This book, about the "first ladies" of America's Christian evangelical megachurches, explores how these women have negotiated places of power and influence for themselves in a deeply conservative and patriarchal evangelical culture.
Kate Bowler is the author of Blessed: A History of the American Prosperity Gospel and the New York Times bestselling memoir Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved (Random House), which she wrote after being diagnosed with Stage IV cancer at age 35. She is associate professor at Duke Divinity School and lives in Durham, North Carolina. Twitter @KatecBowler
"Bowler (Everything Happens for a Reason), professor at the Duke
Divinity School, explains in this excellent analysis how some
evangelical women have managed to become mega-ministry celebrities
by transforming the limited roles allotted to women in evangelical
culture into positions of power. Framing these women's work as that
of wives, mothers, homemakers, and teachers—rather than pastors or
business leaders—Bowler reveals how figures including Joyce Meyer,
Beth Moore, and Victoria Osteen wield enormous power in their
husbands' ministries, both on stage and behind the scenes. . . .
[This] wonderful work provocatively considers what women gain and
lose in becoming 'market-ready' for evangelical communities."
*Publishers Weekly, starred review*
"A fascinating examination of the way conservative Christian women
wield power in an ultimately patriarchal faith."
*Library Journal*
"Bowler, the author of the wildly popular Everything Happens for a
Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved, is a thorough researcher and
witty writer."---LaVonne Neff, Christian Century
"[Bowler writes] with empathy and also humour. . . . This book
opens up for many of us a new world. It shows the pressures faced
by talented evangelical women and raises by implication questions
about how women in general, religious or not, are treated
today."---Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper
"Bowler brings forward fresh evidence and significant insights. . .
. An interesting read and an important contribution to its
subject area."---G. M. Ditchfield, Politics, Religion &
Ideology
"Written with wit and empathy . . . Bowler brilliantly unveils the
complex negotiation of power by preachers’ wives in the
spotlight."---Lieke L. Schrijvers, PentecoStudies
"This is a book well-worth reading if one wants a broader
understanding of the many evangelical movements as a whole and the
rise of the religious celebrity"---Andrea Johnson, Pneuma
"Well-researched. . . . A fascinating read and well worth the
time."---Scott M. Gibson, Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics
Society
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