Michelle Lesley

Originally published December 1, 2017

“What’s the number one problem in women’s ministry today?”

It’s a question I was recently asked in an interview; one I can’t get off my mind. There are many good and wonderful things I see trending in women’s ministry, which are creating an increasing number of biblically strong, godly Christian women. But those women are still a tiny minority – a remnant, you might say – in contemporary evangelicalism. The problems, on the other hand? Overwhelming. Discouraging. Pervasive.

In fact, it’s a huge problem just to sit down and sort out exactly what the problems with women’s ministry are because they’re not in nice, neat little linear compartments. There is no one single most important problem in women’s ministry. The issues are interwoven and exacerbate one another, which leads to declining spiritual health for Christian women as a whole.

There’s a name for that in medical jargon: multimorbidity. Often seen in elderly patients, it’s a term used for someone who has multiple chronic medical problems: heart disease, diabetes, and COPD, for example. Each disease may work against the body in different ways, but they all work together to put the patient in a condition of overall poor health.

Fortunately, when it comes to the pox on God’s house – the Body of Christ – the Great Physician has written us the prescription for a cure that’s one hundred per cent effective. All we have to do is be good patients and take our medicine exactly as prescribed.

Possibly the most foundational disease in women’s ministry is the simple fact that there’s a large contingent of “Christian” women who aren’t Christians – they’re false converts. Their hearts aren’t diseased or even failing; they have dead, lifeless hearts of stone. These women might think they’re Christians, look like Christians, tell you they’re Christians, and go through all the right, outward Christian motions, but because they have never truly repented of their sin and placed their faith in Christ for salvation, they are not genuinely regenerated, born again, new creatures in Christ, Christians. And people who are unregenerate exhibit the symptom of being unregenerate: they prefer sin to Christ. When there are unregenerate women in your church – and they’re in nearly every church – their symptomatology is going to affect the women’s ministry and the overall health of the Body.

Congenital. Exacerbated by easy believism, mass sinner’s prayers, and the seeker driven movement.

A heart transplant via the proclamation of the rightly handled biblical gospel. We must make sure we don’t assume that just because someone attends church or says she’s a Christian, she’s been born again. We also can’t assume everyone knows the biblical gospel. The gospel has been so twisted and watered down in our culture that many people think they’re saved because they repeated a sinner’s prayer, got baptized, go to church, or are “good people.” Pastors must preach and teachers must teach the hard edges of the law, man’s guilt, God’s wrath, and eternal Hell so that they will know what they’re being saved from, as well as God’s grace, mercy, and forgiveness through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, so they will understand what they’re being saved to. Only those with new hearts of flesh can contribute to the spiritual health of the church.

Ezekiel 36:26: And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.

2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Many Christian women starve themselves spiritually without even knowing it. She’ll lay an elegant table of women’s ministry activities with the fine china and flatware of women’s “Bible” study books and DVDs, but when you glance over at her plate, she’s pushing one measly little piece of a Bible verse around with a fork.

And wondering why she’s so hungry.

Christian women today don’t know their Bibles. And it’s not because the pure milk and meat of the Word aren’t available for them to consume. It’s that they won’t eat. Sometimes it’s the aforementioned “heart failure” of being unsaved. (It’s only natural that a lost person would have no interest in studying God’s Word.) And sometimes it’s because they’ve spent their formative years under pastors and women’s “Bible” study teachers who starved them by never properly feeding them a well balanced diet of Scripture.

When an anorexic doesn’t eat, her entire body begins to shut down. Every organ, every body system, is affected. It’s the same way with women who starve themselves of God’s Word. There are heart problems: lack of love, trust, and belief in Christ and His Word. The digestive system becomes unable to handle a healthy meal of Scripture. The immune system isn’t strong enough to fight off the pathogens of false teaching. The brain can’t think biblically. Women’s ministry becomes a battle of a few healthy souls trying to coax the stubborn starving masses. “Just try one bite? Please?”

