The Whole Woman, edited by Kristin L. Kellen and Julia B. Higgins, explores ministering to a woman’s heart, soul, mind and strength. Each chapter is written by different leading women. The introduction does a thorough job of defining biblical womanhood.
The book is divided into sections that explore ministering to women in each of these four main categories:
- The Heart: a woman’s emotions, desires and motivations
- The Soul: women’s relationships with the Lord, and use of spiritual disciplines
- The Mind: renewing the mind and theological study
- Strength: the physical body, community and relationships and loving God and loving others
The Whole Woman does an excellent job of exploring modern women’s ministry. During an exploration of spiritual disciplines, Amy Whitfield reminds us that, “It takes discipline not to worry because it is a fundamental shift in perspective. Worry and anxiety tell us that we must control our world, but God’s Word tells us that He controls our world…. We have to make an active daily decision that when worries come to our mind, instead of letting them simmer to a boil, we will push them out and place them before the Lord, believing that He is for our good.”
Leslie Hildreth reminds us that we need to “teach women to saturate their lives with Scripture” during an exploration of renewing the mind.
While examining how we are to treat our physical bodies, Kristin Kellen quotes Romans 12:1, reminding us that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. She interprets this to mean that everything we do with our bodies should bring glory to God. There is much much more. This is not a light spring read for a church level study, but it would make an excellent read for a church women’s ministry leadership team.
