“Bible Study is like homework, right? And everyone knows, homework is, like, so B-O-R-I-N-G. Unless, you happen to be Beth Moore.”
I start out my thoughts with a quote from Karen Spears Zacharias in an article she wrote appearing in Christianity Today titled: Confessions of a Beth Moore Convert. I love her article and I love where she comes from in terms of her attitude about women’s Bible studies, as I found myself much like her, feeling like I lived in a desert for quality Bible teaching for women. I had the great privilege of attending Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) for many years, with the education and understanding a person receives from this program in on par with teaching you would receive in your local Bible College. When looking for a substantial system of study in the local churches, the fill-in-the-blank fare was sadly, all I could find.
That is until my best friend drug me kicking and screaming to my first Beth Moore study. I was still feeling quite hopeless that this type of study would be challenging, useful and weighty. Within a matter of two weeks, I too was a convert! I was delighted to find her teaching to be insightful, well-studied, deep, and most of all pertinent. Her gender, her history and her journey created a perspective and an avenue that ideally equipped her to teach women! Of course, many men also enjoy her teaching, but it is evident that God has called her to a special place of teaching women.
The studies aren’t easy, and they do require substantial homework, but that’s where you really learn what Scripture has to say about you, your experience, your trials and who God is and wants to be in your life. Beth Moore’s teaching style and fresh approach makes the learning process fun, stimulating and very personal. She teaches about a God who has a love so profound for us, a Savior who h has a heart that is always pursuing us, and a Holy Spirit who is all about drawing us deeper into relationship with Him.
With all that being said, I return to the title of my comments. Women do want more Moore, and many are anxiously waiting for the next study. Some pastors though, drag their feet about promoting Moore studies, perhaps because they fear her popularity, influence, or don’t understand and haven’t experienced the quality of her teaching. Perhaps they are not aware of her avid support of the local church, always encouraging women to plug into their ministry opportunities, and always promoting more prayer for the local churches, their ministries and their leaders.
So, my encouragement to women and to pastors is “Don’t drag your feet!” If you want your congregation learning deep and life-changing truths from Scripture, if you want women challenged to plug into the local church, if you want to see the level of prayer raised in your area, if you want to see women come into an understanding of who God is and the power He has to change their lives, then don’t be afraid of a little more Moore.
In an unabashed attempt to plug an Omaha, Nebraska event that I am helping to promote in April featuring Beth Moore as the speaker, I invite you to check out our website and Facebook pages. You are welcome to contact me for questions about this great women’s ministry event at krisranney@gmail.com.
http://www.lifeway.com/Event/Womens-Event-Living-Proof-Live-Omaha-NE
And our Facebook page at:
