True Woman

Several years ago, I was lounging around with Nancy Leigh DeMoss and a couple of her friends, sipping hot mugs of tea in her living room. Though the atmosphere was casual, the conversation was anything but. We talked about the history of the women’s movement and feminism… about philosophy, theology and doctrine. We cried about the lies women believed… and about the broken, fractured state of their lives. We marveled at the fact that just a few decades ago, a small handful of women started a “movement” that drastically changed the lives of the masses. If a small group of disgruntled women could so significantly impact a generation for ill, how much more could a group of righteous women, walking in the power of the Holy Spirit, impact a generation for good?

The Movement…

“I believe the time is ripe for a new movement – a seismic holy quake of counter cultural men and women who dare to take God at His Word and who have the courage to believe and delight in God’s plan for male and female.” – Mary Kassian

In 2006, Nancy and the Revive Our Hearts’ team agreed that now was the time to begin to plan the first-ever True Woman conference, in order to help women…

• Discover and embrace God’s created design and mission for their lives
• Reflect the beauty and heart of Christ to their world
• Intentionally pass on the baton of Truth to the next generation
• Pray earnestly for an outpouring of God’s Spirit in their families, churches, nation, and world

On October 9-11, 2008, over 6,300 women gathered in Chicago, Illinois, for Revive Our Hearts’ first-ever national women’s conference. It sold out months in advance. Thousands more joined via internet web cast.

As I prepared for True Woman 08, I discovered that forty years earlier, Chicago had hosted another “first”: the first-ever national Women’s Liberation Conference. Speakers challenged the 200 women in attendance to use the “radical weapon” of Consciousness Raising to spread bitterness and incite women to rebel. In contrast, True Woman 08 challenged 10,000 women to be captivated with the truth and beauty of God’s Word, and to submit.

With the impetus of Consciousness Raising, the ranks of those committed to Feminist ideology grew. By 1970, twenty thousand women marched proudly down New York’s Fifth Avenue, identifying themselves as part of the feminist movement. At the conclusion of the event Betty Friedan blazed, “After tonight, the politics of this nation will never be the same again… There is no way any man, woman, or child can escape the nature of our revolution!”

With the unveiling and signing of the True Woman Manifesto, True Woman 08 intentionally initiated a very different type of women’s movement. We are trusting God for a widespread move of revival in the hearts of 100,000 Christian women around the world. It’s a spiritual revolution that we seek… a holy quake of counter cultural revolutionaries who believe that the world has yet to see the impact of a generation of women wholly committed to the Lord.

The Motto…

“Symbols are the natural speech of the soul, a language older and more universal than words.” -C.S. Lewis

I’ve been to hundreds of women’s events, and at many of these, attendees received canvas tote bags of free stuff like books, hand cream, kleenex, trinkets, chocolates, promo items…(women, you know the routine. Gotta love those tote bags!) I figure I’ve seen just about all there is to see when it comes to the contents of these bags.

There were two items in the tote bags of the True Woman 08 conference that I’ve never seen before, and that uniquely symbolized the heart of the event. The first unique item was a kneeling pad – a soft, rectangular, vinyl-covered sponge to keep knees from hurting when kneeling on the ground. It’s like the one my mom uses when she’s kneeling to weed her garden or wash her kitchen floor.

The kneeling pad wasn’t meant for doing household chores. First off, it was white – an impossible color for doing dirty work. Second, it sported the “True Woman 08″ Logo with the motto, “Now is the Time,” as well as the question Mordecai posed to Queen Esther when he challenged her to courageously act…“Who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” ( Esther 4:14). Esther fasted, prayed, and then boldly intervened to turn about the sinful direction of her nation. The kneeling pad challenges us to do the same. It reminds us that the battle for the hearts and lives of women and our culture is one that must primarily be fought on our knees in prayer.

The second unique item in my conference bag was a white cloth handkerchief. Now I’m not much for women’s hankies. I remember receiving several lacy embroidered ones from my grandmother, who thought I’d appreciate their dainty feminine look. But I was a tomboy. I hated them. They did come in handy when I needed to polish my rock collection. In my mind, that’s the only thing they were good for. My five brothers would have mocked me relentlessly had I ever pulled a lace hankie from my jeans. So, as you can well imagine, I wasn’t overly impressed by this tote-bag treasure. Though it wasn’t lacy, it was white… and was embroidered with the True Woman 08 logo and the motto, “Yes, Lord!” When Nancy challenged us to wave it in the air before the Lord as a symbol of surrender, I must confess that “Hooray!” wasn’t the first thought that came to mind. Quite honestly, the idea sounded a bit silly. But then I began to ponder why I emotionally resisted this simple symbolic act.

I concluded that it’s one thing to say, “Yes, Lord” with my mouth – and quite another thing to say “Yes, Lord” with my actions. Participating in such a visible symbol was just so…. visible. Others would see. And therein lay the rub. Was I willing to stand and say “Yes Lord” when doing so was uncomfortable or challenged my pride? Was I, like David, willing “to become even more undignified than this” in worship of the God I love? (2 Sam. 6:20)

I know that in and of themselves external symbols hold little merit. They’re only worthwhile inasmuch as they point to an inward, spiritual reality. The symbols of this conference represented a willingness to kneel and surrender – an attitude that the women’s movement has derided and all but purged from women’s hearts. The kneeling pad and handkerchief represented the desired spiritual reality. They illustrate that True Women choose to say “Yes, Lord!” in their words, actions, and most importantly, in their hearts.

The Manifesto…

I regard the True Woman Manifesto as a faithful, clear, true, wise—indeed—magnificent document. What an amazing thing it would be if hundreds of thousands of women … signed on with their heart to the True Woman Manifesto. —John Piper

Throughout history, particularly in times when the Church was in danger of departing from doctrinal faithfulness, Christians have stated, clarified and verified what they believe through various creeds and confessions. I believe that the feminist movement has created such a crisis point. Given the encroachment of popular culture, it’s imperative that Christians state, clarify and verify what the Bible teaches about man, woman, and male-female relationships. That’s the motivation behind the True Woman Manifesto. In the first wave of the woman’s movement, feminists signed a “Declaration of Sentiments.” The True Woman Manifesto counters and corrects the errant direction that was set in motion at that time.

I believe the time is ripe for a seismic, holy quake – a genuine spiritual awakening. If you see biblical womanhood as a gift from God, and agree with the True Woman Manifesto, sign it by following this LINK. We are believing God for 100,000 people like you to launch this movement!

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