Exposure to pastors, teachers, Christian retailers, and Divangelistas who tell Christian women that the lacy tablecloth and the flowery centerpieces and the crystal stemware of Bible-flavored fluff are all they really need to keep them alive.

Nutritional therapy with copious helpings of Bible. These women have never even seen what a full plate of healthy spiritual food looks like, so they don’t know that’s what they need – to feast on God’s Word. They need pastors and teachers who will feed them regular, well balanced meals of in context, rightly handled Scripture and train them to feed themselves at home between therapy sessions.

Job 23:12: I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.

Deuteronomy 8:3: And he humbled you and let you hunger and fed you with manna, which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that he might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.

This pernicious disease develops as women ingest, over time, the poison of false doctrine fed to them by the “Christian” leaders they follow. Sometimes led poisoning can be a cause of anorexia scriptura – a woman gobbles up the sweet paint chips of unbiblical teaching, thinking she’s filling up on Scripture, and is left with no appetite for the real thing. Sometimes led poisoning can be an effect of anorexia scriptura – a woman is so starved for God’s Word that she’ll consume anything that tastes good in order to fill the void. And sometimes it’s yet another symptom of heart failure – a lost woman who prefers even a toxin to God’s Word. In any case, the result is a sickly patient with multiple systems failure who often infects others by enticing them to follow the leader.

Environmentally transmitted. Strikes women with itching ears and flaccid discernment. Highly communicable to those with compromised immune systems due to improper biblical nutrition.

Chelation therapy – a process of ridding the body of the toxins she’s been led to. Discerning pastors and teachers must patiently, clearly, and unapologetically expose unbiblical teaching, including warning women away from false teachers by name. Symptoms of led poisoning include hearing impairment and learning disabilities, so the diseased patient isn’t going to get it if a pastor is hinting around about false teachers without giving specific names. He’s got to be loud and clear about exactly who is a false teacher and exactly how her doctrine and practices conflict with Scripture if he wants to cure the patient. Prophylactic treatment with regular inoculations of sound doctrine should also be prescribed.

Titus 1:9: He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that He may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

2 Timothy 3:5-7: [People] having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.

These are just three of the serious diseases that are an epidemic in women’s ministry today. The cure is simple: the gospel, sound doctrine, and the study of Scripture. The prognosis is sure: spiritually strong and healthy Christian women. It’s just what the Doctor ordered.

Ezekiel Bible Study

Ezekiel ~ Lesson 14

September 23, 2020September 23, 2020 Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13

Read Ezekiel 29-32

Questions to Consider

1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson and be reminded of the things that lead into, and set the stage for, this week’s passage. From any previous knowledge of the Old Testament you may have, what were some of the connections between Israel and Egypt on various occasions? What was the relationship between these two nations like?

2. Read chapters 29-32. Write a 2-3 sentence summary of this passage. How is the general theme of last week’s passage the same as the general theme of this week’s passage?

3. Using a good Old Testament map, locate Egypt, the Nile River, and any of the other cities or geographical locations mentioned in this passage (if possible). Where were these located in relation to Israel? Recall from lesson 10 (link above) what God said about Israel’s reputation in the eyes of the pagan nations surrounding them.

If you’re not familiar with ancient Egyptian life, religion, and culture, give this brief article a read. (Note- this is not a Christian site. On a totally unrelated note- if you homeschool, you may find this to be a helpful teaching site.)

3. Break this passage down into the sins Egypt committed and the God’s judgment for those sins:

Sin (29:6b-7)-
Judgment (29:8-9a)-

Sin (29:9b)-
Judgment (29:10-16)-

Sin (30:13a)-
Judgment (30:13b-19- The places listed in this passage are cities in Egypt.)-

Sin (32:2)-
Judgment (32:3-15)-

4. Compare what you know of the splendor, power, and influence of Egypt before God’s judgment in 29:13-16 to Egypt’s status after 29:13-16, even to what you know about Egypt’s status today. Has God kept the promise He made in that passage? Considering Egypt’s power and influence over much of the known world in ancient times, what is the significance of God’s judgment on Egypt’s allies in 30:5-9?

