When women’s ministries abandon the Bible

This week, a woman wrote to me about what’s been happening in her church:

“My church’s Women’s Ministry’s Bible study just decided to stop studying the actual Bible, which we had been doing. It was announced that our next study would be the book, What is Love by Kelly Minter. Could you tell me if she is Emergent or not? I read some things that I wasn’t comfortable with. Like she’s published by Lifeway which was a bad sign to me.”

First, let me opine that it is very sad to me when churches equip women with the words of a book author, rather than the actual Words from the Author of Life. Since when is it the church’s mandate to disciple women with anything BUT the Bible?

Sure, there are some wonderful books available from authors who are solid in their teachings of biblical truth. But those are few and far between the vapid and empty calories found in the majority of books women are using these days. I know; I have a bookshelf full of some of the most self-focused “studies” available on the market. These mostly consist of funny or sad stories woven around how to be a better wife, a better mom, a better woman, etc., but not so much the majesty of Christ, or finding  peace in a Gospel that is not about what we do, but about what He has done for us.

In my experience with women’s Bible study groups, once we leave the meat of the Bible in the dust and start gobbling down a steady diet of man’s (or women’s), thoughts, we open ourselves to the silliness of the world. It’s not long before the women’s group, and the entire church start slorping up the gobbledygoop of every “shift” and “new thing” these authors and speakers claim God is doing. In an article we posted titled, On Capturing Weak Women, our Bible study teacher Beth Seifert writes,

“The majority of book studies out there are so mixed with truth and lies that it’s like wading through a field with land mines to make it through alive. But without reading and knowing your Bible (which means it should be your primary reading material, not the latest best seller) you are not equipped to navigate the land mines and make it through unscathed. This helps explain why women who seek out these types of books continue to get farther and farther from what the Bible actually teaches and have no idea what is in their Bible, or how to study it.

You can read the rest here.

As for Kelly Minter, I’m afraid the news is not good. Researcher, Women’s Bible study leader and friend Michelle Leslie writes the following review in her article, Do You Recommend These Teachers?

kellyminter-1321-e1402589694418Kelly Minter– Not recommended. On the “about” page of Kelly’s web site, she describes false teacher, Beth Moore, as “one of my favorite bible study teachers” (as a somewhat inconsequential aside, I have little respect for Bible study authors who don’t even know that the word “Bible” is supposed to be capitalized – and, no, this was not a one time typo). Kelly also says, “Beth’s teachings were much of what God used in my earlier life to teach and transform me…”. Beth Moore is notorious for mishandling and twisting Scripture, so this should tell you all you need to know about following Kelly. Beth Moore also preaches to men, so it is not surprising that we would find Kelly preaching to men as well.

Kelly seems to have unbiblical ideas about how people should study the Bible. In this video she recommends that people who want to understand the Bible need to get a study (in addition to her own, she recommends Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer) and “if you feel comfortable” get involved in a church to study “in community”. The biblical model for being taught Scripture is to join a church – this is not optional – and be taught the Word by the pastor, elders, and teachers. Doctrinally sound studies can sometimes be helpful, but they are supplementary to church instruction, not the primary source of instruction. Here, Kelly recommends not only Beth Moore and Priscilla Shirer, but also Jen Hatmaker, Jennie Allen, Lisa Harper, Jennifer Rothschild, and Margaret Feinberg. Kelly has guest blogged for Priscilla Shirer, is an admirer of Christine Caine, and has appeared on Christine Caine’s podcast.

The good news is that there is Good News. We can study directly from God’s own breathed-out Word to determine how He has spoken to us. We don’t need those popular best sellers to shape our church’s Bible studies; we need the Bible! Equipping the saints is the reason the church exists!
Save those other books for home, and feast on the very Word of Truth.

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