Celebrate the Value of Women

Over a decade ago, my co-author and I were encouraged to write a book about men and women relating to one another in a holy way, particularly in the church. We immediately realized that, to accomplish our goal, we needed to invite a male to co-author alongside us. What sort of credibility would we have, two women writing about women—and men? The process proved fun, eye-opening, and encouraging.

Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher are collaborating in a similar manner in their new release. Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women explores what the Scriptures say about women: How did God use them to advance his agenda in the biblical narrative? What does God say about their inherent worth? What does Jesus have to say about women? How does he want us to value women today, particularly in our churches? What do pastors need to know about women—and what do they want the women in their churches to know? What do men need to learn about God’s perspective on women?

This book is a treat. And so is this interview with Eric and Elyse. I hope y’all—guys and gals—enjoy their insider perspective on why you should get your own copy of Worthy.

A male and a female coauthor Worthy. Why is the perspective of a male important for this book?

For starters, it can be difficult to get some men to read a book written by a woman. Even with our subject—the value of women—our most common responses to the book are, “That sounds like a great book for our women’s ministry!” or “I’ll buy a copy for my wife/mom/sister…” It is assumed that the value of women is a topic for women to think about. While women certainly should think about it, we think the value of women is something men need to be thinking about and embracing from a biblical perspective. Worthy is not just a book for women. Worthy is a book for men. We hope that a male perspective reinforces that point.

More importantly, perhaps, is that it is important for women to hear a man promote the value of women. That point was driven home in this response from an early reader (shared with permission):

A number of thoughts have swarmed and swirled in my head as I read and it made me a little teary here and there too. Healing. That’s the word I’d use to describe what I’ve read thus far. Healing in a broad and also personal sense. One aspect is your voice in this conversation—a male, complementarian pastor affirming God’s love and value for women. Thank you.

We find that women are encouraged to read a man affirming the value of women.

Tell us what brought you two together and how/why you decided to write this book?

Like all good things, Worthy started on Twitter. In early 2018, Eric tweeted out of a string of women who were the first person do various things in the scripture. The Gospel Coalition asked him to turn it into an article—”21 Places Women Emerge Front and Center in Scripture’s Storyline.” Elyse read it and invited Eric to talk about it on their podcast, Front Porch with the Fitzes, during which she suggested it would make a great book. The rest is history!

Our desire in writing Worthy was to walk through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation highlighting the ways that God used women to carry out the plan of redemption. We want to show that women are not extraneous to God’s plan, but integral—not only in the past but in the present.