Christianity Today’s 50 Women To Watch

by Denny Burk on OCTOBER 2, 2012 in CHRISTIANITY

The cover story of the October issue of Christianity Today is a list of “50 Women You Should Know.” Sarah Pulliam Bailey writes that these are women who are “profoundly shaping the evangelical church and North American society.” It’s an interesting list that includes both evangelicals (like Beth Moore) and non-evangelicals (like Rachel Held Evans). The list also includes women who you wouldn’t normally find on the Christian speaking circuit—women like Bethany Hamilton (surfer), Condoleeza Rice (former Sec. of State), and Michelle Bachmann (politician).

 

The article doesn’t include much of a discussion about differences among evangelicals about gender roles. Even though there are both complementarians and egalitarians on the list, the article seems to assume an egalitarian framework. In general, it regards high-achieving women excelling in their respective fields as something to be celebrated. Make no mistake, everyone celebrates women excelling in roles that the scripture commends, but egalitarians continue to disagree with complementarians about what those roles are. In short, the report highlights the influencers without trying to sort out the differences that complementarians and egalitarians have over these issues.

Already, folks have begun discussing who should and should not have been included in this list. That is to be expected. It would be impossible to make a list that everyone agrees with. This article is not yet available online, so you’ll have to wait before you can read the profiles of these women (or you can subscribe here). In the meantime, here’s the list without the profiles. These are in no particular order.

1. Jennifer Wiseman

2. Nancy Sleeth

3. Katharine Hayhoe

4. Bonnie Wurzbacher

5. Dorothy Chappell

6. Tracey Bianchi

7. Roberta Green Ahmanson

8. Sara Groves

9. Roma Downey

10. Jordin Sparks

11. Mavis Staples

12. Bethany Hamilton

13. Marilynne Robinson

14. Elisabeth Elliot

15. Lauren Winner

16. Luci Shaw

17. Ann Voskamp

18. Margaret Feinberg

19. Rachel Held Evans

20. Brenda Salter McNeil

21. Christine Caine

22. Bethany Hoang

23. Lynne Hybels

24. Amy Sherman

25. Jenny Yang

26. Joni Eareckson Tada

27. Kay Coles James

28. Condoleezza Rice

29. Sarah Palin

30. Jean Bethke Elshtain

31. Michele Bachmann

32. Priscilla Shirer

33. Carolyn Custis James

34. Anne Graham Lotz

35. Joyce Meyer

36. Kay Warren

37. Beth Moore

38. Jo Anne Lyon

39. Amy Julia Becker

40. Elisa Morgan

41. Juli Slattery

42. Leslie Parrott

43. Jen Hatmaker

44. Katherine Leary Alsdorf

45. Esther Fleece

46. Elaine Howard Ecklund

47. Nicole Baker Fulgham

48. Kara Powell

49. Kim Phipps

50. Shirley Mullen