Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry

For centuries, the path to ministry for women in evangelical churches often led through marriage, not ordination. This historical reality shaped leadership opportunities and reinforced gender hierarchies, a complex evolution explored in Becoming the Pastor's Wife.

This insightful work, a New York Times Best Sellers title, traces the origins of the pastor's wife role from ancient times to the modern era. It examines how this position, while offering a form of influence, inadvertently contributed to the decline of independent church leadership for women. The book offers a nuanced understanding of the historical context of women's leadership and its impact on contemporary church dynamics.

Drawing on personal experience and academic research, this book is essential reading for anyone interested in Gender Studies, Feminism, and religious history. It provides a compelling look at the forces that shaped women's roles in ministry.