Popular for her Social Media ministry, Adara Sherron née Butler is an empowerment specialist to women and men in all ages and stages of life. Adara diligently shares her journey with humor and transparency, whilst stressing that you can be cool, still be a Christian, and enjoy your everyday life.
In August 2016, She self published her first book titled, “A Prodigal Princess” and is currently working on a sequel. She shares with Leading Ladies Africa among other things how she deals with societal expectations and how marriage has changed her.
Let’s start with your name “ADARA” What does it mean?
Adara means beauty, nobility, and virtue in Hebrew.
Great! So did you at any point forsee a future that involved doing what you do today- amplifying the reputation of Christ through your lifestyle leveraging social media?
Absolutely not, becoming a social influencer was the last thing in my plans. But you know what they say: if you want to make God laugh….tell Him your plans.
What was growing up like? I grew up in a two parent- traditional Christian home with my siblings. I had a very blessed childhood.
Your story is intriguing and you shared quite a lot about it in your book “A Prodigal Princess” Can you share a bit of it highlighting your greatest struggles/insecurities, and how you eventually made the decision to step into what you do now?
That is a little tough to answer in such a short time. I had to write the book because it so explained my journey. I did not really “decide” to become an influencer it just sort of unfolded that way when I took my social media pages off private settings and began to share with the public my life before and after accepting Jesus.
Let’s talk about your book, how was the writing process for you? Therapeutic? Did you face any peculiar challenges writing the book?
The writing was challenging because like anything else worthwhile it requires discipline. Since I was writing about myself, it wasn’t necessarily hard to do but it did require much focus and discipline.
From your own experience, what would you say is the greatest thing holding women back from stepping into all that God has called them to be?
Sometimes we are afraid of how we will be received- what people will think or say–and we even struggle with fear about branching out into something new.
Adara, you might have noticed that it is becoming increasingly cool to identify as “Christian” in this present clime especially with the millennial Christian Pop culture at an all time high. In light of this, in what specific ways would you advise a Christian to manage distractions and focus on their path.
You have to spend personal time with God and make sure your private life matches your public one. Distractions come when we are not direct and intentional about the allocation of our time and energy. Anyone can put the phrase “God first” in their social media handles but it takes true sons and daughters to apply this in practice to every aspect of their lives.
On authenticity, What advice do you have for women struggling with coming to terms with their past and taking a leap by sharing their stories?
The advice I would give is to take God at His word where he says there is no condemnation to those in Christ ( Romans 8:1). That means the prison of guilt is no longer where you have to reside and you can be free to forgive yourself because you are forgiven.
Let’s talk about marriage, has marriage in anyway changed the way you view life? How so?
Marriage has changed the way I view everything. It has made me more appreciative of life and made me realize I have so much more to learn about life.
You are an empowerment specialist- what does that entail and why the specific focus on women?
I don’t readily identify as an empowerment specialist. I think that it would be giving me too much credit to call me that. I do identify as an encourager. I simply encourage others through the word of God. Although I speak to both men and women, the focus is on women as I can relate more to women as a woman myself.
Digressing a bit, have you ever experienced the “imposter syndrome” what is your take on it and how do you deal with it?
I am not sure that I have. Or maybe I have and I was so focused on my assignments I did not give it any attention.
If you could speak to your 25 year-old-self, what will you tell her?
I would tell her that nothing and no one will ever fill her or love her the way Jesus will.
What do you look out for before mentoring women?
At this time I do not have any private mentees but I do pour into the women who are part of the church my husband and I pastor. I look for ways to be a blessing to them and build them up.
Adara you represent so many things to different people, but let’s put the spotlight on being a preacher and being a preachers wife. How do you deal with the expectations and standards you are “obligated” to live up to. What is your advise for other preachers wife out there?
I stopped trying to live up to other people’s obligations and expectations on day two of being a pastor’s wife (laughs). The people who feel they need to have expectations of others are the ones who need the most work. Those are the kinds of people who are on my prayer list. As a pastor’s wife, my advice to other pastor’s wives is to be unified with your husband and keep ministry and marriage within healthy boundaries that do not come out of bounds.
What would you like to be remembered for?
I want to be remembered as a kind woman who really loved God, who loved life, and who was a very funny lady!
The Leading Ladies Africa Series is a weekly interview series that focuses on women of African descent, showcases their experiences across all socio-economic sectors, highlights their personal and professional achievements and offers useful advice on how to make life more satisfying for women.
It is an off-shoot of Leading Ladies Africa; an initiative that seeks to effectively mentor and inspire women, with particular emphasis on the African continent.
Do you know any woman of African descent doing phenomenal things? Send an email to lead@leadingladiesafrica.org and we just might feature her.
