About a year ago I started noticing an extraordinary parallel between women throughout the past two millennia who devoted their lives to following Jesus. They lived with total conviction in their God-given worth, and they held their ground against society’s opposition to it. Whether they were born in the first, 10th, or 20th century, they lived with unselfish courage and have left their mark in my heart.

I decided to find a way to tell their stories, and recently produced a first-person presentation of 14 of these extraordinary women. Here’s a brief video clip from a live presentation:

Two of the women from the Bible identified Jesus in his unique roles before his male disciples did – as the Messiah and the fact of his resurrection.  It is odd that men get the credit for these “firsts” in the Bible, and the women’s stories are usually forgotten. But of even more interest is an observation on society’s perpetual belittling of women from Mechthilde of the Middle Ages. She noted that women were less tempted by worldly power, and because they were not able to please the powers of the Church, they were freer to nurture their natural affinity for the “love relations with God.”

Her comment provokes a powerful question for all of us, men and women, to ponder: What are those “love relations with God?” Must women always endure shame and persecution in exchange for the gift of this natural affinity? Or, must men always be blocked off, because they are privileged in society?

The full Women Who Followed Jesus presentation is available for rent on DVD. Make check out to and mail $5.98 to “Spirituality and Christianity,” c/o Heather Sholeen, 437 Washington, Barrington, IL 60010. Re line: Women Who Followed Jesus