to this blog for part three . . .

Note: Readers can enjoy the empowering narratives of over two-dozen African American women (and scores of African American men) narrated in Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering. For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/XvsTu

A Voice for the Voiceless

A Voice for the Voiceless: African American Women of Faith
Part 1: Octavia Rogers Albert:

Who Will Tell Our Story?

Note: Taken from Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith. For more information on this book, please visit: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

Octavia Rogers Albert: Who Will Tell Our Story?

She lived a mere thirty-seven years, yet in The House of Bondage Octavia Rogers Albert (1853-1890) chronicles two-hundred-fifty years of African American history. Like no one before her or since, male or female, she provides a voice for voiceless ex-enslaved African Americans.

Her writing offers the immediacy of first-person accounts mediated by her sensitive interviews and empathetic conversations. She recognizes the insufficiency of secondary sources.

“None but those who resided in the South during the time of slavery can realize the terrible punishments that were visited upon the slaves. . . . The half was never told concerning this race that was in bondage nearly two hundred and fifty years.”

Her Lifelong Mission

Octavia’s lifelong mission was to unpack the personal narratives of those whose “home” was the “house of bondage.” When Colonel Douglass Wilson derides himself for telling his experiences of enslavement and of military service in the Civil War, Octavia insists that he testify.

“I believe we should not only treasure these things, but should transmit them to our children’s children. That’s what the Lord commanded Israel to do in reference to their deliverance from Egyptian bondage, and I verily believe that the same is his will concerning us and our bondage and deliverance in this country.”

Her resolve is steely. She writes to give God glory by giving African Americans a voice to answer the question, “Who shall return to tell Egypt the story?”

The hymn (Sound the Loud Timbrel O’er Egypt’s Dark Sea) that concludes her narrative of former slaves “summarizes her theme that abolition was the triumph of God’s will over evil and that those who have been delivered must return to tell the story.”

Firsthand Experience

Octavia does not write as an aloof observer. Born on December 24, 1853, in Oglethorpe, Georgia, of slave parentage, she faced firsthand the horrors and humiliation of enslavement. While still living in Oglethorpe she joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church, which was led by the legendary Bishop Henry McNeal Turner, whose ministry grounded her in her lifelong Christian faith.

After Emancipation, she studied at Atlanta University. Her first teaching job was in Montezuma, Georgia, where, on October 21, 1874, at age twenty-one, she married another teacher at the school, the Rev. A. E. P. Albert, D.D., who later became an ordained minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church.

Soon after their marriage, the Alberts moved to Houma, Louisiana, where Octavia began conducting her interviews with men and women once enslaved. She apparently suffered an untimely death, the circumstances of which are unknown. The preface to her book, authored by her husband and their only child, Laura, implies that she died in 1890.

The Rest of the Story

For the rest of the story, please return to this blog for part two . . .

Note: Readers can enjoy the empowering narratives of over two-dozen African American women (and scores of African American men) narrated in Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering. For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/XvsTu

Life-Changing Stories for Changing Lives

Life-Changing Stories for Changing Lives

Do you care deeply about hurting and struggling people, but you don’t always know how to care like Christ?

Do you learn best from real-life examples?

Are you convinced that women have much to teach men and women about life and ministry?

Sacred Friendships

Then you want to read Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith.

Sacred Friendships will equip you to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth.

Its riveting, real-life, page-turning stories will captivate your imagination, encourage you in your personal relationship with Christ, and empower you in your ministry to your spiritual friends.

Co-authors Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis share captivating narratives from the lives and ministries of over 50 remarkable women spanning 2,000 years. Their powerful lives empower men and women today—speaking with relevance through timeless truths and practical principles.

A Compelling Work

Julie Clinton, President of Extraordinary Women, shares why she is so excited about Sacred Friendships.

“Dr. Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis, in their compelling work, Sacred Friendships, provide a voice for the voiceless. Like never before, they tell ‘her story,’—the story of our great female forbears in the faith. As they tell it, and as we listen, we do not simply learn historical facts; we are empowered and equipped to practice soul care and spiritual direction today.”

A Superb Presentation

Dr. Timothy George, Dean of Beesen Divinity School and Senior Editor for Christianity Today calls Sacred Friendships a “superb presentation!”

Dr. Robert Kellemen and Susan Ellis have done a masterful job bringing together here a wonderful anthology of the stories and voices of Christian women throughout the history of the church. A superb presentation!”

