We caught up with Jen Wilkin to talk to her about her hope for her new women’s event: In the Word.
What is the inspiration behind your new event, In the Word?
I often participate in events with a platform of many voices, to which I contribute one session of teaching. This event will give me the chance to spend three sessions delving into a passage or topic. There’s just so much more I can do with three sessions, and I’m eager to invite women into an opportunity to truly meditate on the Scriptures over a longer stretch. I’m also excited to have the opportunity to align the tone and feel of the event with what we are learning. I love to layer the music and the teaching to add depth to the learning experience. In the Word will look and sound and feel like me: teaching aimed at mind and heart, music that is theologically rich and historically sourced, and a room that invites without overwhelming.
What need do you hope that this event will meet?
I have often started a conference teaching session with the caveat that I am not an inspirational speaker. This is not because I think inspirational speakers are not valuable—I do! It’s just that, strictly speaking, I’m not one. I’m just a Bible teacher. I want to spare the listener from expectation whiplash when I jump into my message. I won’t have to lead with that caveat at In the Word. I want to offer the kind of event I myself would have prioritized time to go to when I was first discovering the riches of Scripture: one in which the attendee experiences the layers of meaning in a passage or biblical concept, building her own ability to make better connections in her personal or group study time. I want the teaching to be practical, both in what it teaches and how it teaches. And I want the worship space to recall a time before big sound systems, lights, and screens were the common tools of the trade—not because those tools are terrible, but because I still find great value in a low-tech approach to our singing, proclamation, and praying.
What should women expect when they attend?
They should expect a deep dive into a passage or topic (this year we are focusing on godly wisdom), one I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about. I’m not looking to test out brand new ideas at these events. I want to bring the ones that have broadened and deepened in my own understanding with the passage of time. They should expect theologically rich singing—songs that shape and reinforce our understanding of Scripture and of God, many of which have been sung for generations. And they should expect a chance to exhale a bit, laugh a bit (OK, maybe even a lot), and enjoy the shared experience of some stolen time away from the ordinary rhythms of life.
How will this event be different from other events you’ve taken part in and your Bible studies?
From a teaching standpoint, this event gives the opportunity to narrow my focus and dwell on a theme or passage in a way that neither a one-session event nor a ten-session study over an entire book of the Bible enables me to do. I have done this sort of teaching for years in retreat settings, but my ability to do so in the past five years or so has been limited by the other demands on my calendar. I am thrilled to have the chance to step back into a format I love because it lets me lift my favorite moments from a study or a one-session event and give them my full attention without having to hurry. I know from experience that this kind of approach leaves the learner with takeaways that stick, and that the path from mind to heart (from knowing to worshiping) is often shortened as a result.
What do you hope women will walk away with?
My favorite years of teaching were the ones that happened in my living room. They were by no means slickly produced—most weeks I barely managed to run the vacuum before everyone arrived. They were simple and straightforward gatherings marked by a hunger to learn and grow in both the teacher and the students. We all couldn’t wait to see what the Lord would show us as we settled ourselves in our comfy clothes and peered into the lines of Scripture. I’m daring to hope that In the Word will take a similar shape, albeit in a larger room, and that those who come will walk away with a renewed appreciation for that kind of a gathering. Maybe they’ll even feel more comfortable and capable to open their own living rooms as a result.
At In The Word, you’ll be enriched through thought-provoking Bible teaching and worship. Learn tools to study Scripture for yourself as you discover how the pursuit of godly wisdom yields life and peace. Learn more at lifeway.com/intheword.