'Deborah's Voice' Founder Tells Inspiration for Christian Women Rally in Nation's Capital
A movement to awaken Christian women will take place in Washington D.C. in two weeks to embolden them to speak out as "Deborah's" and minister to others who have been abused.
What is being called Deborah's Voice "Awake. Arise. Advance." will occur Sept. 29 at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Diane Mullins, who with her husband co-pastors a non-denominational church in Hamilton, Ohio and is the founder of Deborah's Voice, said in a phone interview with The Christian Post Friday that the genesis of this began in January of last year. As she watched the news the day after the inauguration of President Trump she saw thousands women marching on Washington saying all kinds of things with which she disagreed.
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"And what bothered me about it is that they began to say they were speaking for the women of America," Mullins said.
"I got very frustrated because they weren't speaking for me."
As a socially conservative Christian she felt her views were not represented "but I also want to minister in love to people and help people who are troubled and hurting," she said.
As her thoughts settled down, she asked herself: "Well then, where is your voice?"
Deborah's Voice was thus born.
The aim of the upcoming gathering is to "not stand politically, not stand judgmentally of anyone else, but have our own voice," she told CP.
While a response of sorts the Women's March, she stressed they are not attempting to be a antidote to them per se.
The name Deborah is drawn from Deborah in the Old Testament book of Judges.
In the fall of 2015, before a gathering in the nation's capital was even a thought in her head, Mullins woke up three nights in a row to a different word impressed upon her heart. The very first phrase she heard was "Awake, arise, advance." On night two, she woke up to the word "honeybee" ringing in her spirit. The third night she awoke to the word "Deborah."
She took these happenings as a cue from the Holy Spirit that she was to study the story of Deborah in the Old Testament more deliberately and soon realized the first time anyone in Scripture used the word "awake" appears in Judges 5, and it is Deborah who is speaking it. Deborah also happens to mean honeybee in Hebrew, Mullins observed.
"Deborah was the fourth female judge over Israel and for forty years the nation was at rest because she judged righteously. She was a mother, she was a wife. Before she became a judge she was a caretaker of the oil that went into the wicks that burned in the temple and it was said of her that she oozed with the oil."
In that spirit, "we just feel that women have a voice in this nation and we don't want the wrong voice. Our belief system is just that we want to show Who we believe in, and who we are because of Whose we are."
A variety of women from all walks of life will be speaking, including Gigi Graham, the eldest daughter of the late evangelist Billy Graham, and Genelle Guzman-McMillan, the last survivor to be pulled out from the rubble of the Twin Towers following the 9/11 attacks.
The speakers intend to emphasize how Christ can heal and make people whole. In addition to speakers, testimonies and worship will take place as will drama and dance presentations. Dr. Marlene Carson from Columbus, Ohio, will be speaking from her experience of being mired in human trafficking for 15 years. There will be opportunities for women who have been victims of trafficking and domestic violence to receive ministry.
"It's a day of freedom and liberty for all," Mullins said.
"It's so important that we take a stand for Christ and who we believe in. And we want to give women who are broken, we want to let them know that there is hope."