Sample Chapter

To read a free sample chapter, please visit: http://bit.ly/1S1haj and be empowered by the ministries of Margaret Baxter and Susannah Wesley.

Endorsements

To hear why others are so excited about Sacred Friendships and what they are learning from it, please visit: http://bit.ly/6frbF.

Order Your Copy

To order your copy of Sacred Friendships at 40% off for only $12.99 please visit: http://bit.ly/MG1l5.

Church Leaders

Sacred Friendships, with its built-in discussion and application guide, is the ideal book for small groups, Adult Sunday School, Bible studies, and Women’s Groups. If your church or para-church group would like to order ten or more copies at 50% off, please email rpm.ministries@gmail.com for details.

Professors/Educators/Equippers

Sacred Friendships is perfect for classes on Christian biblical counseling, spiritual formation, women’s ministry, women’s studies, multicultural studies, spiritual direction, and church history.

If you would like to use Sacred Friendships as a required book in one of your classes, email rpm.ministries@gmail.com with the name of the class and your address so you can receive a complimentary professor’s copy.

Reviewers

If you write reviews for major publications or major blog sites and you would like to review Sacred Friendships please email rpm.ministries@gmail.com to receive a Review Kit.

Bloggers

We will be launching a Sacred Friendships Blog Tour on blogs across the country to help celebrate the legacy of women heroes of the faith. If you have a blog and would like to join the excitement (and receive a free copy of the book), please email us at rpm.ministries@gmail.com. To learn more about the blog tour, please visit: http://bit.ly/J7Tpt.

Radio and TV Hosts

If you are involved in Christian radio and/or TV, or know of those who are, and you would like to engage your audience about women in ministry, changing lives with Christ’s changeless truth, and spiritual friendship, please email rpm.ministries@gmail.com to receive a detailed Media Kit.

Newspaper Reporters

If you are looking for a compelling story that gives voice to the voiceless, then please contact us at rpm.ministries@gmail.com. We have a news release for you. Additionally, both Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis are available for interviews.

Contact

Bob Kellemen
4920 E. 107th Court
Crown Point, IN 46307
219-662-8138
rpm.ministries@gmail.com

Sacred Friendships Blog Tour

Sacred Friendships Blog Tour

My co-author (Susan Ellis) and I are organizing a “blog tour” on our new book, Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith.

The Book: Life-Changing Stories for Changing Lives

Do you care deeply about hurting and struggling people, but you don’t always know how to care like Christ? Do you learn best from real-life examples? Are you convinced that women have much to teach men and women about life and ministry?

Sacred Friendships will equip you to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. Its riveting, real-life, page-turning stories will captivate your imagination, encourage you in your personal relationship with Christ, and empower you in your ministry to your spiritual friends.

Sacred Friendships is unique. It listens to the voice of the voiceless as it narrates the amazing lives and ministries of over 50 remarkable Christian women from the halls of history. Their powerful lives empower us today—speaking with relevance through timeless truths and practical principles.

Join the Journey: Win/Win/Win

We would like to invite you and your readers to be one of the “stops” on the Sacred Friendships Blog Tour.

We want this to be a win/win/win:

*More people hear about and visit your influential blog. (PLus, you get a copy of Sacred Friendships!)

*More people become aware of the empowering message of Sacred Friendships.

*Your readers are encouraged in their Christian walk.

We will work together to create a blog post that works best for you and your blog readership. There are five basic formats you can choose from, depending upon your time and preference.

1. Your Author Q/A: If you have a standard author Q/A, then we can respond to that and you can post it on your blog on a day we mutually decide upon.

2. Our Author Q/A: If you prefer that we send you our author Q/A about the book, we can do that. Which questions we discuss and which part of the book we address would depend on which day you will post. Or, as another option, you could select which of the Q/A you use. Or, yet another option, you could comment on our Q/A. What we want to avoid is 25 blogs all posting the same Q/A on twenty-five different days!

3. A Podcast: Many bloggers prefer doing a podcast phone interview that they post on their site. If that is your preference, then let’s do it.

4. Your Review of the Entire Book: If you prefer to do a book review of Sacred Friendships that works, too. And we would want you to state honestly what your thoughts are about the book. If you want to do a review and you’d like to start reading soon, then I can send you the galley proofs as an e-document in Word format. By September 14, we’ll have hard copies that we can begin shipping to those who do online reviews. If we agree that you will be doing a review, then we’ll need your mailing address to ship you a copy.

