It was New Year’s Eve. I sat around a table with friends as we voiced our dreams and goals for the upcoming year. All the typical responses flashed through my mind—exercise more, eat less, volunteer more time, spend less money, etc.
But when it was my turn to share, I looked at the expectant faces of my friends and said, “I want to become a better theologian.”
My desire was not rooted in hopes of becoming a smarter woman. I wanted to become a better worshipper. After all, the purpose of theology is doxology.
I wasn’t interested in just knowing more about God, I wanted to know Him more. I wanted to love and exalt Him more in the next year than I had in the previous one. This began with robustly studying the Scriptures.
As a plan began to take shape in my mind, I shared it with the women at my table. I wanted to meet weekly for prayer and Bible study with them. I needed partners. Fellow theologians.
Basically, I proposed that we form a Bible nerds club! Two weeks later, four of us met for the first time, calling ourselves the Women’s Theological Society.
Making Time to Study Together
What started as a collaborative adventure in the Scriptures became an essential lifeline. Each of us are busy moms in our forties and fifties. We’re managing large households while balancing work and church life. We’re involved with our neighbors. We’re pouring into younger women, while soaking up wisdom from older ones.
Between the four of us, we’ve got married children, kids in college, elementary school, and everything in-between. Our families have biological children, adopted kids, and foster ones, too. We’re in Bible studies and book clubs through our local church. We minister to the vulnerable in our city and around the world.
I share all this not to brag on a list of accomplishments, but to highlight the fact that our lives are filled with commitments. And yet, every week, we make time to gather in one another’s homes to delight in God’s Word and pray for each other. We make time for what matters.
If you truly desire to know the Lord more, then resolve to do it. It starts with commitment. Begin your journey into deeper fellowship with Christ by saying yes. But understand this—saying yes to more time in the Word means saying no to other activities. Use your yeses and your nos wisely.
Glimpse of Our Time Together
From the beginning, we’ve designed our meetings to be fun and fancy. One of us hosts while another provides lunch. It’s more the norm than the exception that someone shows up with a simple gift for everyone.
Over lunch we share what’s going on in our lives—the trials and triumphs. We brag on the Lord’s grace to us. After our meal, we discuss the text we’ve been studying. Typically, we alternate between studying a book in the Bible and reading a theology book. We end in prayer for one another.
Throughout the week, we stay in contact through a group chat. We send out prayers, ask for help, and share Scriptures with one another. When we hear of a need in our church, we pool our resources to help. We enjoy one another and delight in our fellowship in the Word.
Becoming Better Theologians Together
Many women have a hard time thinking of themselves as theologians. It’s time we reject that nonsense. Theology is not reserved for men. We are precious and chosen daughters of the living God. We study His Word just like his faithful sons do. We are theologians. So why not be good ones?
We weren’t created for a casual relationship with Scripture. Paul writes, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God” (Col. 3:16).
There’s an expectation of intimacy—of frequent interaction—with the Word. And there’s a group dynamic to it. This command is to us, collectively, not to just you or I, individually. We study better when we study together.
Our society of women theologians has made me a better woman and worshipper of God. We’re learning to better apply the gospel in our lives and speak it to our neighbors. We’re united in our beholding of Christ. We chase hard after Him and His ways. And when we’re tempted to slack off in our pursuit, the sisters on either side of us spur us on.
When we pursue Christ together, we pursue Him better.
Rejoicing in the Word Together
Whether you’ve been a believer for decades or are just curious to see what all the fuss is about, I challenge you to ask yourself this question: do you rejoice in God’s Word like one who finds great spoil (Ps. 119:162)? If the answer is no, pray for God to give you a heart that longs for Him.
We can easily establish a rhythm of approaching the Word out of duty and not delight. After a hurried reading, we triumphantly check that off our to-do list and move on to the next task of the day. We’re motivated by productivity and not passion for God.
We were made to delight in God. To rejoice in His Word. And as a people rescued from the darkness and adopted into the family of the almighty God, we rejoice together!
Dear sister, I know you’re busy. I know there are many reasons not to add one more thing to your calendar. But you will never regret spending time in the Word with your sisters in Christ. Never.
Some weeks, I look at my to-do list and think, there’s no way I can give up a few hours to meet with them. But I do. And it’s always worth it. No matter how busy I am, spending time studying the Scriptures with other women is always beneficial.
I knew each of the women in my society well before we began meeting for this purpose. But my love for them has grown as we’ve joined together in this common goal of knowing and loving Christ more.
Our bond is unwavering. Our trust is deep. We spur one another on in the faith. We challenge, encourage, and admonish one another. We call up and call out each other. We laugh and cry together. We rage against the captor and cherish our Savior who crushes his head.
There’s nothing magical about our little Women’s Theological Society. We simply love each other and our God. We enjoy studying His Word together.
I hope my story inspires you toward studying the Scriptures with other women. This is just one of many ways to do it. The point is—do it! Invest your time in things of eternal value, together.
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