Introducing: Deborah: Prophetess and Mother
How this new book came about:
In 2002, at a conference in Denver, Colorado, I both met and heard Barbara Mouser speak for the first time. The conference lasted the entire weekend, and I went to several workshops and heard many people speak, but the session that I remember most vividly is the talk Barbara Mouser gave titled, “The Womanliness of Deborah: Complementarian Principles from Judges 4-5.” I had never heard the Bible taught in such a manner! Her presentation of the materials gripped my imagination and sparked a reverence for the Bible that completely took hold of me. My 23-year-old self knew that I had stumbled upon something very significant.
The conference notes existed in print form for some time, and then in the 2013 edition of Five Aspects of Women, the materials were included in the back of Volume 2 in the Appendix in Supplement C. Now, here we sit 12 years later. As I was reviewing the materials last year, I was once again edified by this work on Deborah. However, I had a criticism or a complaint that I think has surfaced with age. The way that The Womanliness of Deborah was written and presented was within an argument. It was a direct response and challenge to a battle that was being waged in the church at the time. Over two decades later, the fight has morphed, and the conversation changed, and though the content and teaching of The Womanliness of Deborah is just as relevant and applicable as it ever was, it needed to be reframed.
I talked about my concerns with Barbara in 2024, and we both agreed that the materials indeed need to remain in print, but that we needed to adapt them. Therefore, instead of being a response to an argument, the new Deborah: Prophetess and Mother is in the form of a Bible Study. To understand and engage in this study, there is no prerequisite understanding of the Bible or of the argument that was in full sway at the turn of the century.
Deborah: Prophetess and Mother is a standalone bible study that delves into the book of Judges. We have built into it context building, character analysis, plot line development, and then some hearty application. All the beautiful and challenging teaching that Barbara Mouser delivered in 2002 is still here, but it is embedded now in a richer and more robust bible study form. As always, it is a pleasure and honor to work with Barbara and her materials. I also had the opportunity to write and develop substantial sections to bring everything together in its new form. Barbara and I think that this new work is richer and stronger, and we hope and pray that you are edified by this new bible study book.
In Christ,
Kristine Vermillion