Addressing a woman's relationship with God, herself, other women and men, this
book takes readers to the brink of a cliff and dares them to jump. Patterson is
senior pastor of Jubilee United Methodist Church in Duncanville, Tex., and
author of Single Principles: The Single Woman's 10-Step Guide to Power. She
suggests that male interpretations of some Scripture passages have caused
qualified women in the black church to defer leadership roles to men, letting
their own talents lie dormant. Patterson believes these women have willingly
subjected themselves to lesser roles in the church because they have been
taught that it's the man's job to lead. Drawing on womanist theology, she
argues for "a new way of understanding and relating to the same faithful,
flawless God who has been our bridge over troubled water and our rock in the
weary land." Declaring that men and women are equal, Patterson cries out to
women to choose marriages with mutual submission. "Why can't we see that the
submission of women is equally an antiquated offensive institution as slavery?"
she asks. Patterson has crafted a book that, like a roller coaster approaching
its peak, will invoke the reader's anticipation of what is coming. The end of
the ride will bring either exhilaration or fear, because the reader will have
to make a choice--to accept the challenge to change or to remain the same.
(June) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
