Jesus Feminist

by Sarah Bessey

An Invitation to Revisit the Bible’s View of Women: Exploring God’s Radical Notion That Women Are People, Too

with a Foreword by Rachel Held Evans

“Bessey’s warm and intimate writing sets this book apart from others focused on similar topics. Her approach and style offer a unique addition to literature on women’s role in Christian churches.”

— Publishers Weekly

“Never strident, Bessey’s approach is instead solid and clear....An excellent choice.”

— Booklist

Written with poetic rhythm, a prophetic voice, and a deeply biblical foundation, this loving yet fearless book urges today’s church to move beyond man-made restrictions and fully welcome women’s diverse voices and experiences.

For centuries, the role of women in the church has been a subdued one, with many limitations. The time has come, argues Sarah Bessey—called an “accidental grassroots voice for postmodern and progressive evangelical women”—to take a new look at Scripture and challenge old assumptions.

In Jesus Feminist, Bessey shares her spiritual journey, which ranged from growing up in a post-gender-debate home to learning about the worldwide struggles of women and the obstacles even a well-meaning church can pose. Through disarmingly intimate storytelling, she tells how she grew to understand the story of God and the vastness of his work through women. Never one to shy away from the hard questions, Bessey engages critically with Scripture and church practices that are often used against full equality and shares how following Jesus made a feminist out of her.

Filled with beauty, hard truth, and brave vulnerability, Jesus Feminist urges the church to stop asking “man or woman” as a qualification for ministry and to start helping everyone find freedom in the fullness, hope, glory, and work of Christ.

What People Are Saying

““If you never imagined yourself as a card-carrying Jesus Feminist, this book will give you second thoughts. Sarah Bessey makes her case—not as a fire-breathing debater—but as a woman utterly captivated by Jesus who will stop at nothing to follow him. Her winsome writing made me laugh, cry, and stand taller as a woman. Unless I’m mistaken, it should swell the ranks of Jesus Feminists too. Sign me up!”

— Carolyn Custis James, author of Half the Church: Recapturing God’s Global Vision for Women

“I think of Sarah as a big sister in the faith, a woman whose wisdom and maturity challenge me, but whose honesty and vulnerability remind me that she’s walking by my side in this journey, one arm over my shoulder. Sarah does what all good storytellers do: she gives us permission—permission to laugh, permission to question, permission to slow down a bit, permission to listen, permission to confront our fears, permission to share our own stories with more bravery and love. As she puts it, “There is more room! There is more room! There is room for all of us! One word at a time, Sarah liberates us from the agony of bearing our stories alone, so we can follow Jesus (my favorite feminist) with more freedom and joy. I am so grateful.”

— Rachel Held Evans, author of Evolving in Monkey Town and A Year of Biblical Womanhood (excerpted from the Foreword)

“Sarah Bessey is so gifted a writer, so smart and welcoming and humble, the Church might not even notice how often it gets kicked between its ‘doctrinally sound traditions,’ where it hurts. But what makes Jesus Feminist so fantastic, so challenging, is Bessey’s ability to be both the friend who tells us the truth about womanhood inside our churches and the sage who shows us how Jesus embraced equality and how we can do it better. With Jesus Feminist, Bessey is a modern-day Moses, seeking to not only free a Church held captive by dogma but also to redeem generations of women who have been stifled and silenced far too long.”

~ Matthew Paul Turner, author of Churched

“I love writers who are insightful enough to be cynical but choose not to be. I love books that help me see things I’d never noticed before—in life, in myself, in others, in the Bible, in Jesus. I love writing that makes reading enjoyable and easy, because I know how hard it is to write that way. For these reasons and more, I love Jesus Feminist. It’s not ‘just a woman’s book.’ In fact, it’s the kind of book that will help both women and men see how unhelpful that distinction is.”

— Brian D. McLaren, author, speaker, activist

“Heavens. When I grow up, I want to write like Sarah Bessey. What she does with words is extraordinary, and the topic she’s chosen is so deeply important. Jesus Feminist is a beautiful, challenging, rich, gutsy book, an absolute must-read.”

— Shauna Niequist, author Present Over Perfect

“I’ve read countless books addressing the place of women in the kingdom, and I have never, ever read anything so lovely, so generous, profound and humble as Jesus Feminist. If you’re expecting anger or defensiveness or aggression, move on. If you are looking for intelligence and warmth and spirit, read this immediately. Regardless of where you enter this discussion, Sarah has created an astonishingly safe place to gather, discuss, process, and celebrate as women dearly loved by Jesus and created for his glory.”

- Jen Hatmaker, author of 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess and Interrupted: Relearning the Adventures of Faith