Maybe it's just me...

Recently I received some DVD's and books in the mail from a ministry to preview and possibly use for our women's ministry. If we are interested we can buy them. If not, we just send them back. I'm always game to see what's out there, so I agreed. After watching them, I'm convinced that one of them is not for us. It seems to be a venue to sell the author's book. The other has potential.

Now, it's key to know that I am not a fan of women's ministry as I've seen it or been involved in my adult life. I have found that so often it focuses on how to be a better mom or better wife. And I'm neither. So what about the single woman. Well, then we get singled out and separated from our married friends. I've always thought there has to be a better way.

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just a little critical. Maybe I'm just dissatisfied because my own spiritual deserts. I'm not sure. I don't think that's entirely the case.

What if we had women's ministry that was geared toward helping women dig deeper in to their relationship with God, and in the process, connect with other women at all stages of life? What if instead of ministry that tries to help you become a better mom or wife or girlfriend, you have a ministry that tries to help you gear your life toward the things of God. And then in the process your marriage and relationships with your kids and friends will start to improve.

I love reading books. I love reading "self-help" type of books. But my fear is that ministries over use these books. They are great to supplement a study on the Bible, but I have seen first hand these books replace the Bible. This scares me. When we base changes in our life based on someone elses words, Bible-based or not, I get worried. Use these books to flesh out or get you interested in changes in your life, but use the Bible and your relationship with Jesus to guide you in those changes.

And that's what I would love to see for women's ministry. Plain and simple, fleshing out life "stuff" using the Bible and Jesus to guide us.