With honesty and hope,
Claire
Deborah, Huldah, Phoebe, Priscilla, Junia. The women the church rarely mentions. Their stories, their voice, their impact on the Kingdom.
She holds court under the Palm of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim, and the Israelites went up to her for judgment.
Judges 4:5 (NIV)When you think of Bible heroes, who comes to mind? Moses. David. Paul. Peter. The names are familiar. The stories are told and retold. Sunday school teaches them to children. Sermons build on them week after week.
But what about the women? What about the female prophets, teachers, leaders, and helpers who shaped the story just as much? Where are their names in our Sunday school lessons? Where are their stories in our sermons?
The truth is, the church has largely forgotten the women of Scripture. Not because they were unimportant. Not because they did nothing worth remembering. But because history tends to remember men, and the church is part of history.
These women were not side characters. They were central to the Kingdom. And it is time their stories are told.
With honesty and hope,
Claire