Voices: Beth Moore inspires me to be honest about the struggle

Women’s ministry has never held a special place in my heart. Probably because, in some of my experiences, it has been a lot of superficial messages like: “You are beautiful. Here’s something to make you feel good about yourself.” I’ve never been interested in that.

When I was growing up, Beth Moore and women’s ministry were pretty much synonymous. I thought that until I attended a conference of hers as a young adult and experienced the power of God alongside thousands of other women.

I felt called to ministry 15 years ago, and I began to watch Beth more closely during my college years. Then I felt called to preach and watched her stand up and do unapologetically what God had called her to do.

I watched her walk away from the Southern Baptist Convention and continue to advocate for those who were oppressed and marginalized. I watched her hold tightly to her convictions even when it wasn’t popular and when her own people turned on her.

I recently read Beth’s memoir All My Knotted-Up Life. I write like I know Beth personally. I don’t. But as I read, it felt like we were sitting in a coffee shop as she told me her story. I couldn’t put it down, and I couldn’t help my tears.

Her heart and soul were poured into the pages of that book—the shiny parts, the hard parts and all the parts in between. It was all woven together in a tapestry of God’s goodness and grace. It was real life. No sugar coating. No pretending it was something it wasn’t. That resonated deeply within me.

Tired of pretending

I had a similar experience at a women in ministry conference in 2021. A friend of mine convinced me to go with her and I went begrudgingly. As we turned into the parking lot, I thought to myself: “I swear, if they tell me I’m beautiful and hand me a cup of tea, I’m out.”

Instead, we walked into Alcoholics Anonymous-style introductions and hit the ground running. In the first session, Angela Gorrell shared about the deep trauma and loss in her life. I knew immediately I was in a place with my kind of people.

By the end of the weekend, I had words for what I had longed to believe as truth: When believers prioritize honesty and vulnerability with one another, we are emulating the life of Christ and discipleship becomes authentic.

I recently was sitting with a friend at lunch. We were swapping stories and sharing the complexities of family life, the struggle of living with anxiety as a believer who also believes in the work of psychiatry and medicine, and trying to figure out how to teach our children that none of us have anything figured out.

She said something like: “I’m done. I’m done with people pretending they have it all figured out. It’s a lie. None of us do. We all are doing the best we can and should be trying to help each other along.”

She’s right. We live life pretending everything is nice, neat and follows all the rules.

But can I tell you a secret? The rules are made up, and the game doesn’t exist. Our only chance at survival is the precious blood of Jesus. Our only chance at making the most of our life here on earth is salvation and authentic discipleship with other believers.

Honest about the struggle

How do we do this? We start with honesty. We are honest with ourselves, our Savior, and our brothers and sisters in Christ. We live real life together. We share real life together. Most importantly, we recognize none of us have it all together.

Though this type of life and ministry is counterintuitive, it is an authentic picture of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It’s an authentic representation of God’s grace in our lives and the grace we can extend because we are made new in Christ.

My brothers and sisters, we are made for so much more than “having it all together.” I assure you, I don’t and I haven’t ever had it all together. But I also haven’t been all that good at admitting it in the past.

So, here’s the honesty for today: We’re all just making it—you, me, your neighbor, your pastor, the person you can’t stand who is wreaking havoc on your life. We’re all just trying to make it while being good stewards of what God has set before us and saying “yes” to the things whispered in the depths of our soul.

Abby Manes is the children’s and family minister at First Baptist Church in Muleshoe. She is the proud foster mom of three and spends her time chasing kids, investing in her church and the surrounding community, and drinking good coffee. The views expressed are those of the author.