What does the Bible say about the value of women? Beginning from Genesis and working all the way through the storyline of the Bible, Worthy demonstrates the significant and surprising ways that God has used women to accomplish His kingdom goals. Created in His image, their lives reflect and declare His worth. Worthy enables and encourages both men and women to embrace this true and lofty vision of God's creation, plan, and their value in His eyes.
Bestselling author Elyse Fitzpatrick and pastor Eric Schumacher together invite women to embrace a transformative and empowering view of their Maker, themselves, and the church. But this isn't only a book for women. It is also a book for men, especially leaders, who want to grow in their understanding of God's perspective on women, people who normally make up the majority of their congregations; men who might be wondering if they've missed something amid the abuse scandals that are rocking the church.
Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women will help every reader see the value, place, and calling of women through study questions and a “Digging Deeper” section that will help men and women discover how to cherish, value, and honor one another for God's glory.
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This is an extremely important discussion for the church right now, and Elyse and Eric are the right voices to provide guidance. This book marks an important milestone of what God is doing in his church.
J.D. Greear, PhDpastor, The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, NC; 62nd president, the Southern Baptist Convention; author of Above All
In a world where womanhood is simultaneously worshiped and despised, Elyse and Eric explain a woman’s worth, straight from Scripture. With chapters filled with compassion and hard questions, they challenge readers to develop a robust view of women in redemptive history.
Emily Jensen and Laura Wifler
coauthors of Risen Motherhood: Gospel Hope for Everyday Moments
Women along with men are joint-heirs with Jesus Christ of the inheritance of the kingdom. This is good news for all of us, male and female. This book, authored by two respected and wise Christian leaders, can help the church to celebrate the gifting and calling of women within the Body of Christ. As you read this book, pray that God would show you how best to respect and uplift the women and girls in your church and community.
Russell Moore
president, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention
With candor and wisdom, Elyse and Eric shine a light into the biblical text, showing the ways God has cared for and worked through women to bring about his purposes in the world. Then they shine a light into the church, addressing the significant questions women have about how God cares for and intends to work through them today.
Nancy Guthrie
author of Even Better Than Eden: Nine Ways the Bible’s Story Changes Everything about Your Story
This book will provoke many feminists because its authors strive to be rigorously biblical. It will provoke many self-perceived complementarians because . . . the authors strive to be rigorously biblical. This is provocation that we all need, challenging us to look afresh at Scripture, and at our own attitudes and practices.
Dennis E. Johnson, PhD
professor emeritus of practical theology, Westminster Seminary California
Don’t mistake this as a book about gender roles. It is a book about the value of women. I recommend Worthy for those of us who are tired of the extremes of the gender debates and want to explore the heart of our convictions. Guided by Scripture, Elyse and Eric come together (in stereo) to challenge our own perceptions of value and how we communicate worth.
Aimee Byrd
author of Why Can’t We Be Friends? and Recovering from Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
I like this book a lot. I do not agree with all of it, but I agree with most of it. Too often women fade into the background or disappear altogether in our interpretation and proclamation of God’s Word. This is a mistake with harmful and unhelpful repercussions. This book helps us correct this problem. I enthusiastically commend it.
Daniel L. Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Many misconceptions about women’s place and worth in the church begin with misconceptions about what the Bible actually says. In advocating for the true worth and biblical roles of women, Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher begin—and end—with the Bible. What they show may surprise some readers, affirms all women, and will serve the church well.
Karen Swallow Prior, PhD
author of On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books and Fierce Convictions: The Extraordinary Life of Hannah More—Poet, Reformer, Abolitionist
I became painfully aware of how important Worthy by Elyse Fitzpatrick and Eric Schumacher was as I read it, because this biblically insightful book reminded me once again of my own sins and devaluing of women in my own life. I am a Christian man and pastor with a regrettable history of objectifying, demeaning, and devaluing women in my life and in the church. This book is needed because there are others like me who need a loving rebuke from trusted authors who have lived this same struggle in their own life and walked with others who have done the same. Every pastor needs to read this book to help expose the way we often devalue women in the church and don’t realize it. Women need to read this book so they can truly know the way God values them, as well as women throughout redemptive history, and how God intends for them to flourish in the local church today. I heartily commend it.
Brian Croft
Senior pastor, Auburndale Baptist Church; founder, Practical Shepherding; senior fellow, Mathena Center for Church Revitalization, SBTS
I have never been more convinced of my worth as a woman made in God’s image and redeemed by Christ’s blood. I’m eternally grateful to Elyse and Eric for helping me to see God’s care and commissioning of women in his Word. Everyone needs to read this book.
Quina Aragon
author of Love Made: A Story of God’s Overflowing, Creative Heart
Elyse and Eric ask and answer very important questions about the value of women, but it is not just for women. While I hope my wife, daughters, mom, sister, and other women in my life internalize the message of this book, it is also for me and other men. Unfortunately, what is clear and obvious in the Bible is not always clear and obvious in our homes, churches, and culture: Women are valuable and they are integral in God’s story of redemption from beginning to end.
Justin S. Holcomb
seminary professor, Episcopal priest, and coauthor of Rid of My Disgrace, God Made All of Me, and Is It My Fault?
An important resource for churches longing to see all their members rise up and fulfill the calling God has for them. I appreciate the honesty and candor both authors bring to this timely discussion of women and the church. Written with empathy and a high respect for Scripture and the image of God gloriously present in all of us, I highly recommend this important read.
