Colleen Searcy

Colleen loves to give women courage—courage to teach, lead, and read their Bibles. And she finds a lot of joy in sharing the tools she has learned over the years. She is creator of Meet Me in the Bible, a doable 5-step framework for studying the Bible and leading others to do the same.

Colleen is on staff at The Village Church in Flower Mound, Texas, where she leads and teaches the Women’s Bible Study and serves as the Director of Women’s Ministry. She also speaks and leads workshops at conferences throughout the year.

She enjoys cheering on her two sons, Sam and Tate, and her husband, Wes, as he mobilizes students to help plant churches around the world.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Colleen's Story

I love algebra.

And I love to cook.

If you follow the steps in algebra, you get the right answer. 

If you follow the recipe for chocolate cake, the result is chocolate cake.

I like when a + b = c.

 
 
 
 

My childhood was filled with a lot of love and a lot of Bible stories.  We were in church every Sunday, and I soaked in the stories of Joseph, Sarah, and Moses.  I wanted to do life correctly like these heroes of the faith.  Because of my tendency toward formulaic thinking, my naive childhood observation was that Christianity was a formula that worked.  In other words, if I do a and b, I’ll get c as a result.

 

Two unsound formulas unintentionally developed in my mind as I grew up:

  • do right things + believe the Bible = a good life without struggles

  • do bad things + disregard the Bible = a difficult life with a lot of struggles

 

I entered into my late 20’s having followed the rules. I thought I had done right things and believed the Bible, but a + b was not delivering c. Instead I was getting x, an unknown and unwelcome result of difficulty.  Oh, the hours I spent trying to figure out what I was not doing right!  Was I messing up a or b? 

 

A new formula surfaced:

  • a + b = x (unknown)

 

I did not know what to do with x.  

  • x came in the form of doctors’ reports that stated we would not be able to have children.

  • x was a beloved pastor and friend being killed in a car accident in the prime of his life and ministry.

  • x was me being shut out of a relationship that was very dear to me, no matter what I did to try to reconcile.

 
 

My formula was not working.

 
 

God was gracious to allow my formulaic thinking to fail.  The Bible is not a book of formulas for a struggle-free life. There are certainly God-given boundaries and commands, and it matters that we obey His commands. His commands are perfect, sure, and righteous, and in keeping them there is great reward (Psalm 19).  They are for our good, yet they are not formulas that deliver a life without difficulty or heartache. 

When I stopped looking for a formula, I started getting caught up in the overarching story of the Bible: God created a peaceful and orderly world where He would dwell with the people He made. Our sin messed up the peace and order. All people will feel the conflict and chaos that resulted from sin. But God is with us in the conflict and chaos. His Son came to rescue us from sin and its effects, and one day, He will restore the peace and order in a world made new.

 

The broad-scale story of the Bible helped me better understand the stories of the heroes of faith. Joseph, Sarah, and Moses ultimately flourished not because they did a + b, but because God was with them in their conflict and chaos. God was faithful in each of their unique stories.

 Joseph’s story is different than Sarah’s. Sarah’s story is different than Moses’. 

  • Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison after he did the right thing. Then after years of being a slave and a prisoner, Joseph was placed over all of Egypt - second only to Pharaoh. And God’s people were preserved through Joseph’s leadership.

  • Sarah shouldered the pain of being childless for most of her life, then after menopause God chose her to begin a nation for Himself.

  • Moses was slow of speech and hesitant to lead, yet God used him to speak to the most powerful man on earth and lead God’s people out of slavery.

These stories are not struggle-free.  They are good because these heroes of the faith knew God and God is good.  Like Joseph and Sarah and Moses, you and I have been invited into the very story of a faithful God who dwells with His people. 

 

This is why I teach the Bible. I have to tell His story and invite others into it.

 

And here is my new formula:

a + b = x (unknown)

BUT

God > x