What Women Want
“Alexander and Bowers allow Church of God women to express their hopes and fears and the results are both powerful and enlightening. Their study effectively debunks a number of myths, including the belief that a liberal theological agenda is driving the debate. Rather, Church of God women are conservative, called, and confident, wishing only to fulfill the God-given mandate upon their lives. I predict the statistics and analysis of this book will reverberate through the Church of God and the American Pentecostal world. May we have the ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.”
----Dale Coulter, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Historical Theology, Regent University
“This presents a serious challenge to Church of God leaders and pastors to hear our sisters in the Faith and affirm their calling and gifts. The Spirit has been poured out upon all flesh, and we must be willing to prepare the way for the voices of Spirit-filled sisters."
----Rev. Dan Tomberlin, D.Min., Senior Pastor, Vidalia Church of God, Georgia
“This significant work illumines the lives, dreams, frustrations and ultimately the hopes of a generation of Church of God women. Examining the class, racial, and ethnic diversity of this denominations' women ministers is sorely needed for today's church. This fascinating and timely study offers a voice to women as they navigate their calling in the midst of resistance.”
----Arlene Sanchez Walsh, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Church History, Latino/a Studies, Azusa Pacific University
“Acts 2:16-21 outlines our Pentecostal world view and strategy for global evangelization. It is the declaration of the mission of God, that all who call on His name will be saved. The way they will hear is through the prophetic voice of men AND women, old AND young, of all classes and people groups. This declaration of the co-mission of the church set the stage for Paul to declare, ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, male nor female, we are all one in Christ Jesus.’ I commend James and Kimberly and the leaders of the Church of God for taking an honest assessment of the current reality. This isn't about equal rights but rather about a harvest that is ready and the laborers cannot be one half of the workforce. We must have "all hands on deck" in order to fulfill the mission. Our roles and responsibilities must be determined by God’s call and gifting, not ambition or cultural biases. We are better together!
----Rev. Tammy Dunahoo, General Supervisor, The Foursquare Church
“Finally someone has asked Pentecostal women ministers the right questions and stopped long enough to listen. The result is a book that gives voice to women with a sense of calling—women who need and want support, affirmation, opportunity, and equitable compensation, in short—to be taken as seriously as any man would be in living out that call.
“In analyzing survey responses from 726 of the 3088 licensed Church of God women in ministers (in 2012), Alexander and Bowers have provided a remarkable ‘reality-based context’ that shatters myths, tells a story, and sets a stage for a ‘renewed vision of relationship’ where men and women can move past bad theology and ‘get on with the business of the kingdom.’
“This book rekindles my hope for the future of women in ministry—a hope first nurtured by my own Pentecostal pastor father who provided ministry opportunities for me, encouraged me, and instilled confidence in my life as a teenage girl with a sense of calling to serve the Church. May more of our brothers see, listen, and act, as he did.”
----Dr. Lois E. Olena, Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Jewish Studies, Assemblies of God Theological Seminary; Executive Director, Society for Pentecostal Studies
“There is a greeting in a Zulu tribe in South Africa that is translated ‘I see you’ followed by a common response, ‘I am here.’ I am so thankful that Kimberly E. Alexander and James P. Bowers have had the courage to write such a timely book as What Women Want. Their research reveals that what women in the church want is simply to be seen and celebrated as the gifts of God that they are. They don’t want to be invisible or held back because of their gender. They don’t want to have to go outside of the church to soar and fulfill their God-given destinies but they are struggling to find a place within the church to spread out their wings.
“What Women Want is a wake up call to the church as a whole, even beyond Pentecostal circles. It is an invitation for Christians in leadership to reflect on what is being preached from the pulpit to see if it is actually happening in practice. It is an invitation to seek to listen and understand what is really going on in the hearts of our brothers and sisters. It is a call to reflect on core beliefs. It presents an opportunity for the church to step into even more of the fullness of what it is destined to be.
“Safe places need to be created to hear what is really going on with the women in our congregations. The church is at a crossroads. Right now this very issue is set before us. By initiating the dialogue and creating space for women’s voices to be heard, I hope and pray along with Alexander and Bowers, that from this research, change will come for the ‘good of the church, the advancement of the Kingdom, and the glory of God.’”
----Jennifer A. Miskov, Ph.D., Founding Director of Silver to Gold and Destiny House
“This is the first empirical study on this topic in our tradition. The fact that it is an empirical study helps move discussions about the role of women in ministry beyond the visceral level and provides a systematic point of departure for examining the issue from a different angle. In doing this, it gets the conversation out of the emotional eddy (or rut) in which it has been trapped. “
--- Bob L. Johnson, Jr. Ph.D., Professor and Program Coordinator, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy, The University of Alabama