Mary DeMuth
author of We Too: How the Church Can Respond Redemptively to the Sexual Abuse Crisis
This book is so good. It’s beautifully written, the theological clarity bursts forth on every page, and it’s saturated with the Gospel. False, antiquated ideas concerning women’s role in God’s kingdom are deconstructed and the Holy Spirit reconstructs a God-glorying perspective for women (and men) in God’s redemptive purposes. I highly recommend this book!
Dr. Derwin L. Gray
Lead pastor, Transformation Church; author of Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future
Worthy tackles the difficult and often overlooked questions regarding God’s view of women. You’ll see how God wove his redemptive message through heroic women throughout Scripture. Be ready to have your preconceived notions challenged and your faith encouraged. Because of that, it’s a must-read for all church and ministry leaders.
S. Michael and MeLissa Houdmann
cofounders, Got Questions Ministries
Elyse and Eric have written a book deserving of its title. Having been raised Methodist, converted to faith at an Assemblies of God church, and graduated from a Presbyterian seminary, I have heard virtually every angle and teaching on women—especially their role in the church. Opinions abound! What makes Worthy stand out is that it starts and ends with Scripture. Worthy takes the reader on a journey through the Bible to discover what it says about this crucial topic. Backed by solid exegesis, great wit, and convicting insight, Worthy should be your go-to book to inform your theology of women. I enthusiastically recommend this book!
Scott Lindsey
executive director, Faithlife, makers of Logos Bible Software
Worthy is a biblically rich, Gospel-centered book that examines and challenges the way the world and the church view the purpose and value of women. Eric and Elyse write in a way that is both life-giving and thought-provoking, showing us that the worth of a woman is not to be defined by the culture we live in or what we’ve been taught, but by God himself, as written in his Word and displayed through the life of Christ.
Sarah Walton
coauthor of Hope When It Hurts
This book is a word in due season. Eric and Elyse give us a powerful, convicting, and honest resource that the church so desperately needs. Beginning with a history of redemption, Worthy celebrates the story of women, while unveiling the story of Scripture. I was simultaneously convicted, challenged, and encouraged and believe that you will be too.
Raleigh Sadler
founder and executive director, Let My People Go; author of Vulnerable: Rethinking Human Trafficking
From Genesis to Revelation, God’s Word proclaims the worth of God’s creation. And in a culture that marginalizes or devalues image-bearers in almost every sphere in some way, we need the guidance of Scripture to show us how infinitely worthy God has made his children. In this book, Elyse and Eric illuminate the worth of women in particular from creation to culmination. They correct common tropes and tired church clichés, and they keep the character of God as their guide. I hope women everywhere are encouraged by this book and men everywhere will allow the weight of its truths to bear on their everyday life.
Lore Ferguson Wilbert
author of Handle with Care
Evangelical Christians were long offered a theology of womanhood that is hierarchical and patriarchal. However, Fitzpatrick and Schumacher desire a biblical womanhood shorn of extracanonical accretions. Certain interpretations or applications may surprise or delight, but this complementarian theologian hopes Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women will herald a reforming anthropology.
Malcolm B. Yarnell III
author of God the Trinity, The Formation of Christian Doctrine, Royal Priesthood in the English Reformation,and Who Is the Holy Spirit?
Worthy: Celebrating the Value of Women . . . is basically a survey of the import and rich significance of women through both the Old Testament and the New Testament. And it is about women’s standing, import, and significance to God the Father and God the Son—in detail! . . . The authors exposit the detailed stories of women through the Bible—and they do it well! . . . Page after page pushes male minimizers of women to repent—and to do it because minimizing women believers in Jesus amounts to minimizing the God who created and redeemed both sexes! . . . If you’re not sure whether to read it, begin at the story of the women in the life of Jesus, particularly . . . in the story of his Passion. Contrast who stuck with him (women) and who fled almost immediately (the men)! You’ll be hooked!
Dr. Rod Rosenbladt
ordained Lutheran pastor (LCMS), professor emeritus of theology, Concordia University, Irvine, California
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About the Authors
Elyse Fitzpatrick is a nationally sought-after speaker and author, speaking at the Gospel Coalition's conference and Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth's Revive Our Hearts. She holds a certificate in biblical counseling and has an MA in biblical counseling from Trinity Theological Seminary. She has authored 23 books and lives in California with her husband, Phil.
Worthy Book Club
We hope that Worthy will spark many conversations among women and men. That’s one reason we included discussion questions and a “Digging Deeper” section after each chapter. It’s ready to go for a 12-week Book Club! Need something shorter? Consider these plans for your church, on-line, or neighborhood reading group.
10 Weeks
Week One: Introduction and Chapter 1
Week Two: Chapter 2
Week Three: Chapter 3
Week Four: Chapters 4-5
Week Five: Chapters 6-7
Week Six: Chapter 8
Week Seven: Chapter 9
Week Eight: Chapter 10
Week Nine: Chapter 11
Week Ten: Chapter 12 and Conclusion*
*combine weeks 6-8 and 9-10 for an 8-week study.
One Month
Week One: Women in Creation (Chapters 1-3)
Week Two: Women in Israel (Chapters 4-7)
Week Three: Women in Jesus’ Life (Chapters 8-10)
Week Four: Women in the Church (Chapters 11-12)
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