Quotes from Carolyn Custis James

There's a deep desire among Christian women to serve God, heart and soul, with their Christian brothers. Yet, in the church--even in some of the best situations--male/female realtionships are the source of some of our biggest hurts, conflicts, misunderstandings, and tensions on both sides.

The Bible's message for women doesn't depend on ideal circumstances, but applies fully to those who live in the brutal outskirts of society where poverty engulfs, education is nonexistent, women's bodies are ravaged, and lives are in constant peril simply because they are female.

No life is ever beyond the reach of the gospel's restorative powers, no matter how a woman's story plays out.

Men and women working together actually predates men working with men and women working with women. It would be one thing if God confined this male/female team to home and family and then mapped out the remaining territory into separate spheres for men and for women. But he didn't do that. Their mission--together--is to rule and subdue the whole earth on his behalf. Men and women together.

The widow becomes God's Exhibit A to teach the world (and his people in particular) how far we have to go before our thoughts and actions line up with his.

Our brothers cannot be the men God created them to be or do the job God is calling them to do without their sisters. Together, we are God's preferred method of getting things done in the world.

When men are called to full-fledged kingdom living but the other half of the church is asked to sit on the sidelines, there is no Blessed Alliance, the bride of Christ limps, and we misrepresent God's oneness.

God's image bearers were divided, and the battle of the sexes commenced. Instead of ruling and subduing the earth, they turned against one another and sought to rule and subdue each other.

We need a global conversation because the Bible itself is global. God's Word has never been the exclusive property of the elite. God's Word is for the world. If anything, the Bible gives priority to the weak, the oppressed, and the poor and is tougher on privileged people who hold the reins of wealth and power but refuse to wield their advantages for the good of others.

Sometimes walking with God means learning truth requires means rethinking your entire life.

God's tactics are counterintuitive to our male-centered world, but therein lies the surprise for the Enemy, for the world, and for us. For when men and women are allied together, richer discussions result in better decisions, the elimination of blind spots, and a greater kingdom force in the world. If you don't believe me, just compare Esther, Mordecai, Mary, and Joseph each operating solo with what they accomplished by working together.

No matter what the challenge or adversity, my ironclad conviction is that God is always good, is always on his throne, is always working, always knows what he is doing, and that his love for me never stops.