5. Your Review of a Chapter/Section from the Book: If you prefer to select a chapter or two of Sacred Friendships and do a “mini-review”/synopsis, that would be great. We’d just need to know what chapter/sections. Again, we can send galley proofs now, and then send a hard copy after September 14. We’d need your mailing address for this.

The Timing of Our Journey: Forty Days and Forty Nights!

Our blog tour will extend over six weeks (forty days to be exact). We will begin the Sacred Friendships Blog Tour on September 21, and we’ll conclude on October 30. We’re looking for 20 to 30 blogs that are a good “fit,” some doing reviews, some doing their own Q/A, and some posting various sections of our author Q/A.

Information for Our Journey

If you email us at rpm.ministries.org, we can attached a Review Kit to introduce you to the message of Sacred Friendships.

You also can learn much more about Sacred Friendships, including access to a free sample chapter by visiting: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

Rewarding Your Readers

Out of the twenty-to-thirty blogs, we will randomly select five readers who commented and send them a complimentary, autographed copy of Sacred Friendships.

Thanks!

Bob

PS: If you know of other bloggers who would be a good fit to “join the journey,” please connect me with them.

The Best of Books on Women in Church History

Kellemen’s Christian The Best Of Guide
The Best of Books on Women in Church History

*Kellemen’s Christian The Best of Guide: Making your life easier by finding, summarizing, evaluating, and posting the best resources on a wide variety of topics from a Christian perspective.

Giving Voice to the Voiceless!

When we think of church history, unfortunately, it is often “the history of a bunch of dead white guys!” We talk about the “church fathers,” but we omit the “church mothers”—many of whom discipled the church fathers! It is well past time to give “voice to the voiceless.”

Having studied the legacy of women heroes of the faith in my book, Sacred Friendships (http://bit.ly/YmaM1), I’ve collated a lengthy bibliography of relevant books. But what I’m posting below is just the tip of the iceberg—the best of the best. If you want to hear the voices of godly Christian women, the following books give the big picture. They survey either all of church history, or large segments of church history. Enjoy!

The Best of Books on Women in Church History

Bainton, Roland. Women of the Reformation in France and England. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1973.

Bainton, Roland. Women of the Reformation in Germany and Italy. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1971.

Bainton, Roland. Women of the Reformation from Spain to Scandinavia. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1977.

Chittister, Joan. The Friendship of Women: A Spiritual Tradition. Franklin, WI: Sheed and Ward, 2000.

Clark, Elizabeth. Women in the Early Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1990.

Clark, Elizabeth, and Herbert Richardson, eds. Women and Religion: The Original Sourcebook of Women in Christian Thought. Revised and expanded edition. San Francisco: Harper, 1996.

Forbes, Cheryl. Women of Devotion through the Centuries. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2001.

Grant, Myrna. Sacred Legacy: Ancient Writings from Nine Women of Strength and Honor. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.

Gryson, Roger. The Ministry of Women in the Early Church. Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 1976.

Kellemen, Robert, and Karole Edwards. Beyond the Suffering: Embracing the Legacy of African American Soul Care and Spiritual Direction. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2007.

Kellemen, Robert, and Susan Ellis. Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith. Winona Lake, IN: BMH Books, 2009.

Kraemer, Ross, ed. Maenads, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics: A Sourcebook on Women’s Religions in the Greco-Roman World. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1988.

MacHaffie, Barbara. Her Story: Women in Christian Tradition. Second edition. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 2006.

Oden, Amy, ed. In Her Words: Women’s Writings in the History of Christian Thought. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.

Peterson, William. 25 Surprising Marriages: Faith-Building Stories from the Lives of Famous Christians. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1997.

Ranft, Patricia. A Woman’s Way: The Forgotten History of Women Spiritual Directors. New York: Palgrave, 2000.

Sawyer, Deborah. Women and Religion in the First Christian Centuries. London: Routledge, 1996.

Stewart, Dorothy, ed. Women of Prayer: An Anthology of Everyday Prayers from Women around the World. Chicago: Loyola Press, 1999.

Swan, Laura. The Forgotten Desert Mothers: Sayings, Lives, and Stories of Early Christian Women. New York: Paulist Press, 2001.

Thiebauz, Marcelle. The Writings of Medieval Women: An Anthology. Second edition. New York: Garland Publishing, 1994.

Tucker, Ruth. Private Lives of Pastor’s Wives. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1988.

