When Dr. RoseAnne Coleman speaks, she helps women find their place in the story of God. In addition to the Bible, she uses humor and her life experiences to draw in a crowd.

“I don’t come as the expert,” she says. “I tell you about what hasn’t worked in my life. I tell you about what Jesus has done and continues to do for me.”

Born in Sylacauga, Ala., she grew up as a preacher’s kid in the Southern Baptist denomination. She “graduated” 13 times from her father’s vacation Bible school. However, it wasn’t until she was age 23 that Jesus became alive to her.

While watching the movie “The Hiding Place,” the life story of Corrie Ten Boom, Dr. Coleman experienced Christianity in a freeing way. And she wants to do this by encouraging women into this experience, no matter where they might be on their spiritual journey.

“I want every woman to feel welcome, valued, and comfortable with who there are in God’s eyes, and then know our Savior is more than capable to grow them into who they are meant to be.”  

With a doctorate in English from Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro, Tenn., a masters degree in English from the University of Alabama in Birmingham, Ala., and a bachelors degree in English from Samford University in Birmingham, Ala., Dr. Coleman is not the average Bible teacher.

Although she could explain the Greek and Hebrew meanings of passages, she likes to simplify the scriptures for ordinary people. Since there is so much in the Bible that people can understand, she wants to help them grasp it and apply it to their daily lives. She is committed to the belief that her students can find joy in the journey of faith.

She encourages people to look for God in common, everyday ways. One of her themes is a “Penny For Your Thoughts,” showing evidences of God’s Presence in many ordinary instances of life. She loves spare change because she sees pennies as “kisses from heaven,” where God provides for her needs one penny at a time, according to his riches and glory.

As a former high school and middle school English teacher, she has mastered keeping the attention of an audience. In addition to her speeches at conferences, conventions and retreats, she regularly teaches Tuesday women’s Bible studies at Fellowship Bible Church in Brentwood, Tenn. She also welcomes women to Rose Hill in Williamson County, TN, an acre and a half in the country where RoseAnne grows vegetables and flowers and where the offices of RACM are located. Women and their children are welcome to come to weed, to pick flowers and vegetables, or just to sit and enjoy the peace of Rose Hill.

One of Dr. Coleman’s teaching techniques is to study “the words in red” in the New Testament, otherwise known as the words of Jesus.

“If you focus on 'the words in red,' you will find that the Lord Jesus knows exactly where we are and knows just how to meet us,” she says.

Making the story rise off the page into a 360-degree/three-dimensional reality is the most compelling signature way she engages her listeners into a real life experience of God’s word. Instead of viewing the Bible as “dead people stories,” she asks people to pretend what it would be like to be involved in the actual circumstances and moments. For instance, when discussing Luke 24, she asks her audience to imagine going to Jesus’ empty tomb with some of their close friends and to experience their interactions in relevant, “today” terms.

"If we don’t put our stories with these stories, then the evidence of the presence of God isn’t in the world,” she says. “If you can hear it, see it and feel it, you can begin to believe that a moment-by-moment life with God is real.”

Above all, Dr. Coleman emphasizes that God knows us in every way, even in all our secret places, so we never have to feel afraid or ashamed to come to Him just as we are. While people are often hesitant to be honest because they think they won’t gain acceptance from others, RoseAnne prizes truthfulness.

She offers the “Prayer of Jehoshaphat” as an example of straightforwardness. According to 2 Chronicles 18:31, “Jehoshaphat cried out, and the Lord helped him.”

“Jehoshaphat was at the wrong place at the wrong time,” she says. “You would think God wouldn’t listen to him. He didn’t have time to do good work. He didn’t repent. He just cried out. Since our God is a God of promises, God doesn’t break his covenant with us, no matter how stupid our actions or thoughts. That, my friend, is good news!”

Dr. Coleman instructs her listeners to ask God to continually renew their hearts and minds through His word and through constant dialogue with Him, both aspects at the core of being in an intimate relationship with Him.

“I always think there is some effort I need to put in, but it's God’s adequacy that matters,” she says. “I have nothing righteous that He does not give me. There is no performance involved in His love for us. My spiritual mother, Miss Helen Wright, used to always say that if God doesn’t do it, it doesn’t get done. So, we must trust God more than we distrust ourselves.”

Dr. Coleman is the author of “Moment by Moment: Touching the Face of God.” She also recorded “Pretty Good Music,” including songs she has written. Along with her book and music album, she offers two CD teaching series, “The Sermon on the Mount” and “The Words in Red.” All are available on her website.

Her newest feature is “Stones of Remembrance,” a line of necklaces and bracelets based on Joshua 4. Each of the pieces of jewelry has a stone with one of the following words –behold, believe, faith, hope, joy, laugh, love, pray, trust. These words are supposed to remind the wearer of God’s faithfulness. In addition to the jewelry, RoseAnne includes a laminated card with her Biblical perspective and definition for each separate word in comparison to the “According to Webster’s Dictionary” definition.

RoseAnne is able to disarm the women and win their trust. She says. “I’m no better and probably much worse in my struggles than my listeners, but God will meet us all. I am a desperate woman, who desperately needs a savior. And because of the love of God, I have Jesus.”

Dr. Coleman will be teaching a series in called, “The Desperate Women Tour,” in the 2005 fall and 2006 spring Bible studies at her church. She will take her listeners from one desperate, Old Testament person to another, showing their circumstances, how God cared for them, their response, and how all can learn from these elder brothers and sisters.