As my desire to write Bible Studies and to teach women how to read the Bible has grown one book frequently popped up as a recommendation – Women of the Word: How to Study the Bible with Both our Hearts and Our Minds by Jen Wilkin. I knew this was a book I needed to get my hands on and I wasn’t disappointed! The book gave much more than the title suggested.
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About the author, Jen Wilkin
First, let’s introduce the author. Jen Wilkin is a writer and teacher of Bible Studies for women. She is passionate about teaching people how to understand the Scriptures and encouraging women to read the Bible effectively. On her Twitter account, she describes herself as an ‘advocate for biblical literacy’ which I just loved, and decided that that’s what I want to be! You can find out more about her, her resources and her speaking engagements at JenWilkin.net and also hear her speaking on the Knowing Faith podcast.
About Women of the Word
In the introduction Jen ‘declares this is a book for those who are ready to start digging.’ She explains her intent:
- to teach a study method that will allow you to open up the Bible on your own
- to challenge you to think and to grow, using tools accessible to all of us
- to change the way you think about Bible Study
Jen begins by explaining that her passion for teaching women the Bible came from her own realisation of gaps in her knowledge of the Bible, due to biblical ignorance and misguided Bible Study Methods. Methods that focus on us rather than God, and emotions rather than intellect.
Are you aware of a gap in your biblical knowledge? Maybe this quote will ring true with you:
We do our best to cobble together a patchwork knowledge of Scripture, pieced from sermons, studies, and quiet times, but we are often confronted with the gaps and loose seams in the garment of our understanding, particularly when life gets hard. We don’t know our Bibles like we need to – some of us who are new to the faith don’t know them at all, and many of us who have been in the church for decades are scarcely better off.
I’ve listened to many sermons, attended (and lead) many bible studies, and tried to study the Bible systematically, but it still rings true with me.
And so, the challenge and invitation are given to learn how to study the Bible effectively and get to know the Scripture (and God) better.
Women of the Word does this through Five P’s of Sound Study: Purpose, Perspective, Patience, Process and Prayer, with each area receiving its own chapter. These are not different stages to be marked off in order, but ‘a set of practices that interrelate and overlap’.
- As we learn to look at each passage of Scripture through the Big Picture of Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration we get ‘a collective understanding of God’s purpose from Genesis to Revelation’ which point us to Christ.
- With this general framework for the Bible in mind, Jen then moves on to teach us how to determine the particular framework for a portion of Scripture. Answering questions about the passages author, intended audience, purpose and date ‘gives us the perspective we need to properly interpret Scripture.’
- All this digging takes patience. We must come ready to study for the long term. Allowing the time we spend in God’s Word to reveal God’s truth slowly. ‘Being a student requires effort’. We must expect times of understanding and frustration and not give up or immediately turn to a commentary for an answer.
- Jen then moves to her process of Bible Study: Comprehension, Interpretation, and Application. This is the ‘how to’ section where she spends much time on what methods we can use in the comprehension stage as she believes this is often overlooked. We think we have understood and comprehended the text by just reading it, but truly understanding the text takes much more than this. Jen gives tips on methods and tools to use during the process.
- Next, Jen highlights the importance of prayer when we are studying the Bible. We need to pray before we study, during our study and after the study – and she lays out some great examples of what we should pray about at these times.
Finally Jen puts all her method together using an example from the Epistle of James and a chapter dedicated to Bible Teachers.
What I liked about women of the word and why
I enjoyed Jen’s personal, warm writing style. The personal examples of her struggles and desires made Women of the Word easy to read and relatable.
The use of analogies was also helpful in explaining her points and encouraging the reader. I particularly loved Jen’s analogy of the GPS in the chapter on patience: We don’t really learn how to navigate round a new town by relying on the GPS; we learn by getting lost and making discoveries for ourselves. Similarly, we should allow ourselves to get lost and make discoveries in the Bible rather than relying on commentaries.
By walking through an example of her method using the Epistle of James (which includes an image of her handwritten notes on the text), the reader gains more clarity about the method and is encouraged to take the steps themselves.
I think that in Women of the Word, Jen has achieved her aims of challenging the reader to think and grow and change their view of Bible Study.
final thoughts on women of the word
It was interesting to compare Jen Wilkin’s Bible study method with my own 5L Bible Study Method and to see what was similar and what was different, what I had not thought of, and what gave me different ideas. Most of all I enjoyed Jen’s passion and desire to study the Bible effectively and to pass on this desire to others.
Before I finish, I thought I would go to the Bible for some words on the importance of sound Biblical teaching:
Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. 2 Timothy 4:1-4 ESV
These words don’t just apply to preachers. Even if we are just ‘preaching’ to ourselves or sharing a word with our friends, we all need to make sure our understanding is based on strong teaching and not just going after what we want to hear. And this is the message I got from Women of the Word. We need to have God’s word, with full understanding, in our hearts and minds so we can apply it appropriately when needed.
So, would I recommend Women of the Word by Jen Wilkin? Yes, I would! I would definitely recommend it to anyone who feels a hunger or thirst to get more from their Bible Study, and to anyone who is involved in teaching or leading Bible study groups.
You can get your own copy from Amazon, I got the kindle version which was great for highlighting and taking notes and then referring back to later.