Tucker, Ruth, and Walter Liefeld. Daughters of the Church: Women and Ministry from New Testament Times to the Present. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.

Wilson, Katherine, ed. Medieval Women Writers. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1984.

Wilson, Katherine, ed. Women Writers of the Renaissance and Reformation. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 1987.

Wilson-Kastner, Patricia, Ronald Kastner, Ann Millin, Rosemary Rader, and Jeremiah Reedy, eds. A Lost Tradition: Women Writers of the Early Church. Washington, DC: University Press of America, 1981.

Important Stuff

*Your Guide: Bob Kellemen, Ph.D., LCPC, is the Founder and CEO of RPM Ministries (http://www.rpmministries.org/) through which he writes, speaks, and consults to equip God’s people to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth. He blogs daily at http://rpmministries.blogspot.com/.

*My Necessary Disclaimer: Of course, I don’t endorse everything in every article, book, or link that you’ll find in Kellemen’s Christian The Best of Guide. I report, you decide.

*Your Suggestions Are Welcomed: Feel free to post comments and/or send emails (rpm.ministries@gmail.com) about resources that you think deserve attention in various categories covered in Kellemen’s Christian The Best of Guide.

African American Women of Faith

Voices of Healing:

African American Women of Faith

Part I: Elizabeth Keckley:

A Voice of Hope

Note: Taken from Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith. For more information on this stirring book, please visit: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

African American Sisters of the Spirit

African American sisters of the spirit like Elizabeth Keckley, who ministered to the grieving Mrs. Lincoln, and Octavia Albert, who ministered to the soul-wounds of ex-enslaved African Americans, vividly demonstrate how to move beyond suffering to healing hope. Their courageous, hope-based spiritual care is a small sampler, an appetizer, if you will, of a great breadth of wisdom for soul care and spiritual direction contained in the history of women in the African American Church.

While space allows just this sampler, history is filled with powerful and empowering examples of African American feminine sustaining, healing, reconciling, and guiding.[i] Though some have tried to silence their voices, their speaking of God’s truth in love with hope can still be heard by those with ears to hear and hearts to learn.

Elizabeth Keckley: A Voice of Hope

Picture the scene. It’s Civil War America. Women have no right to vote. Across the South, blacks have no rights whatsoever. President Lincoln is assassinated. His widow, Mary Lincoln, is devastated. To whom does she turn?

To a black woman. To Elizabeth Keckley.

In the story of her life Behind the Scenes, or Thirty Years a Slave and Four Years in the White House, Elizabeth (1818-1907) explains, “. . . I have been intimately associated with that lady [Mrs. Lincoln] in the most eventful periods of her life. I have been her confidante . . . I have written with the utmost frankness in regard to her—have exposed her faults as well as given her credit for honest motives.”[ii]

Given the inauspicious beginnings of Elizabeth’s life story, her spiritual friendship with Mary Lincoln is staggering. “My life has been an eventful one. I was born a slave—was the child of slave parents—therefore I came upon the earth free in God-like thought, but fettered in action.”[iii]

How did a black woman of that cultural era become confidante to the slain President’s wife? Elizabeth expresses her understanding with Christian humility. “God rules the universe. I was a feeble instrument in His hands. . .”[iv]

The Rest of the Story

For the rest of the story, please return to this blog for part two . . .

[i]Readers can enjoy the empowering narratives of over two-dozen African American women (and scores of African American men) narrated in Kellemen and Edwards, Beyond the Suffering. For more information, please visit: http://bit.ly/XvsTu

[ii]Keckley, Behind the Scenes, xiv, xv.

[iii]Ibid., 17.

[iv]Ibid., xii.

The Road to Hope: Vibia Perpetua, Part II

The Road to Hope: Vibia Perpetua, Part II

Note: For Part I, read Sunday’s blog post at http://bit.ly/10gzOt.

Learn More/Grow Stronger: Read Perpetua’s life story and the story of over fifty amazing women in Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

“As If” Empathy

On the day of Perpetua’s final hearing before being martyred for her faith in 203 AD, the guards rushed Perpetua to the prisoners’ platform. Her father appeared with her infant son, guilting her and imploring her to “have pity on your son!” He caused such an uproar, that Governor Hilarion ordered him thrown out, and he was beaten with a rod.

Perpetua writes of this horrible incident. “My father’s injury hurt me as much as if I myself had been beaten. And I grieved because of his pathetic old age.”

