Review: Unexceptional

UNEXCEPTIONAL: Ordinary women doing extraordinary things through God
Sharon Dickens (ed.)

The subtitle sums it up: ordinary women doing extraordinary things through God. Ordinary women, who are serving God faithfully and sacrificially in their communities in Scotland, England and the United States and who want to encourage other women to do the same. As might be expected for a book coming out of 20schemes, the focus is on ministry in schemes/housing estates/projects (choose the appropriate term for your geographic location) but the wisdom shared in this book can be applied to all contexts.

This is not a book about how to run a women’s ministry programme, with evangelistic events, Bible studies and day conferences. Instead, it focuses on the Titus 2 model of mature Christian women discipling other women (whilst covering plenty of other ground as well). This conviction is the same as that set out in Furman and Nielson’s Word-filled women’s ministry (Crossway, 2015). However, while Furman and Nielson envisage a more formal programmatic approach, Unexceptional often has in view something simpler and more organic.

Each chapter is written by a different woman, but one unifying theme runs through them all, as each author clearly points to the power of God at work, through his Word. The fact that each chapter has the same structure helps the book to feel like a coherent whole: each author describes her context, tells her own story of growing in faith and becoming involved in ministry and reviews the past. Then some practical principles are offered, along with a few recommended resources and discussion questions for personal reflection or sharing with others.

The chapters are conversational in tone, and the raw honesty of the women’s stories gives both a sense of realism and a feeling of connection. These are not super-spiritual saints, whose deeds we can admire from afar, but women like us who love God and who share a desire to make disciples. Their honesty about the challenges, and some of the mistakes made along the way, reminds the reader that they are not perfect, so if we feel less than perfect that is not an excuse to do nothing. The same God works in all of us with the same power. This means that the challenge for the reader – to invest intentionally in one or two other women in your church family – feels achievable because at the end of the day it is God’s work, not ours. The cost of this is never underestimated, but the writers’ conviction of the importance of this both inspires and encourages the reader to make the effort.

Describing this as a book about women’s ministry seems to limit its scope. Yes, it is by women, for women, about ministry among women. However, many of the principles apply to all Christians: the importance of serving in the local church, of having good accountability, and of prayerfully relying on God are things of which all of us need to be reminded if we are to be fruitful in ministry.