Description: Can a high view of Scripture and the calling of women to leadership truly belong together? For many believers, the question is not whether the Bible matters--it matters deeply--but it is how to understand its full witness when it comes to women leading in God's mission. Written for women discerning a call to leadership and for men who desire to be faithful partners in ministry, this book reveals a God who elevates women to lead. Rather than beginning with modern debates, this book follows the Bible's own storyline. From Genesis through the early church, Scripture reveals a consistent pattern. At critical moments in redemptive history, God calls women and men into leadership. Often misunderstood, Paul emerges as a champion of women colleagues. His concern is not gender, but fidelity. He wants the gospel to be protected from distortion and to be proclaimed and lived out with integrity. By engaging the historical and cultural context of Scripture, readers are invited not to minimize God's word, but to hear it more clearly. Arise! calls women and men to rise up--not as competitors, but as collaborators--so that every gift may be welcomed and every calling elevated for the glory of God.
Brief description: Grace Y. May serves with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA as the Graduate Student and Faculty Area Director for DC/Maryland. She received her MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and her ThD from Boston University School of Theology and is an ordained minister with the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Review Quotes: "A fresh, joyful, multi-ethnic survey of Bible women's gifts and callings. This insightful book makes clear that Galatians 3:28 is God's heartbeat. It is with enormous enthusiasm that I recommend this intelligent and delightful book."
--Mimi Haddad, President and CEO, CBE International
"Grace May's Arise! calls us to use every gift for God's glory. Arise! is insightful, delightful, and biblical. It opens our eyes to the host of women in both Old and New Testaments and throughout the world who proclaim God's word. It provides compelling answers from the Bible to every major objection to ministry by women. It explains complex issues clearly and concisely. It assesses competing understandings fairly and respectfully. I enthusiastically recommend Arise!"
--Philip B. Payne, author of Man and Woman, One in Christ
"In Arise!, Grace May, drawing on her extensive experience as a minister, explores how God views and values women leaders throughout different eras in biblical history and reclaims a vision for a fuller understanding of the kingdom of God. Her insights and research will inspire both women and men to rise up for the glory of God."
--Chloe T. Sun, Professor of Old Testament, Fuller Theological Seminary
"With the help of clear narrative and skillful exegesis of the biblical text, Grace May guides us through how God elevated women to be his instruments throughout history. This book is a powerful reminder that God's giftings are given to both women and men for the maturing of his church and her witness in the world. May reminds us that God's work requires all of God's people to join hands for the sake of the Gospel!"
--Paul Cornelius, President, William Carey International University