Amidst the chatter of many other conversations, the pitter patter of children moving about, and the atmosphere of people enjoying fellowship, Gretchen Wright and I sat down to chat after a Wednesday night service. Gretchen is married to Dr. Shawn Wright, who teaches classes in Church History at Southern. They have five boys, Benjamin, 14; Jonathan, 13; Aaron, 10; Nathan, 6; and Stephen, 4. She could be considered a veteran wife, mom, and disciple of Christ. Here’s a peek at our conversation!

Tell me about your conversion.

I grew up in a non-Christian family. We were church attendees but it didn’t go much beyond that and the church that we went to did not preach the Gospel. There were two events that “triggered” my conversion. The first was that in junior high my parents got divorced. That rocked my foundation and made me start to have a lot of questions. The second thing was that the town I grew up in was right next to the town that Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary was in, so our church had a lot of different seminary students that would volunteer helping out with the youth. There was a seminary student that shared the gospel with me. I don’t really remember a specific time that I was instantly converted, but it was more of a gradual process of understanding and accepting the Gospel. My sister became a believer a little before I did and I remember her influencing my spiritual growth at this time too. I was starting to read in Matthew early on in my conversion and I remember thinking, “Is this genealogy stuff all there is?” My sister pointed me to start reading in John instead! The youth group and my college years were very influential in my initial spiritual growth.

You and your family attend Clifton Baptist Church. Tell me what you appreciate most about the body of Christ there?

Oh, wow—so many things. One would be the constant reminder of why trusting in Christ is so needed. I love the humility of the church that is always saying, “We need Christ.” I love Tom’s (Schreiner) preaching that gives me such an understanding of scripture from clear preaching.

In what ways do you enjoy serving at church?

Well it has changed over the years as needs have changed. Right now I am involved in women’s ministry. I am currently, with another lady from church, meeting weekly with 12 women from the church. We are reading Holiness by Dorian Chapel and Instruments in the Redeemers Hands by Paul David Tripp. There are so many seminary wives at church and it is great to help equip them to be not confident in themselves, but confident in Christ.

Are you currently reading useful books?

Yes, I am reading Communion with God by John Owen. It’s an abridged version and a much easier read than the original. And it’s very good. It is about focusing on who Christ is and the benefits of the Gospel.

Do you have a favorite text of Scripture?

Hmm…can I have a whole book in the Bible?

Well sure!

I would have to say Colossians. In our Bible study, we are memorizing portions of Colossians and it is such a good book, because it tells us who we are, who Christ is, and how to live out the Gospel.

Do you have any helpful hints for memorizing Scripture?

I try to memorize portions of Scripture. I think it is better to get the whole idea of passages, not just a verse here and a verse there. I try to break the passage that I am trying to memorize down into chunks. I write the verses down on index cards and will flip through them as I am memorizing. I find that reviewing them while I shower is useful. My goal is to memorize one verse a week, but I will take the time to review what I am memorizing, so there are weeks when I am just reviewing what I have been memorizing.

How and when do you have a quiet time?

I find that fighting distractions is the hardest part of my quiet time. I find that I will be thinking about the grocery list, or what is next on my list to get done, or I’ll think about certain situations and either how I reacted or how I was hurt. So working on focusing my mind has been a tough challenge. I try to review the verses I am working on while I am in the shower and then when I get out of the shower I will read a portion from whatever devotional book I am currently reading. I will then read a portion of Scripture and then try to pray in response to what I have been reading and meditating on. I have found that writing notes as I am reading helps me to focus too.

Do you do this before your kids get up?

Oh yes, that’s my goal.

Do you have a particular way of organizing what you are praying for?

Yes, I have certain things that I pray for each day of the month. So, for example, on one day I’ll pray for health concerns of people in the church, the people in my small group, and then maybe a larger concept for the church. Then on another day I will be praying for the ladies in the Bible study and certain family concerns. I have found it very helpful to break it up like this; it’s better than having a running list of prayer concerns, because I feel like I can be more focused in my prayers and also not be praying all day long!

Did you have struggles with having a quiet time when all your children were really young, and looking back on that time, what do you wish you had done differently?

It was a struggle to have a consistent quiet time when all my kids were younger. I wish that I had realized more that God’s love for me was not conditioned on my having a quiet time. I wish I had meditated on His unconditional love, because this would have helped me to love him more and it would have helped me to have a desire to spend time with Him.

Do you have a particular story from your life that would be encouraging to the women of Boyce and Southern as they prepare for ministry?

For a period of about 10 years, especially when the kids were little, I had forgotten the Gospel. I lived in a legalistic way—doing certain things to get God to make circumstances go my way. I didn’t know that I was living this way until I was brought out of living like this. We lived in Turkey for a period of time and while we were there Shawn and I, along with a few others, were reading God’s Lesser Glory by Bruce Ware. I looked up all the Scripture references about who God is and it was like the scales on my eyes were peeled off. I began to see how big God is and how small I am and how I have to depend on Christ for salvation. I couldn’t look to my merits or works to manipulate God. I feel like a broken record, because I think most of my answers to your questions have been the Gospel, but the Gospel is SO important.

What advice do you have for the women preparing to be wives of ministers?

I think a lot of women feel pressure about being a pastor’s wife. Be yourself. Be willing to be honest and humble about where you struggle. This is a great example and you will lead more people to trust in Christ this way than trying to be perfect. Don’t think that you have to fulfill a certain set of duties. Ministry is going to look different for different people. The main point is to support your husband.

So do you have practical advise about how women should submit to their husbands?

Ultimately we have to trust God that he will lead our husbands, and even if mistakes are made it is our responsibility as women to trust that God is providentially guiding our husbands and our life. We need to remember that we are not in control. Because of what Ephesians 5 says and because Christ submitted to the Father, I can trust my husband. I don’t know if it’s just me, or all women, but I am really controlling. So we need to remember that God is in control.

What would you say to all those moms out there who are wondering how the Gospel gives practical guidance in disciplining children?

Hmm. That’s a great question. I think I try to communicate to my children that my love for them is not conditioned on what they do, just as God’s love for us is not conditioned on what we do. I want my children to do what is right because it is right and it brings them blessing. I make a point to tell my children after I have disciplined them that I love them because they are my boys. My love for them does not mean they will not be disciplined though! I use the opportunity to tell them that they are in need of a Savior—the discipline does not make their heart clean.

In closing, just for fun, what is your favorite restaurant in Louisville?

(She laughs in answering) With five kids we don’t eat out much, so if we do, our favorite restaurant becomes whichever one we have a gift certificate to!