Women’s Ministries: Halee Gray Scott

From Halee Gray Scott, a salvo:

This week, I received a third announcement about your ministry. Well, maybe not specifically your ministry, but from three different women from three different churches in three different denominations who run the women’s ministry exactly like you. The first was a notification that you designed a ministry especially for me, well, only if I happen to be a “young wife” or a “mom with younger kids”. You assured me it would all be about “fun” and “connecting” and promised “superb soups”, “bodacious bread”, and a “sweet craft project”. I received a second invite when I picked my child up from Sunday School. You let me know this ministry is specifically crafted for “MOMS”. You included the schedule to hook me in: for six weeks out of 13, we’d be doing crafts. Then, on September 16, as former Navy reservist Aaron Alexis opened fire on civilians working at Washington Navy Yard, I got an e-mail about your upcoming women’s conference. You promised it would be a time to “Relax!  Refresh!  Recharge!”

I’m concerned because you seem to think you’re running a spa, a delicatessen, and a Hobby Lobby rather than a church. I’m not the only one. I used to think I was. But then, a few years ago Christianity Today writer Amy Simpson confessed why she didn’t “do women’s ministry“. Since then, a steady stream of other women have followed suit, voicing their discontent with the current women’s ministry paradigm. For the most part, the critics have been gentle and gracious with their critiques. As for me, I’m tired of being nice about it. I’m tired of beating around the bush, saying it’s just a matter of “preference”. So let me say it this way: If this is the way you run the women’s ministry, it’s not just ineffective and irrelevant–it’s sinful. – See more at: http://www.hgscott.com/open-letter-to-traditional-womens-ministry-directors/#sthash.P7kb1JvR.dpuf