| Heroines of the Faith Celebrated In Book |
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by Andrew Jones Fifty women took authors Susan Ellis and Bob Kellemen on a journey. It took them through stories, insights, and reflections that have been compiled into Sacred Friendships, a book recently published by BMH Books, Winona Lake, Ind. It has been said that each story has the potential to change forever how you view women and their ministries. Ellis and Kellemen couldn’t agree more. “[This book] provides more than 50 concrete models that teach us how to be real and raw, how to change lives with Christ’s changeless truth; how to be a sacred friend,” says Kellemen, a licensed clinical counselor with a Ph.D. in counselor education from Kent State University. “We are so disconnected from one another,” explains Kellemen. “We sit by our computers alone. We send quick text messages without any depth. People are hungry for profound relationships, for meaningful connections. But they have few examples showing how to connect to others in practical ways.” Both authors realize the teaching/learning impact of this book. Ellis says that the research that went into Sacred Friendships especially changed her. “As I read the stories of these women, I was encouraged, inspired, motivated, challenged, and even convicted,” she notes. “It’s not just a feel-good book, or a how-to manual.” “The big idea behind Sacred Friendships is to give a voice to the voiceless by celebrating the legacy of Christian women and by applying that legacy to our ministries today,” adds Kellemen. He believes that while readers will be “enriched,” they will also “empowered.” Kellemen, who chaired the master of arts in Christian counseling and discipleship program at Capital Bible Seminary for ten years, recalls when those fifty women were only part of his curricula in Christian soul care. “When I started teaching about the history of Christian soul care, men and women would say, ‘I had never even heard of most of these women,” he remembers. “Yet their lives are remarkable. You have to get these amazing narratives out there so everyone can learn from them!’” Historical Significance Ellis, an adjunct professor and women’s mentor in the Christian counseling and discipleship department at Capital Seminary, says there is historical significance in the book. “Whatever you call [counseling], we’re commanded to do it,” she stresses. “It’s the ‘one anotherings’ of Scripture, the encouragement, the exhortation, the building up of the body of Christ.” Kellemen, the founder of RPM Ministries, agrees, labeling Sacred Friendships as a book from which people can glean life-changing skills to empathize, encourage, and exhort others in love. Though Sacred Friendships is a book about women, the authors emphasize that it’s not a book exclusively for women. “It’s for anyone who learns best by example,” says Kellemen. Though both authors prefer to classify the book as “a gift to and from women,” agreeing that it is full of true, riveting stories that anyone will enjoy. Ellis says that she came to love the 50 women who lead her and Kellemen on this historical, social, and spiritual journey. The authors have attempted to unbury the riches of these stories of victory and profound love in all circumstances and they hope for something more than just a good read. “I hope people who read Sacred Friendships will be moved to respond and not merely absorb the content,” concludes Ellis. (Editor’s Note: Andrew Jones is an editorial intern with the Brethren Missionary Herald Company. He is a junior at Grace College where he is majoring in English and Journalism.) Order Sacred Friendships. |