5. 29:17-20: What is God referring to here about Tyre? Refresh your memory by reviewing lesson 13 (link above). Whom did God use to carry out His judgment on Egypt? Why? (also 30:10-12, 20-26)

6. (The key to understanding chapter 31 is to understand who God is talking to, to whom He is comparing them, and what similarities between the two are causing God to make the comparison.) Who is God talking to? (31:2,18d) To whom is God comparing Egypt? (31:3a) What similarities between Assyria’s (31:3-10) and Egypt’s power and their influence on Israel would cause God to compare them and their fate to one another?

7. In chapter 32, what does “uncircumcised” signify about all of these people groups? What do “to the world below, to those who have gone down to the pit” (32:18) and “Sheol” (32:21) indicate about the fate of Egypt, Assyria, and all the other peoples mentioned in 32:20-32?

8. How do these chapters point us toward the following concepts:

God punishes sin.
The uncircumcised of heart will spend eternity experiencing God’s wrath and judgment.
Might does not make right when it comes to our relationship with God.
The bigger they are, the harder they fall. / Pride goeth before a fall.
Sinners must humble themselves, repent, and throw themselves on the mercy of God for salvation.

9. What can we learn from Egypt about the sins of pride, idolatry, and sitting in the seat of God (29:3b,9b) in our own lives? What are the opposites of these sins – the things we should be doing instead?

10. In what way(s) does this passage point us to Christ?

Homework

• Add 29:6,9,16,21, 30:8,19,25,26, and 32:15 to your “And you/they shall know that I am the Lord” list. Write down who will know that He is the Lord, what will cause them to know He is the Lord, and why God wants them to know He is the Lord.

Suggested Memory Verse

Worship

Tuneful Tuesday

September 22, 2020September 22, 2020 Michelle Lesley

Today, I thought I’d share with you some of the music I’ve been listening to lately. Enjoy!

That’s What the Bible Says by The Collingsworth Family
“I don’t need no signs and wonders to know that God is real..” Gotta love it!

Send the Light by Acapeldridge
This is a little different version than I’ve always heard, but I like it!

He Giveth More Grace by The Living Stones Quartet
Like a lullaby for a grownup. Just try to listen without a Kleenex. I dare ya!

I Know that My Redeemer Liveth by George Frideric Handel
Yes, Virginia, there are other songs in The Messiah besides the Hallelujah Chorus, and this is a lovely one.

Step of Faith by First Call
Yes, I was a First Call fan in the 80’s. Don’t judge. :0)

I do not necessarily endorse all of the songwriters or performers listed here, the churches/organizations they represent, any other songs they may have written or performed, or their theology. If you decide to follow any of these people or groups, check out their theology first to make sure it’s biblical.

What are you listening to lately?

Mailbag

The Mailbag: Lady looks like a dude?

September 21, 2020May 29, 2026 Michelle Lesley

I believe [a certain, well-known women’s Bible study author/teacher] is a transgender. Her body shape is very masculine, she has larger hands and arms than most women. Her voice is lower. Her facial features are not naturally that of a woman and this is proved by science.

She must have had many treatments to disguise this such as hair removal and hormone therapy.

If she longs to be married, why doesn’t she marry? The answer is that she is transgender. Why does she say she can’t have children? The answer is that she is truly a male.

Further, her traumatic sexual past is testimony of her sexual confusion.

I may be completely wrong on this, after all I have not found any confirmation online whatsoever… but I may also be right.

Many of the questions I receive for The Mailbag are very similar, but every now and then a truly unique question comes my way. I found your e-mail quite interesting, and I sincerely appreciate your eagle eye for a potentially problematic issue in the church. Given the choice between an evangelical woman who blindly trusts everything that labels itself “Christian” and an evangelical woman who may swing and miss every now and then, but is trying her best to be discerning, I’ll take the latter.