Perpetua provides a classic portrait of biblical empathy. Her as if experience of her father’s pain is the essence of sustaining soul care—making the agony of others our very own.

Summoning Christ’s Strength

Perpetua not only finds in Christ the strength to empathize with her father, she also summons Christ’s power to console and encourage her family and her fellow martyrs.

“In my anxiety for the infant I spoke to my mother about him, tried to console my brother and asked that they care for my son. I suffered intensely because I sensed their agony on my account. These were the trials I had to endure for many days.”

Incredibly, Perpetua’s greatest pain was her ache for others who hurt for her!

A few days passed after the hearing and before the battle in the arena commenced. During this interval, Perpetua witnessed to her persecutors and ministered to other detainees.

“Pudens, the official in charge of the prison (the official who had gradually come to admire us for our persistence), admitted many prisoners to our cell so that we might mutually encourage each other.”

Facing death, Perpetua shared words of life with all who would listen.

The Road to Hope: Maintaining Perpetual Persistence

Felicitas (Perpetua’s friend and fellow prisoner) was in her eighth month of pregnancy. As the day of the contest approached, she became very distressed that her martyrdom might be delayed, since the law forbade the execution of a pregnant woman. An eyewitness to their eventual death shares his account of their journey together.

“Her friends in martyrdom were equally sad at the thought of abandoning such a good friend to travel alone on the same road to hope. And so, two days before the contest, united in grief they prayed to the Lord.” Immediately after their prayers, her labor pains began and Felicitas gave birth to a girl whom one of her sisters reared as her own.

This eyewitness records their witness for Christ to the very end. “On the day before the public games, as they were eating the last meal commonly called the free meal, they tried as much as possible to make it instead an agape. In the same spirit they were exhorting the people, warning them to remember the judgment of God, asking them to be witnesses of the prisoners’ joy in suffering, and ridiculing the curiosity of the crowd. . . . Then they all left the prison amazed, and many of them began to believe.”

To the very end, Perpetua maintains her perpetual persistence. “The day of their victory dawned, and with joyful countenances they marched from the prison to the arena as though on their way to heaven. If there was any trembling, it was from joy, not fear. Perpetua followed with a quick step as a true spouse of Christ, the darling of God, her brightly flashing eyes quelling the gaze of the crowd.”

Stubbornly Resisting to the End

As they were led through the gates, they were ordered to put on different clothes; the men, those of the priests of Saturn, the women, those of the priestesses of Ceres. “But that noble woman stubbornly resisted even to the end. She said, ‘We’ve come this far voluntarily in order to protect our rights, and we’ve pledged our lives not to recapitulate on any such matter as this. We made this agreement with you.’ Injustice bowed to justice and the guard conceded that they could enter the arena in their ordinary dress. Perpetua was singing victory psalms as if already crushing the head of the Egyptian.”

Here we witness not only Perpetua’s courageous example of persistence, but also her model of biblical confrontation. She provides riveting testimony to Christ’s power at work in the inner life of a Christian woman whose spirit could never be overpowered.

Read More/Grow Stronger: Read Perpetua’s life story and the story of over fifty amazing women in Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

From Victim to Victor: Vibia Perpetua, Part I

From Victim to Victor: Vibia Perpetua, Part I

Note: Taken from Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

Giving Voice to the Voiceless

When we think of the early church, our minds focus on the Church Fathers. Sadly, we normally fail even to consider the Church Mothers. Yet, these godly women heroically waged spiritual warfare against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Their loses and their victories, their pain and their joy, their walk with Christ and their journey with one another are all an inheritance from which each of us are eligible to draw. There is a mighty company of gallant women believers from whom we can learn.

Vibia Perpetua (181-203) heads that company. The early Church preserved her manuscript, The Martyrdom of Perpetua, as a martyr’s relic because it is one of the oldest and most descriptive accounts of death for Christ. It is also the earliest known document written by a Christian woman.

Anyone who has ever suffered for the faith or has been oppressed by the powerful can carry on a conversation and feel a bond with Perpetua. In fact, in the introduction to her story, we read that it was “written expressly for God’s honor and humans’ encouragement” to testify to the grace of God and to edify God’s grace-bought people.[i]

Of course, even reading the word “martyr” likely causes us to imagine that Perpetua was a spiritual “super woman” whose life and ministry we could not possibly emulate. The story of her life, however, demonstrates just the opposite.

