What does it mean to be the “perfect” seminary wife?

This is “Bri’s Big Question” for back-to-school season, and the answer, it turns out, is, well … complicated, at best.

Being married to a pastor or seminary student (or any church worker or church work student, for that matter) can be as fraught with anxiety and expectation as it is filled with blessings. It’s a way of life that at various times calls for humility, flexibility, resilience, self-awareness, desperate faith, a dash of therapy, and a whole lot of love.

Drawing on the real-life experiences of sem-wife Bri and pastor’s-wife Rachel — and further informed by a range of voices from the Concordia Seminary Facebook wives group — this honest conversation offers hard-won practical wisdom both to women who are “married to the ministry” and to women who want to better understand and support the ministry families around them.

Connect with the Lutheran ladies on social media in The Lutheran Ladies’ Lounge Facebook discussion group (facebook.com/groups/LutheranLadiesLounge) and follow Sarah (@mrsbaseballpants), Rachel (@rachbomberger), Erin (@erin.alter), and Bri (@grrrzevske) on Instagram.