Becoming God’s Counter-Cultural Woman:
The High Calling and Necessity for Women of Influence
This continues our series of posts from workshop leaders at our 2013 Women’s Leadership Forum. Monica Rose Brennan writes about a topic that is increasingly important as we minister to women. I know you will identify with this need among the women in our churches as well.
I had the privilege of leading a workshop session on Becoming God’s Counter-Cultural Woman: The High Calling and Necessity for Women of Influence at the November 2013 Women’s Leadership Forum at Lifeway Christian Resources. The workshop was well attended and revealed to me the heartbeat for today’s Christian woman leader to go against the tide of culture and embrace the high calling to impact women with Truth. I opened up the session with the question, “What do you think it means to be counter-cultural?” I received many responses such as “to go against the tide of society,” “to be different than the world’s view of womanhood,” and “to embrace God’s design.” Women leaders were reminded of the pressure to fit in to today’s cultural mold and the world’s idea of womanhood.
One of the main purposes of the workshop session was not just to create awareness but to apply key principles to our lives as leaders in order to aid us to train women of all ages in how to follow God’s design of womanhood instead of the world’s design for womanhood. The principles included the following: Remember who we (as leaders) are in Christ (our true identity), Unveil the hidden idols in our lives that keep us back from becoming God’s counter-cultural woman, gain strength from Christ when tested, persecuted and tempted, Expect persecution and trials as you live out His image, Be reminded that being counter-cultural is a calling to be peculiar (stay connected daily with Jesus), Understand the greatest weapon is prayer in going against culture, Keep your vision and calling clear as you embrace purity in every aspect of your life, and lastly to embrace a life that impacts by living a life of eternal purpose and point others to do the same.
There was much discussion after the session and women shared specific illustrations of how culture was influencing women in their church. They talked about how they wanted to be used of God to be women of influence and to impact women through prayer, teaching the Word of God and spending quality time with women who are struggling.
Monica Rose Brennan teaches in the School of Religion at Liberty University as Women’s Ministries & Evangelism professor, as well as serves as the Director of the Center for Women’s Ministries for Liberty University. She is the founder of the Academic Program for Women’s Ministries at Liberty University. With a passion for God’s Word, Monica’s desire is for others to discover more fully who they are in Christ in order to effectively evangelize and disciple others. Monica’s more specific burden is for women to be educated, encouraged and edified by the unchanging principles found in God’s Word and to become women of influence in today’s secular culture by impacting their home, church, and society. Monica holds an education degree from Wingate University and holds an Advanced Women’s Studies Certificate from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Master of Arts in Religion degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, and a Doctorate of Ministry Degree from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. She is a frequent speaker to teenage girls and women at youth camps and women’s conferences in the US and abroad. She serves as the Women’s Ministry Director at Oasis Church in Amherst, VA. Her husband, Dr. Michael Brennan, serves as a professor in the Center for Worship at Liberty University. They reside in Madison Heights, VA and have one daughter, Elizabeth Rose. Facebook: Marvelously Made