Wisdom for Mothers

Wisdom for Mothers By Denise Glenn Kardo International Ministries, 1997, 2004 ISBN: 1-932960-00-7 NOTE: Euodia wishes to thank our friends at HEvencense (http://www.hevencense.wordpress.com/) for granting us permission to post this review at Paw Prints. Wisdom for Mothers is the first Bible study/workbook published by Kardo International Ministries under the MotherWise logo. “Although a woman may use this workbook for individual personal Bible study,” notes the Introduction on page 9, “she benefits most from being part of a MotherWise group that participates in the full MotherWise program” in which a group “meets for two hours once a week for 10 weeks.” This claim is open to debate for a number of reasons. First, a major flaw with this “program” is the frequent lack of focus, cohesion, and unified thought as well as author Denise Glenn’s penchant for proof-texting and her frequent violation of the historical-grammatical method of Biblical exegesis. Her reliance upon sources that many consider suspect or controversial is equally troubling. (See p. 87 as well as the Bibliography on p. 267 for examples.) An unseemly presentation of the concept of “blood covenant” (p. 116-117) is another. (More than one woman in my MotherWise group found this segment offensive and culturally irrelevant. Several felt it was in poor taste.) Although well-intentioned and passionate, Glenn’s lack of expertise and care in handling the Biblical text seriously hampers the bulk of her “Bible study” materials. Additionally, some women find Glenn’s breezy, chatty style appealing. Some don’t. It has been described as ”warm, charming and engaging” as well as “bubble-brained,” “air-headed” or “irritating.” Likewise, some ladies deem both the video presentation and Wisdom workbook “insightful and inspirational.” Others dub them “patronizing”, “plodding” and “tedious.” (Some college-degreed professionals I talked to found Wisdom “insipid, insulting” and “a waste of my time.”) Also problematic is the fact that the typical class format and leadership structure are easily susceptible to cliquishness. Leadership Qualities as listed in the accompanying Wisdom Leader’s Guide fail to connect with—or even mention–leadership skills and can easily place women in leadership or “mentoring” capacities who are “nice,” but painfully deficient in basic leadership skills. Whether or not a candidate has any gifting or experience in leadership is not mentioned. Leader’s Guide directives such as meeting “regularly outside of class to discuss the progress of the class” are often vague and ambiguous and seem to do little more than encourage gossip and other counter-productive behaviors. To be fair, many of the Biblical principles and applications offered in this 260+ page resource are sound. However, the material founders dangerously when it strays off Scriptural charts and heaves onto the reefs of personal agendas and peculiar application from questionable sources. Some women may benefit from this studies. Others may find them geared toward quick, mass consumption on a “burgers and fries” level. Wisdom for Mothers is not for everyone. This study is best suited for women who’ve been married a few years - say, five or less- or for women who’ve been married longer but are baby Christians or non-Christians. Wisdom is NOT for mature Christians. Serious students of Scripture will find little here to fuel authentic spiritual appetites and may opt to look elsewhere for more balanced, substantive meals. ”Boring,” “square one,” “painfully rudimentary,” “dull,” “makes me feel like I’m in Kindergarten,” and “can we move on?!” were comments I heard over and over again related to Wisdom. Like food from a Drive-Thru window, a suitable label for Wisdom might be: “WARNING. Contents hot, marginally nutritious, and incredibly average. Proceed with caution.” *** For a more detailed review, visit: http://hevencense.wordpress.com/2007/10/27/book-review-wisdom-for-mothers/