To add to the list, I want to add a woman whose works I’ve come to admire just this past year. I’m sure some of you have heard of Phyllis Tickle . She is most well known for her books The Divine Hours which introduced fixed hour prayer to our modern faith practices. I first encountered her at the Emergent convention in Nashville in 2005. She was the main speaker or “blesser” at our general gatherings. What I discovered was that she was an amazing storyteller who wove together scripture and application in astounding ways. She also gave a mindblowing talk regarding the history of religion in America and the directions it is heading. I have the cd and have listened to it a few times since. Her grasp of history and her ability to see trends and explain them spoke to the literature and history major part of me.
Since then I’ve read a few of her books and have come to greatly respect and appreciate her voice. Her autobiographical works that weave in commentary on the spiritual state of America are brilliant and touching at the same time. She spent a good number of years as the religion editor for Publishers Weekly and so has a remarkable grasp of the state of religion in our age as well as a great vocabulary. Her journey of faith and her call as an intellectual woman resonated with me and encouraged me to not be afraid to use my voice and intellect for God.
I highly recommend encountering her works. My favorite is The Shaping of a Life .
Labels: Women in Ministry
Good post.
I find that my role models are often people my age or younger who have been my colleagues. I'm still looking for women who fill that role.