The Story of Her Life

Perpetua lived in Carthage in North Africa during the persecution of Christians under Septimius Severus. At the time of her arrest in 202 AD, she was a twenty-one-year-old mother of an infant son. Born into a wealthy, prominent, but unbelieving family, she was a recent convert with a father who continually attempted to weaken her faith and a husband who was, for reasons unknown to us, out of the picture. Nothing in Perpetua’s situation or background prepared her for the titanic spiritual struggle God called her to face.

Perpetua, her brother, her servant (Felicitas), and two other new converts were discipled by Saturus. We learn from Perpetua of the arrest of all these faithful followers of Christ. “At this time we were baptized and the Spirit instructed me not to request anything from the baptismal waters except endurance of physical suffering. A few days later we were imprisoned.”[ii]

A Light in the Darkness: Experiencing the Pain of Others

Perpetua candidly faces her fears and expresses her internal and external suffering. “I was terrified because never before had I experienced such darkness. What a terrible day! Because of crowded conditions and rough treatment by the soldiers the heat was unbearable. My condition was aggravated by my anxiety for my baby.”[iii]

This very human woman exudes superhuman strength. In the midst of her agony, she empathizes with and consoles others. Her father, completely exhausted from his anxiety, came from the city to beg Perpetua to recant and offer sacrifice to the emperor. “I was very upset because of my father’s condition. He was the only member of my family who would find no reason for joy in my suffering. I tried to comfort him saying, ‘Whatever God wants at this tribunal will happen, for remember that our power comes not from ourselves but from God.’ But utterly dejected, my father left me.”[iv]

Note: Read Part II of Perpetua’s life in tomorrow’s blog post. Read her whole life story and the story of over fifty additional amazing women in Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith: http://bit.ly/YmaM1

[i]“The Martyrdom of Perpetua,” in Wilson-Kastner, A Lost Tradition, 19.
[ii]Ibid., 20.
[iii]Ibid.
[iv]Ibid., 22.

Sacred Friendships Back Cover

Have You Heard about Sacred Friendships?

Have You Heard about Sacred Friendships?

Co-authors Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis are excited to announce that pre-orders are now available for their book Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith. Sacred Friendships shares captivating narratives from the lives and ministries of over 50 women spanning 2,000 years. These heroes of the faith teach men and women about life and ministry today.

Compelling Work

Julie Clinton, President of Extraordinary Women, shares why she is excited about Sacred Friendships.

“Dr. Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis, in their compelling work, Sacred Friendships, provide a voice for the voiceless. Like never before, they tell ‘her story’—the story of our great female forbears in the faith. As they tell it, and as we listen, we do not simply learn historical facts; we are empowered and equipped to practice soul care and spiritual direction today.”

Superb Presentation

Dr. Timothy George, Dean of Beesen Divinity School and Senior Editor for Christianity Today calls it a “superb presentation!”

“Dr. Robert Kellemen and Susan Ellis have done a masterful job bringing together here a wonderful anthology of the stories and voices of Christian women throughout the history of the church. A superb presentation!”

Sample Chapter

To read a free sample chapter go here: http://tinyurl.com/l34rag and be empowered by the ministries of Margaret Baxter and Susannah Wesley.

Endorsements

To hear how excited others are about what they are learning from Sacred Friendships go here: http://tinyurl.com/mmjf3w.

Pre-Order

To pre-order your copy of Sacred Friendships at 40% off for only $12.99 go here: http://tinyurl.com/lf6rjp.

Professors

Sacred Friendships, with its built-in discussion and application guide, is ideal for classes on Christian biblical counseling, spiritual formation, women's ministry, and church history.If you would like to use Sacred Friendships as a required book in one of your classes, email rpm.ministries@gmail.com with the name of the class and your address so you can receive a complimentary professor's copy.

Church Leaders

Sacred Friendships is the ideal book for small groups, Adult Sunday school, and Bible studies. If your church or para-church group would like to order ten or more copies at 50% off, please email rpm.ministries@gmail.com for details.

Reviewers

If you write reviews for major publications or major blog sites and you would like to review Sacred Friendships please email rpm.ministries@gmail.com to receive a complete Review Kit.

Bloggers

Kellemen and Ellis will be launching a "Blog Tour" soon, interacting on blogs across the country as they celebrate the legacy of women heroes of the faith. If you have a regular blog and would like to join the excitement, email rpm.ministries@gmail.com.

Radio Interviewers

If you are involved in radio, or know those who are, and would like to engage your audience about women in ministry, please email rpm.ministries@gmail.com to receive a detailed Media Kit.

