Wow. This book came just when I needed it. Tara got me. It's no secret that it's hard being a woman in ministry. And she covers everything, but in a way that builds you up and encourages you to keep going. I felt like I was sitting with her having coffee talking about the struggles of ministry and how we can make it better. I closed the book feeling refreshed, encouraged, and understood. Ladies, get this book. You won't regret it.

In my opinion, just the right mixture of storytelling, Scripture references and encouragement. Tara Beth is the senior pastor at First Church of the Nazarene of Pasadena in Southern California. Starting with her early beginnings in ministry, she tells readers about the anointing she and others saw on her life. As a woman, that often meant she didn't have females mentors to guide her or serve as examples. Sharing from Scripture and the life of others as well, Tara Beth doesn't argue that woman should lead, she guides her readers into a world where they already are, and encourages them to do so even more.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free digital ARC of this book. This book is true to its title description. The reader won't be disappointed when reading this book.

Tara Beth Leach's sensational "Emboldened" is a call for empowering women in ministry. It begins by exploring how God used women throughout scripture, and moves to observe how women have largely been neglected - or worse, sidelined - in today's churches. It's time for a change!

Neglecting or refusing female ministers is not only detrimental to the women called by God to ministry, but to the church, which desperately needs to hear the powerful voices of empowered women. Without these voices, the church is missing half of its witness - a tragedy that we desperately need to address.

Emboldened is for women in ministry. Plain and simple. It's for the woman who feels like she isn't as respected because she's a woman in ministry. It's for the self and others-inflicted doubt. I will admit to not being a woman in ministry, however I grew up in a house with one, so my perspective is not the ideal reader for this. However, reading the stories that the author told of her journey through the Church as a woman trying to make way as a leader was so sad and disheartening to me that I am so, so glad that she wrote this book of pure encouragement for women like her! She weaves in multiple areas of scripture in with her storytelling in such a "you can do it!!" way. I highly recommend it for any woman thinking about entering, in, or leaving ministry. Especially if she's feeling down and out about the fact that she's a woman who's been called and not a man. I definitely think other women in the church can get something out of this book, but they also might pick it up and think "so not for me", so you'd have to be careful with the mindset going in. I plan on buying a copy of this and sending it to my former pastor mother because I know she'll love it too.

Women in leadership have always been a "taboo" thing. This book addresses the importance of women in leadership and connects our responsibility to the Kingdom as well.

Emboldened is a book written for women in ministry. It is not a book about why women should be in ministry, although Leach does make that point several times, or that explains biblical texts about women, although she touches on those, too. It is a book for women who are currently in ministry or heading into ministry - a book to empower and embolden women as they minister.

Leach is herself a senior pastor at a Nazarene church and has served in other places of church leadership, and she writes primarily from her experience. One of the things I love about this book is that Leach makes sure to point out that ministry is ministry - some women serve as preachers and teachers, some as nursery workers or the go-to person for potlucks, and all are ministry. While she points out that women shouldn't be confined to working with women and children or in hospitality ministries, she does not see those things as bad or lesser than preaching and teaching. Her point about knowing who the enemy is (and it isn't complementarians!) and the warm tone she uses even when talking about people who have directly opposed her because of her gender are excellent and worth reading by all women who are in ministry or want to be. I think her example of the teal box - which I will not explain in full here, read the book! - will stick with me for a long time. 

If you are a woman who is in ministry of some kind, or who wants to be but doesn't quite know how yet, I would encourage you to read this book. Even women in complementarian or patriarchal churches who know that God wants to use them but who don't have many opportunities to use their gifts can learn from and be encouraged by this book. Some of the chapters will be frustrating for women in that situation, but it's worth dealing with the frustration and reading anyway.