What Women Want: Pentecostal Women Ministers Speak for Themselves

Pentecostal women ministers have been silenced in official conversations about their place in church leadership. What do women ministers believe about family life? Have they been influenced by liberal feminism? Do they really want to be equal ministry leaders with men? What Women Want answers these questions in a first ever empirical study that paints a portrait of what it's like to be a Pentecostal woman minister. ""Alexander and Bowers and their colleagues in this volume insist that whatever their provenance, the voices of Pentecostal women ministers can no longer be ignored. Perhaps more than two or three prophetesses are speaking in these pages, calling attention to injustices and exploding the myths perpetuated by some of the sons who claim the Spirit. If so, then now the congregation of readers must judge and discern what is said–may those with ears to hear respond to what the Spirit is saying to the churches."" –Amos Yong, Director of the Center for Missiological Research, Professor of Theology and Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary ""Tears were rolling down my cheeks as I read the stories found within the pages of this book. God has been and will continue to call and gift his daughters for ministry. Not only have Bowers and Alexander discovered what women want, they have given voice to their concerns in a powerful and passionate way. Evident is that a feminist political agenda is not at play, but rather called women who are seeking full expression of the giftings which they have received from God. This place of equal leadership can be found throughout numerous churches that trace their roots to the holiness tradition. May we be willing to listen to the voices and open our hearts and minds to the Spirit's leading."" –Caria Sunberg, Forty-Third General Superintendent, Church of the Nazarene ""This important study listens to data gathered from women in a major Pentecostal denomination and gives expression to their beliefs and experiences in ministry. It contains many insights as well as some surprises. Significantly, it identifies a research agenda that has implications beyond Pentecostalism and the church in North America. As such, it deserves to be read widely, and its findings considered carefully by those in church leadership."" –Mark J. Cartledge, Professor of Practical Theology, Regent University Kimberly Alexander is Associate Professor of the History of Christianity at Regent University School of Divinity. She is the author of Pentecostal Healing: Models of Theology and Practice (2007), as well as numerous articles and book chapters related to Pentecostal spirituality and women in the Pentecostal tradition. She is a past-president of the Society for Pentecostal Studies. James P. Bowers is Director of Graduate Studies at Virginia Bible College and pastor of St. Andrews United Methodist Church in Portsmouth, VA. He is editor of Portrait and Prospect: Church of God Pastors Face the Twenty-First Century and numerous articles and book chapters related to spiritual formation and pastoral practice.