“The energy and optimism in this text will be a pure gift to her fellow Christians yearning for a more enlightened church.”

–Kirkus Reviews

“A superbly brave and frank memoir by a woman who is deeply called to do Christian ministry yet is stymied by the barriers to women’s full participation that are upheld by church leaders, ingrained in texts, and espoused by congregants. This compassionate and solutions-oriented approach is a must-read for non-traditional leaders in male-dominated religious spaces.”

-Julie Lythcott-Haims, New York Times bestselling author of Real American: A Memoir

“With razor-sharp attention to detail, Liz Cooledge Jenkins persistently pulls at the threads of patriarchy, those we can readily observe all around us and those that lurk beneath the surface of our traditions. She thoroughly considers and exposes their effects and implications and does not rest until we can see them for what they really are: harmful, unjust, and dehumanizing practices that are incompatible with the God whose image we all bear. But she does not leave us bereft; generously sharing both personal experiences and scholarly insights, Cooledge Jenkins offers us hope that, together, we might yet take these tired threads and weave something new.”

-Cameron Bellm, author of A Consoling Embrace: Prayers for a Time of Pandemic

“In Nice Churchy Patriarchy, Liz Cooledge Jenkins shows that patriarchal systems are neither nice nor particularly Christian, not when they diminish and distort the Imago Dei in all of God’s children. Jenkins uses her considerable experience attending and working in evangelical churches as a narrative frame for her exploration of Christian patriarchy, writing in compelling detail about how women’s gifts, their voices, and their humanity is often diminished in the misguided name of ‘God’s will.’ More importantly, Jenkins provides a way forward, inviting us to reclaim an agency that already belongs to us, simply because we already belong to God.”

-Melanie Springer Mock, Professor of English at George Fox University and author of Worthy: Finding Yourself in a World Expecting Someone Else and Finding Our Way Forward: When the Children We Love Become Adults (forthcoming)

“With razor-sharp attention to detail, Liz Cooledge Jenkins persistently pulls at the threads of patriarchy, those we can readily observe all around us and those that lurk beneath the surface of our traditions. She thoroughly considers and exposes their effects and implications and does not rest until we can see them for what they really are: harmful, unjust, and dehumanizing practices that are incompatible with the God whose image we all bear. But she does not leave us bereft; generously sharing both personal experiences and scholarly insights, Cooledge Jenkins offers us hope that, together, we might yet take these tired threads and weave something new.”

-Cameron Bellm, author of A Consoling Embrace: Prayers for a Time of Pandemic

“In Nice Churchy Patriarchy, Liz Cooledge Jenkins shows that patriarchal systems are neither nice nor particularly Christian, not when they diminish and distort the Imago Dei in all of God’s children. Jenkins uses her considerable experience attending and working in evangelical churches as a narrative frame for her exploration of Christian patriarchy, writing in compelling detail about how women’s gifts, their voices, and their humanity is often diminished in the misguided name of ‘God’s will.’ More importantly, Jenkins provides a way forward, inviting us to reclaim an agency that already belongs to us, simply because we already belong to God.”

–Melanie Springer Mock, Professor of English at George Fox University and author of Worthy: Finding Yourself in a World Expecting Someone Else and Finding Our Way Forward: When the Children We Love Become Adults (forthcoming)