But I do believe, barring any hard evidence, that, for now, this is a swing and a miss. Let’s break this down and take a look at each of your thoughts here. I’m going to call this particular teacher “Linda” from here on out.

The assertions you’ve made here are your own subjective opinion. Someone else could just as easily look at Linda and perceive her body shape, facial features, etc., to be perfectly within the bounds of femininity. Remember the “What color is this dress?” and “Is this sneaker grey or teal?” pictures that were going around on social media a few years ago? People see things differently and everyone thinks what she’s seeing is the right way to see it.

Your personal perspective is not “proved by science” any more than the perspective of someone who perceives Linda to look feminine.

The article you’ve provided does not “prove” Linda’s particular features are those of a man. It is the abstract for a study that was performed to discover how accurate people’s perceptions are when they are attempting to distinguish between male and female faces. I have not read the whole study (it appears to be access restricted), but I’m guessing the results of the study do not show that all people accurately distinguish between male and female 100% of the time. That actually proves the point I’m making. You could be wrong in assessing Linda’s features as male, or she could have more male-like features and still be 100% genetically female.

She must have had many treatments to disguise this such as hair removal and hormone therapy.

Or she hasn’t had any of these treatments because she’s actually a woman.

If she longs to be married, why doesn’t she marry? The answer is that she is transgender.

That’s a huge leap, statistically, and even anecdotally speaking. The overwhelming majority of women who are single but desire to be married – especially evangelical women – would tell you they are still single because they haven’t met the right man yet. It is not because they are transgender. And that’s almost certainly the reason Linda isn’t married.

Why does she say she can’t have children? The answer is that she is truly a male.

Or, much more likely, because she’s a single evangelical woman. She may be a false teacher, but she may still have the personal conviction that sex outside of marriage is wrong or that IVF or surrogacy are wrong.

Linda also knows which side her bread is buttered on. If she should turn up pregnant outside of wedlock, she would lose a huge chunk of her audience and would likely be dropped by most of the Christian retailers and publishers who promote her, and many of her speaking engagements would be canceled. Even if she said her pregnancy was the result of IVF, there would be enough people in her audience who either think IVF is wrong, or who think she’s lying to cover up sexual sin, that a pregnancy would be detrimental to her career.

Or perhaps she is infertile. Millions of biological women would tell you that their infertility isn’t because they’re truly male.

Or perhaps she is just a strong believer in adoption. Many people – single or married, childless and families that already have biological children, saved and unsaved – adopt children, and it has nothing whatsoever to do with transgenderism.

There could be many reasons Linda either can’t or has chosen not to have biological children, and most of these alternatives are astronomically more likely than Linda being transgender.

Further, her traumatic sexual past is testimony of her sexual confusion.

Then why aren’t we saying all of the other female false teachers – and there are a number of them – who say they were sexually abused are transgender? Yes, sexual abuse can be a contributing factor to someone deciding to become transgender, but it’s not a determining factor. If it were, then everyone who has been sexually abused would decide to become transgender.

I may be completely wrong on this, after all I have not found any confirmation online whatsoever… but I may also be right.

I really appreciate that you realize you may be wrong about this. So many people treat their subjective opinions and perceptions as irrefutable fact, and it’s refreshing that you’re not doing that.

If, in the future, objective evidence comes to light that Linda surgically altered his genetically male body to appear female (ex: Linda admits it, Linda’s doctor publicizes the medical records, etc.), then your perceptions will have been vindicated.