Sacred Friendships Now Ready for Pre-Order

What Can Men Learn from Women about Ministry?

It's a simple question, isn't it? What can men learn from women about ministry? Yet, that one question can create tremendous controversy, especially in Evangelical circles.

It shouldn't. For 2,000 years of church history men and women have been learning from each other.

Sacred Friendships

For example, in Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith, Susan Ellis and I document how the Church Fathers were mentored by their mothers, grandmothers, and older sisters. Our new book, which is now available for pre-order, shares captivating narratives of over 50 women spanning 2,000 years who have so much to teach men and women about life and ministry today.

Sample Chapter

For more examples, go here http://tinyurl.com/l34rag to read a sample chapter of Sacred Friendships showing the empowering ministries of Margaret Baxter and Susannah Wesley.

Endorsements

To hear how excited others are about what they are learning from Sacred Friendships go here: http://tinyurl.com/mmjf3w.

Pre-Order

I'd like to invite you to join the journey and to learn life and ministry lessons from these amazing women. Go here http://tinyurl.com/lf6rjp to pre-order your copy of Sacred Friendships at 40% off for only $12.99.

Professors

Sacred Friendships, with its built-in discussion and application guide, is ideal for classes on Christian biblical counseling, spiritual formation, women's ministry, and church history.

If you would like to use Sacred Friendships as a required book in one of your classes, email us at rpm.ministries@gmail.com with the name of the class, and we will send you a complimentary professor's copy.

Reviewers

If you write reviews for major publications or major blog sites, and you would like to review Sacred Friendships please email us at rpm.ministries@gmail.com. We'll send you a complete "Review Kit."

Bloggers

We will be launching a "Blog Tour" soon, interacting on blogs across the country as we celebrate the legacy of women heroes of the faith. If you have a regular blog and would like to join the excitement, email us at rpm.ministries@gmail.com.

Radio Interviewers

If you are involved in radio, or know those who are, and would like to engage your audience about women in ministry, please email us at rpm.ministries@gmail.com. We have a detailed "Media Kit" we would like to send you.

A Must Read for Women and Men

Endorsements for Sacred Friendships
Part Three

Pre-Order: The following contains endorsements from Christian leaders for Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith by Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis. Sacred Friendships will be released by BMH Books in late summer 2009. To pre-order at 40% off go here: http://tinyurl.com/lf6rjp

Though silent these many years, even centuries, the remarkable compilation in Sacred Friendships allows these world-influencing women to speak to us even today. We all will be wise to heed their many voices. These women’s influence and spiritual vitality throughout history—captured and arranged so thoughtfully in Sacred Friendships—will both inspire your personal devotion and spark your imagination.
—Mindy Caligure, Founder and President of Soul Care; Author of Faith Books and Spiritual Journaling

“Dr. Robert W. Kellemen and Susan M. Ellis have sketched clearly and powerfully the portraits of the forgotten history and vision of women. Their echo of sacred friendship in the lives of women is irresistible. A ‘must read’ for every women soul care-giver and spiritual director, and for all men who want to learn from these great women of the past.”
—Jayanthi Benjamin, Director of Field Education and Women Student Development, Moody Graduate School

“Sacred Friendships is a remarkable work! I invite you to come and be refreshed as you are enlightened by the many discoveries presented in this masterpiece. Every woman will see herself in this book and sometimes more than once. Every man will develop a deeper appreciation for the struggle, sacrifice and sensitivity for soul care of the women they have encountered. Bob and Susan take us on a journey of hope, help, and healing as they uncover the treasured stories of women who loved God and demonstrated their spirituality in numerous ways worth emulating. Through sustaining, healing, reconciling and guiding, the women of Sacred Friendships nurtured to maturity men and women of their day. And now we too can benefit from the graces they extended. The “Learn Together Lessons” at the end of each chapter are also very helpful as we hear their hunger and thirst for righteousness. You can share in the dialogue of lessons they have learned while implementing practical application strategies from the context of the culture in which they gave their clarion call for Christlikness. This text will help counselors, professors, pastors, ministry leaders, and care-givers move beyond ethics and skills to a place of compassion and mercy.
—Dr. Sabrina D. Black, Clinical Director, Abundant Life Counseling Center and A Healing Place Ministry

