The Preacher's Wife: The Precarious Power of Evangelical Women Celebrities

by Kate Bowler Narrated by Kelly Burke

Overview

From the New York Times bestselling author of Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, a fascinating look at the world of Christian women celebrities

Since the 1970s, an important new figure has appeared on the center stage of American evangelicalism-the celebrity preacher's wife. Although most evangelical traditions bar women from ordained ministry, many women have carved out unofficial positions of power in their husbands' spiritual empires or their own ministries. The biggest stars-such as Beth Moore, Joyce Meyer, and Victoria Osteen-write bestselling books, grab high ratings on Christian television, and even preach. In this engaging book, Kate Bowler, an acclaimed historian of religion and the author of the bestselling memoir Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved, offers a sympathetic and revealing portrait of megachurch women celebrities, showing how they must balance the demands of celebrity culture and conservative, male-dominated faiths.

Whether standing alone or next to their husbands, the leading women of megaministry play many parts: the preacher, the homemaker, the talent, the counselor, and the beauty. Boxed in by the high expectations of modern Christian womanhood, they follow and occasionally subvert the visible and invisible rules that govern the lives of evangelical women, earning handsome rewards or incurring harsh penalties. They must be pretty, but not immodest; exemplary, but not fake; vulnerable to sin, but not deviant. And black celebrity preachers' wives carry a special burden of respectability. But despite their influence and wealth, these women are denied the most important symbol of spiritual power-the pulpit.

The story of women who most often started off as somebody's wife and ended up as everyone's almost-pastor, The Preacher's Wife is a compelling account of women's search for spiritual authority in the age of celebrity.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

★ 07/15/2019

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. As the subtitle suggests, this incisive work’s primary emphasis is on evangelical women who have worked out a “delicate dance between professed submission to men and implicit independence from them.” But Bowler’s argument is strengthened and deepened by including the parallel struggles faced by mainline Protestant women who take on formal institutional roles (including the ordained ministry) but continue to find their leadership opportunities limited by the “stained-glass ceiling.” By contrast, evangelical celebrities have gained power and influence by professionalizing roles such as counselor, or even beauty queen and singer. Based on interviews with dozens of these celebrities and anchored in the expectations the American ministry has placed on pastor’s wives, Bowler’s wonderful work provocatively considers what women gain and lose in becoming “market-ready” for evangelical communities. (Oct.)

From the Publisher

"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

Product Details

BN ID:	2940173980892
Publisher:	Princeton University Press
Publication date:	10/01/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged

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