Girl Defined are having a conference…

While I should blog about something of substance, I’m going to rate Girl Defined’s conference session titles and determine whether I’d go to them (or not) based on title alone.

Disclaimer: ratings are based 100% on my personal, irrelevant opinions.

• Who is Liza Proch? What makes her an authority on social media? Does she work in social media?
• Why Christian Girls and not Christian Women?
• Why not just Christians in general?
• Why Christian at all? That’s a given since it’s a Christian conference…
• She looks confident
• Name sounds like a worship leader
• Flowers in the background are pretty
• Relevant topic as there are different struggles for women on social media, particularly girls

Would I go? Maybe.

Rating: 6.2/10

• Again, no clue who this lady is and what makes her think she can tell me how to date. The Bible barely mentions romantic relationships, so anything on this topic is going to be purely subjective
• Her hat is cute tho
• Her hair is fabulous
• Her pose is oddly similar to the first lady’s
• The “in a Christ-centered way” is redundant. It’s literally a Christian conference hosted by Christians. By it’s very definition, everything is going to be Christ-centered there

Would I go? No.

Rating: 4.8/10

• W h a t?
• Why only 5?
• Dempsey Warren is an awesome name
• I really like her top
• Nice, nature-ish background
• Doesn’t have the word “Christian” in it
• Why the emphasis on being single? Isn’t hospitality something all Christians should display?
• How is being hospitable as a married woman any different from being hospitable as a single? The Bible instructs us to all serve one another in love and makes no mention of marital status, or gender, so like… there’s the entire session right there

Would I go? No.

Rating: 3.5/10

• Finally some diversity
• She has a morning person smile
• Topic’s not about dating or how to serve others
• Doesn’t include the word “Christian”, “Christ-centered,” or “God-honoring,”
• Not sure what gives her any authority on friendships though – does she have a lot of friends?
• “Deep” and “Meaningful” seems wordy; one or the other would suffice

Would I go? Probably not. I’m trying to avoid making friends at the moment.

Rating: 8/10

• It’s Bethany!
• I like the color of her top
• Includes the word Christian. Sis, it’s a Christian conference led by Christians, everything is from a Christian pov
• Lust and sexual desire – I have trouble seeing how she can address both in a single session, given that sexual desire is perfectly natural and healthy; it’s lust that’s sinful and I don’t vibe with how they’re lumped together as it sends girls/young women the wrong message
• Good topic, since the church loves pretending women have no sex drive and don’t struggle with lust
• I want to come at her for not being an authority, but I know neither her, nor her personal struggles with lust, and this is pretty subjective.

Would I go? Yeah, sure.

Rating: 7.5/10

• It’s Kristen!
• She wearing mustard yellow, which is one of my favorite colors
• Not about marriage, sexuality, or relationships in general
• Doesn’t include “Christian, God-honoring, Christ-like, etc.”
• Doesn’t include “girl” or “women”
• Good topic for Christians in general
• Why only 3?
• The wording is funky – I’d have written, “3 truths to overcome fear, anxiety, and worry”

Would I go? Ya.

Rating: 9.8/10

• Some more melanin
• Her make-up is on point
• Appreciate that it says God’s good design as the church often acts like women were created as an afterthought to men, which isn’t true
• Probably revolves around marriage and motherhood though
• Also I’d have just written “Biblical Womanhood 101: God’s Good Design”

Would I go? Nope!

Rating: 8.1/10

• Why girl and not woman? The goal is to grow up
• Her hair is nice
• She has a nice smile
• She looks like a morning person
• This seems like a no brainer though; if your faith isn’t changing you, something is wrong

Would I go? Eh…. no.

Rating: 8.7/10

• If by practical steps, she means learning how to cook, manage a budget, and household duties. Yes. Everyone, women and men, should live on their own (whether with roommates or solo) for at least one year before getting married because essentially all the skills one needs for marriage will be learned in that year. And everyone should know how to cook, clean, budget, etc. These are basic life skills any adults should be able to do.
• If by practical steps, she means wasting away for years waiting on some man. No.
• Single girl? So single women just don’t exist?
• Is she related to Kristen (or her husband)
• Great hair
• Title is a bit vague
• Doesn’t mention Christian

Would I go? No. Believe it or not, some of us single gals are content to stay that way.

Rating: 6.5/10

• It’s my girl Portia, again
• Guess they couldn’t find a third, POC to speak on this topic
• Genuinely shocked they’re even going to address anything race-related so kudos???
• I’d actually be interested in this. Ultimately, in Christ there is unity. At the same time, Jesus was all about social justice, and uplifting and defending those who were oppressed, so ignoring racial inequality isn’t a good look for Christians. God in general is all about social justice and taking care of the poor/oppressed.
• Not about romantic relationships, serving others, or sexuality

Would I go. Absolutely. Even if it’s a mess, I’m all about that schadenfreude.

Rating: 10/10

• Did she go to seminary? Get a doctorate in theological studies? What education does she have that allows her to teach anyone how to study the Bible
• Her scarf is nice
• Her last name seems cool but I literally can’t read it because of this font – Marciag?
• She looks old enough to have some actual knowledge
• It’s a good topic
• Love that it’s encouraging women to enjoy the Bible

Would I go. No. Look, I’m all about the Holy Spirit and whatnot but given how insistent a lot of particularly conservative Christians are that the KJV is the most accurate version of the Bible (lol!!!), I don’t want anyone who hasn’t had some sort of formal education on this topic to teach me or anyone else how to study the Bible.

Rating: 2/10

• A good topic
• Not about marriage or relationships
• Nice glasses
• Nothing dumb like “Christian” worship
• Hope it focuses on something besides music though, because you can worship God doing anything
• She looks old enough to have some actual experience in what she’s talking about

Would I go? Probably.

Rating: 9/10

Would I go to Girl Defined’s conference based on these titles (as a young, Christian woman)?

Nope!

These topics are somewhat shallow and easy for anyone to give their personal “convictions” on, which isn’t something that interests me (if it can’t be backed by Scripture, in context, it’s nonsense). Much of the discourse surrounding Biblical womanhood and femininity is somehow still rooted in culture (which is largely based off the pagan, ancient Greek society most of the NT challenged), not Scripture.

Where’s a session or two on awesome women in the Bible, like Esther, Miriam, Deborah, and Ruth, and what they teach us about Biblical womanhood? Why not tackle some hard topics, such as does God allow women to preach to/teach men, do women literally have to be silent in the church, or what Paul meant when he said women will be saved by childbirth. Even in terms of marriage, what about not settling for Mr. Good Enough because you’re in a rush to have God-honoring sex. Or having higher expectations for husbands than wives (since they’re the ones leading)?

Nevertheless, the topics are very on-point for their target audience (Christian girls wanting to be get married).