This review, to be honest, is a bit awkward feeling. How can a man review a book on women mentoring women? On one hand, I have a great mother, five sisters, three daughters, and a fantastic wife who is involved in mentoring women. On the other hand, I’m a dude. Nothing I write will change that fact.
But as a non-Complementarian, I have joined my wife in mentoring women toward both growing in Christ as well as moving in church leadership roles. Because of this, I’m going to cautiously throw some thoughts toward this new book, Organic Mentoring: A Mentor’s Guide to Relationships with Next Generation Women.
First, the authors, Sue Edwards and Barbara Neumann, are clearly informed on the subject. Both have DMin’s from reputable seminaries and are involved in teaching on the subject.
Second, Organic Mentoring is a needed resource, as far as I am aware, because most of the books I have flipped through tend to embody discipleship from a context of the 1980’s and 1990’s. But as anyone who is familiar with culture/society can tell you, a lot has changed since then. Thus, the second chapter, “Understanding Postmodern Women,” is a welcome contribution toward mentoring women in 2014 and beyond. While it was a bit interesting to read descriptions of the categories I am often lumped in (Gen X and Millennial), the insights were both profound, insightful, and raised further questions.
Third, the book surprisingly didn’t seem to take a hardline approach to gender issues (i.e., Complementarian and Egalitarian issues). That isn’t to say that underlying theological/practical commitments couldn’t be discerned but that they didn’t dominate the work. Thus, I could see Organic Mentoring used in a variety of situations and contexts.
Finally, Organic Mentoring is very readable. It’s practical in all of the helpful ways, including many examples, illustrations, and stories… all of which tend to be helpful toward dealing with those pesky postmoderns!
If you are involved in mentoring women, check Organic Mentoring out. I think you’ll find it helpful and certainly a great place to start in thinking about the issues that discipling women can raise!
*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review*
Luke is a pastor-theologian living in northern California, serving as a co-lead pastor with his life, Dawn, at the Red Bluff Vineyard. Father of five amazing kids, when Luke isn’t hanging with his family, reading or writing theology, he moonlights as a fly fishing guide for Confluence Outfitters. He blogs regularly at LukeGeraty.com and regularly contributes to his YouTube channel.
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