Books

Can women successfully pastor large membership churches? In 2006 at an international meeting of United Methodist clergywomen, this question was raised about how women were breaking gender stereotypes to serve in churches with 1,000 or more members. Two years later, the Lead Women Pastors Project was launched with 64 clergywomen by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Breaking Through the Stained Glass Ceiling: Women Pastoring Large Churches emerged from the project which sought to affirm, empower, and nurture women who pastor large churches in the UMC and is a compilation of stories from some of the clergywomen participants.

Author HiRho Y. Park's latest work identifies best practices and offers practical tips and case studies for leading diverse and vital congregations. The book shows readers how to navigate the growing complexities of race, ethnicity, culture, and religion and find appropriate and effective ways to make disciples of Jesus Christ in their context. Park offers innovative, evidence-based guidance to help leaders foster culturally intelligent faith communities and coaches them so they can drive innovation and champion a culture of call in their local communities.

"Being a worldwide church means that United Methodists affirm our unity in Christ regarding missional and structural accountability, responsibility, and interdependence for the transformation of the world...Being a worldwide church is a prophetic declaration that United Methodists resist racism, sexism, and classism within institutional ideologies. But this also means that The UMC must be aware and attuned to the richness and challenges posed by cross-racial and cross-cultural contexts." from the Introduction

Living out one's faith is neither abstract nor hypothetical. It is concrete, visceral, and embodied in the everyday experience and relationships that determine who we are and what we do. This book offers the insights from African and Asian women scholars, many of whom are the first (or only) woman to write on such matters from their context. These women are breaking ground and have much to share about what it means to be a woman and a Christian in overtly and covertly patriarchal societies. Essays include discussions about gender disparities and literary representations of indigenous peoples and the social, political, and religious milieu of women, specifically related to war, violence, and food insecurity. Contributors: Djessou Epse Atsin Djoman Brigitte, PhD; Memory Chikosi, MA; Elaine Wei-Fun Goh, ThD; Helena Angelica Gustavo Guidione, BD; Cynthia A. Bond Hopson, PhD; Hyun Ju Lee, PhD; Quynh-Hoa Nguyen, PhD; HiRho Y. Park, PhD; Yani Yoo, PhD

The year 2020 commemorates the 100th anniversary of women's voting rights in the U. S. The United Methodist Church celebrated the 60th anniversary of full clergy rights for women in 2016, and there are about 15,000 clergywomen serving The United Methodist Church today. Yet women's voices have been and continue to be marginalized. The contributors to this book prove that women excel at leadership and challenge traditional leadership models as they seek to reconstruct patriarchal gender paradigms.