Have We Accidentally Drifted Toward Therapeutic Christianity?

As another ministry year begins, I know many of us are doing what we always do this time of year. Calendars are filling up, Bible studies are being selected, retreats are being planned, and leadership teams are gathering around conference tables, dreaming about what God might do in the months ahead. I genuinely love this season because I believe planning matters. Every event we host, every study we teach, every conversation we have, and every volunteer we equip is another opportunity to help women know Jesus more deeply. But before we finalize another calendar or order another workbook, I think there is a more important question we need to ask ourselves.

Have we accidentally drifted toward therapeutic Christianity?

I know that’s a strong question, but sit with it for a moment and hear my heart. Sociologist Christian Smith coined the term moralistic therapeutic deism to describe what had become the functional religion of many Americans. Simply put, it’s the belief that God exists, wants us to be good people, wants us to be happy, and is there whenever we need Him. The purpose of faith becomes helping us feel better about ourselves and our circumstances, rather than being transformed into the likeness of Christ. God slowly becomes less of a holy King worthy of our worship and obedience and more of a divine therapist who helps us navigate life. I don’t think any of us intentionally teach that, but I do think we can unintentionally reinforce it.

When we sit down to plan another semester, our conversations naturally center on what women want, what they feel they need, which topics will resonate, and how we can ensure Bible study doesn’t feel too heavy amid their busy weeks. Those aren’t bad questions. In fact, I hope we never stop caring deeply about the women God has entrusted to us. Good shepherds pay attention to the people they serve. The problem arises when those questions become the starting point for everything we do. Without even realizing it, we can begin speaking the language of therapeutic self-help more fluently than the language of historic Christian theology. We spend far more time talking about finding peace, reducing anxiety, discovering purpose, establishing healthy boundaries, and becoming healthier versions of ourselves than we do discussing holiness, repentance, perseverance, suffering, and being conformed to the image of Christ.

This isn’t an argument against emotions, encouragement, or even therapy. God created our emotions, and they are often wonderful indicators of what is happening in our hearts. Faithful Christian counseling has been an incredible gift to countless believers, myself included. We should absolutely continue encouraging women to seek help, process their emotions, and care for their mental health. My concern is simply this: somewhere along the way, emotions have become the central focus of our conversations, while theology has become something we sprinkle on top with a Bible verse or two and a prayer.

Women need more than encouragement to get them through the week. They need something true enough, deep enough, and tested enough to build an entire life on. Ryan Burge’s research continues to remind us that women are leaving the church. There are certainly many reasons for that, and I don’t pretend this is the only one. But I can’t help but think one of the greatest gifts we could offer this next ministry year isn’t another study built around what women feel they need in the moment, but a richer understanding of the historic Christian faith that has sustained believers for centuries.

If our goal is truly to make disciples, perhaps we need to start asking a different set of questions. Instead of asking, “What topic would women enjoy?” maybe we should first ask, “Are we consistently helping women answer the questions every disciple needs to answer?”

Five Questions Every Women’s Ministry Should Be Answering

1. Who is God? (Theology Proper)

Every Bible study, retreat, and conversation should ultimately leave women with a bigger view of God. If women leave our ministries knowing more about themselves than about God’s holiness, faithfulness, sovereignty, goodness, mercy, and love, we’ve unintentionally made them the center of the story instead of Him.

2. Who am I? (Biblical Anthropology)

Culture tells women their identity is something they create, discover, or simply feel. Scripture tells a much richer story. Women are image bearers of God, created with dignity, purpose, and dependence on Him. Before they are wives, mothers, leaders, professionals, volunteers, or empty nesters, they belong to Christ. When women understand who they are by first understanding whose they are, everything else begins to find its proper place.

3. Why is life so hard? (Theology of Suffering)

This may be one of the greatest gaps in modern discipleship. We naturally want to help women avoid pain or move through it as quickly as possible, but Scripture consistently shows that suffering is not an interruption of God’s work. It is often one of His primary tools for accomplishing it. The broken relationship, the miscarriage, the prodigal child, the cancer diagnosis, the loss of a job, and the unanswered prayer all become invitations to know God more deeply and to reflect His character in a broken world. If we only prepare women for blessing, they will be surprised by suffering. But if we prepare them to meet God there, they’ll discover His faithfulness in ways they never could otherwise.

4. How do I actually change? (Spiritual Formation)

Discipleship is about far more than acquiring information. It is about becoming more like Jesus over time. That means teaching women not only what Scripture says but also how to pray when God feels silent, how to forgive when forgiveness feels impossible, how to confess sin, practice hospitality, steward their gifts, serve faithfully, and cultivate the ordinary rhythms that slowly shape a life with Christ. Information informs us. Practices form us.

5. What am I here for? (Ecclesiology, Vocation, and Mission)

Women’s ministry has never existed simply to help women survive another week. We help women discover they have been uniquely gifted by God, placed within His Church for a purpose, and sent into their homes, workplaces, neighborhoods, schools, and communities as ambassadors of Christ. The end goal of discipleship has never been self-improvement. It has always been participation in God’s mission.

As we look toward another ministry year, I hope we evaluate more than our calendars. I hope we ask whether everything we’re planning helps women build lives that can withstand both blessing and suffering, rooted in something far deeper than their circumstances, their feelings, or the latest cultural trend. Women’s ministry has never simply been about helping women feel better for another week. It has always been about helping women faithfully follow Jesus for a lifetime.

Perhaps there has never been a more important time to recover that vision.

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