"Timely, necessary, and undeniable"As a pastor's wife for twenty-five years, Beth Allison Barr has lived with assumptions about what she should do and who she should be. This book draws on that experience and Barr's academic expertise to trace the history of an important leadership role for conservative Protestant women: the pastor's wife.Barr demonstrates how the rise of this role intersects with the decline of women's independent leadership in the church, and she charts a better path forward."Becoming the Pastor's Wife is clear, empowering, and unflinching in its critique of the role of the pastor's wife. Barr illuminates how churches have taken this role, which is not discussed in the Bible, and made it a cornerstone of church culture. She examines the myriad of ways women have led in the church and ministered to the congregation throughout the Bible and history. Barr offers us a new vision for women's active participation in the congregation and a new paradigm for women in ministry. Her work is timely, necessary, and undeniable."--Kellie Carter Jackson, chair of Africana studies, Wellesley College; author of We Refuse: A Forceful History of Black Resistance"With her signature exhaustive research and passionate yet nuanced arguments, Barr has given us the book that the church has desperately needed. Becoming the Pastor's Wife offers illuminating historical background and compelling biblical context for the role we've created for pastors' wives within our churches, and it provides a Christ-centered road map of freedom and flourishing waiting on the other side."--Sarah Bessey, editor of the New York Times bestseller A Rhythm of Prayer; author of Field Notes for the Wilderness: Practices for an Evolving Faith