“In a time when much is being said about advocating for the voiceless, little has been done to memorialize the specific contributions of godly women who teach, challenge, and encourage us to live lives worthy of the God who calls us His. Sacred Friendships fills a much needed void by recording the imprint that known and unknown women have left throughout time on their families, their churches, their communities, and our history. I found myself hungry to read the stories of these women who made such a difference in their own unique and female way. Women whose strength and courage, wisdom and insight, leadership and followership challenged me as a woman to consider what my Father may be calling me to fulfill in the chapters of His story. Adding this important feminine element to our Christian heritage does not negate the powerful ways men have led, but rather gives a truer, more holistic, and richer perspective of the impact and modeling made by both genders. Women and men alike will be encouraged, inspired, surprised, transformed, and challenged by the stories and lessons found in the pages of Sacred Friendships.
—Deb Musser, MA, Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling and Interpersonal Relations, Grace College

Guides on the Path to God

Endorsements for Sacred Friendships
Part Two

Note: The following contains endorsements from Christian leaders for Sacred Friendships: Celebrating the Legacy of Women Heroes of the Faith by Bob Kellemen and Susan Ellis. Sacred Friendships will be released by BMH Books in late summer 2009. For information on pre-ordering Sacred Friendships, email rpm.ministries@gmail.com with a subject line of “Pre-Order.”

“Great read! These are important stories to tell and vital stories to read—great men of God were influenced and encouraged by great women of God. Sacred Friendships retraces the lives and perspectives of many women who walked their lives in faith. The authors sketch the spiritual words and deeds of women whose relationships with God caused them to minister grace and truth to those around them. This ‘cloud of witnesses’ humbled and challenged me all at once, and inspired renewed commitment to live each day with an eternal perspective.”
—Lynelle Buchanan, MA, Chair, BA in Counseling, Baptist Bible College, Clarks Summit, PA

“The stories of guides on the path to God are an important part of the resources that God has given us to educate us in spiritual guidance. But most of the stories we have been told are stories of men, which means only half of the history of the Church is being recited, and this in an area where women have contributed so much. In such a context, Sacred Friendships must be counted a special treasure. Containing fifty-two stories of female travelers and guides to God, sampled from the breadth of church’s history and interpreted from a classical Christian perspective, this book does more than fill a void. It allows the lives of these women to educate us today, and by their example, to draw us into the holy love of God.”
—Dr. Eric Johnson, Professor of Christian Psychology, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Founder and Director, Society of Christian Psychologists

“What a blessing to be exposed to Sacred Friendships. It came at a great time, because I had just been wondering if we had any strongly historical books on women in ministry. This will be a great aid to those of us teaching in the area of women’s ministry. I also see it guiding ministry approaches to both men and women in the area of spiritual formation. Sacred Friendships is a needed guide to understanding how the past can shape our theory and practice in the present-day conundrum of Christian counseling and ministry issues. Kellemen and Ellis have done a masterful job of interpreting the words and works of godly women from church history and have gleaned guiding principles for ministries concerned with spiritual formation in our day and age. Sacred Friendships is not just an anthology of these women’s voices, but a thoughtful reflection on what they uniquely add to the stream of Christian counsel flowing through the waves of human history. The insights gathered by the authors and the penetrating discussion questions posed in each chapter provide helpful guidance for those who are interested in equipping others in soul care professions and ministries. This book would be useful for training soul care workers in academic and church-type settings because it enlists a broad spectrum of scholarship, but also connects that scholarship to practical issues. Bravo!”
—Christy Hill, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Spiritual Formation and Women’s Ministry, Grace Theological Seminary

“Sacred Friendships is a heartwarming historical anthology of women whose conviction and pluck shaped history. Rarely have I picked up a book to read that has so encouraged me to use my gendered gifting as a means to promote the growth of others. The stories contained in this book elevate the role of sister, friend, daughter, mother, wife, counselor, and spiritual director as the means God will use to shape lives. I learned there are no ordinary women: like the women in Sacred Friendships we leave a story behind to be told no matter when we live, or who we live among. What historical story will others tell about how you used your gift? The women in Sacred Friendships shaped ancient history, stepped up to be martyred for their faith, spoke words of comfort to soothe those they served, fought for justice when prejudice was unbridled, used wise words to encourage depressed church fathers, mentored theologians, and rebuked authorities. Each woman chose to follow in the footsteps of the Maker of gender by using her mind and words to reflect Him in unique ways.
—Penny Freeman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Graduate Counseling, Philadelphia Biblical University