(I sense you’re a person of enough integrity that I don’t really need to say this, but just in case you or another reader needs to hear this…) Until such time, and in the absence of any corroborating evidence, I would beg you not to go around airing your speculations about Linda to others. Here’s why:

With zero evidence to back up your claims, spreading your unsubstantiated opinion about Linda around is gossip, and gossip is a sin. It doesn’t matter if she’s a false teacher, an ax murderer, an atheist, or the greatest Christian since the Apostle Paul – gossip is a sin.
The fact – supported by biblical evidence – that Linda is a false teacher is more than sufficient reason for people not to follow her. If you want to warn people away from Linda, focus on that.
If you share this idea with Linda’s followers as a way of warning against her, they’re going to think you’re a kook and double down on their support of her. (I don’t mean this to sound harsh, I just have a lot of experience in this area, and I know that’s how they’ll react. I mean, these professing Christians think I’m a kook when I provide objective biblical evidence she’s a false teacher.) It’s going to have the opposite effect you’re hoping for.
If you share this idea with others, it’s going to damage your credibility, and people won’t listen later when you’re sharing the truth of Scripture with them.
If you’re wrong, and Linda gets wind of this speculation, it’s going to be unnecessarily hurtful to her. Most women are very sensitive about the way they look, and it would be unkind and unloving to make these kinds of subjective remarks about her appearance or anyone else’s.

Again, thanks for keeping an eye out for problems and for loving the church enough to want to protect it.

If you have a question about: a Bible passage, an aspect of theology, a current issue in Christianity, or how to biblically handle a family, life, or church situation, comment below (I’ll hold all questions in queue {unpublished} for a future edition of The Mailbag) or send me an e-mail or private message. If your question is chosen for publication, your anonymity will be protected.

Ezekiel Bible Study

Ezekiel ~ Lesson 13

September 16, 2020September 15, 2020 Michelle Lesley

Previous Lessons: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Read Ezekiel 26-28

Questions to Consider

1. Review your notes from last week’s lesson and be reminded of the things that lead into, and set the stage for, this week’s passage.

2. Read chapters 26-28. Using a good Old Testament map, locate Tyre, Sidon, and any of the other cities or geographical locations mentioned (if possible). Where were these located in relation to Israel? Recall from lesson 10 (link above) what God said about Israel’s reputation in the eyes of the pagan nations surrounding them.

Read this article. If you are unfamiliar with Tyre, it will help shed some light on this passage.

3. What did Tyre do that brought God’s judgment upon them? (26:2, 27:3b, 28:2-6, 17a) What were the consequences of their actions? (26:3-21)

4. What metaphor does God use to describe Tyre’s beauty, power, and influence in 27:4-9? How was Tyre the “flagship” city of its time and region? (27:10-25)

Why would the surrounding nations be so appalled at the downfall of Tyre? (27:28-32,35-36)

5. What did Sidon do that brought God’s judgment upon them? (28:24) What were the consequences of their actions? (28:22-23)

6. List the passages in chapters 26-28 which bear out the truths of “The bigger they are, the harder they fall,” and “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18):

The bigger they are… / Pride/a haughty spirit go before…

…the harder they fall. / …a fall.

7. After studying God’s judgment and wrath against Israel for their heinous sins over the past several lessons, why do you think God would exercise judgment against pagan peoples like Tyre for coming against Israel? (28:24) Think about this through the lens of the parent-child relationship, in which God, the Father, is disciplining His rebellious child, Israel. When you are disciplining your own child for her sin, does that mean you are OK with other people being abusive toward her? Why or why not? What is God’s long term goal for exercising judgment against Israel’s neighbors who have stood against her? (28:25-26)

8. What can we learn from Tyre and Sidon about the sins of pride, idolizing wealth and power, trusting in wealth and power instead of trusting in God, and failing to give God thanks and glory for how He has blessed us and the work He has done in our lives?

9. Compare God’s wrath against Tyre and Sidon for pridefully trusting in themselves rather than God to the judgment that awaits individuals, who, in their pride and rebellion think in their hearts, “I sit in the seat of God (28:2) over my own life.” What will be their eternal fate? How should this inform our evangelism?

Homework

• Add 26:6, 28:22, 23, 24, 26 to your “And you/they shall know that I am the Lord” list. Write down who will know that He is the Lord, what will cause them to know He is the Lord, and why God wants them to know He is the Lord.