Women's Roles in Worship (Probably Part 1)

Hey guys. I hate leaving my engagement story but I guess I will have to keep blogging. Thanks for all of the well-wishes. I am STILL the happiest man in the world! The wedding will be July 18th in Kansas, so be there!

One of my students from last year recently got in touch with me to ask me a biblical question she is wrestling with: What is a woman's role in church? Here's part of her email:

"Is it ok for girls to read scripture during Bible class at churchand at school?? I've read the Bible about this, and gotten my parents opinion. I would really love to hear your input on this situation.
I know the Bible says for women to be silent during church and to ask their husbands questions afterward...but I don't have a husband (haha). so, do I count as a child? is it based on age or spiritual maturity?"

I have recently emailed my student back, and I am going to share my email with you guys. I would value your input. Some of you will think it is a little to "left-leaning." Others of you won't think it is as "progressive" as you think it should be. Sorry... this is where I sit as I have studied it. I have a feeling my ideas might change as I get older/study more/progress in my faith. BUT... this is where I sit as of now:

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Dear _________-

Hey there. Sorry it has taken me a while to get back to you. I completely apologize; ministry/life have both been busy. I hope life is going great for you. How are things with _______?

Getting down to your question: What should a woman's role be concerning scripture reading, worship, etc...

Here are my thoughts (take it for what it is worth.) The passage you are referring to is found in 1 Cor. 15, where it tells women to remain silent in church and ask questions of their husbands at home. Intriguingly, however, we often leave out 1 Cor. 11:5, which discusses what a woman should do WHEN she prays/prophesies in the assembly. Intriguingly, the church in Corinth was (partially) founded by a woman: Aquila and Priscilla were part of Paul's team to reach out to the Corinthian people, and they stayed around after Paul left for another location, and then eventually wind up moving to Ephesus. Interestingly, when we first meet Aquila and Priscilla, Aquila the husband is mentioned first. But throughout the rest of the Bible, anytime they are referred to the Biblical authors put Priscilla's name first. (Quite possibly to reveal who was the more dominant one for the gospel.)

1 Timothy 2:9-15 is also used in our discussions of women's roles in church. It tells us that women are not permitted to teach or have authority over a man, for they must be silent. There are two things I thing that are important to remember here: at this moment Timothy is in Ephesus, where Priscilla and Aquila were (once) workers for the Gospel. Secondly, we don't follow the instructions Paul sets out for men in 1 Timothy 2:8, but we hold 9-15 to be binding.

One of the problems about taking verses of Scripture and quickly trying to build an argument is that we never ask the question, "Why are these things written? What is going on within the churches in Corinth and Ephesus that causes Paul to say these things?" I think the situation is the most important part of the whole question. From reading the entire book of 1 Corinthians, we realize that the Corinthians are having a hard time respecting one another within the church. It seems as if the married women are questioning their husband's abilities to preach/teach the Gospel and making them look foolish in front of the church. In 1 Timothy the cultural situation is even harder to grasp, because the book is written to address Timothy's needs. It seems as if the women are trying to call attention to themselves through their wardrobe/accessories and through their disrespect in the assembly.

Wow, this is really long. I am sorry. Sadly, I'm not even done yet! =)

I think that 1 Cor. 11 sheds some light on women's roles within church. They do have a role; Paul even allows them to prophesy and pray. The question becomes, “Who is in charge?” Paul places women under the authority of men by tossing the argument back to Creation (and in 1 Timothy, by reminding them of the consequences of their disobedience in the Garden.) Paul tells them that Christ is the head of man and man is the head of woman (yours might say husbands/wives, but the words for man and husband and wife/woman are the same.) Thus, men are placed above women in the church. However, we are to also be reminded that Christ is the head of both, and men are to treat their wives with love and respect just as Christ loves the church. We are to place the needs of one another above our own needs.

So… what does all of this mean? I have no idea. =) Just kidding. Here’s what it means for me. I believe that women have a role to play in worship and in Bible class. That is why I ask the girls/young women to read and pray in class. The question is, who is in control? Ultimately, the Bible class teacher is the one in authority. Within the church, it is ultimately the elders who are in authority (under Christ.) Thus, any time I ask a woman to do something in Bible class, I believe that I am helping them fulfill the commandment in 1 Cor. 11, because her “head” is covered by my authority. (Really LOOOOOOOOONG explanation there that I didn’t include here, but I do have a grad school paper I wrote that was 20+ pages long if you are REALLY interested!)

I think we have done women a great disservice by not allowing them to have roles within class and worship. The fact is, women were a large part of early Christianity. The faithfulness of men AND women caused the church to spread, and a number of women are mentioned throughout the later NT for their faithfulness, their desire to serve God, and their willingness to host churches within their homes. There are even female deacons in Scripture (1 Tim. 3:11.)

So, can a woman speak, ask questions, read the Bible, and pray in class? My argument is yes, they can. I would draw the line at preaching, however, because a woman is supposed to be under the authority of a man.

Wow, this is long and I apologize. I hope it helps. If you have other questions, please let me know! I might not have answered them all.

In Christ,
Daniel <><
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What are your thoughts? Where is my logic flawed? (I personally don't think it is.) Please realize this is a SHORTENED version of what I have come to in my own thinking.

I do think that I need to state this: I believe that there are things that women are ALLOWED to do that I am not yet comfortable with. My own personal comfort would be stretched and pushed by my theology here. However, I DO believe that certain worship practices are acceptable and biblical.

What are your own thoughts? Where do you agree or disagree? I value each of your insight and I want to hear from you (whether you agree with me or not.)

Thanks for your time! I have a feeling we will discuss this topic more.

Engagement Story

For those of you who don’t know… Megan and I are officially engaged! It happened on October 21^st. Many of you will want to hear the story, so I guess I am going to go ahead and write it down so that you can read it (and I won’t have to repeat it 37,000 times in the next month! No offense…) Hopefully you will enjoy it almost as much as we did!

I had been trying to hold out until November 6^th before I asked Megan (the anniversary of the time we decided to see each other over Thanksgiving break), but the ring was burning a hole in my pocket. Actually, I have had the ring for the last (almost) two months, after we went ring shopping and Megan found one that she refused to take off. I snuck back later and put down a down-payment on the ring so she could have EXACTLY the one she wanted…

I arranged with Megan’s friend Amy to take Megan to dinner. Amy came up with a devious plan to convince Megan to dress up a little and then brought her to McAlister’s, where I was waiting in the back booth. Amy came in and went to the bathroom, and she called me to go out front and surprise Megan. She was totally shocked! =) Then I told Megan I was stealing her away for the evening, but I am going to pay for the two of them to have dinner soon. Megan got in the car, where she found a rose in her seat waiting for her.

As we left the restaurant Megan was totally shocked and kept asking where we were going. I told her “I don’t know,” but she didn’t believe me! Eventually I looked at her and said, “We are going to Topeka.” She replied with, “Nuh-uh! I don’t believe you! Are we really?” As we kept driving, however, she realized that I was serious. As we drove along I was talking 90 miles a minute about anything and everything. So much for not being nervous! I had burned a CD of songs that described our story, reminded me of her, or played a significant part in our relationship. We listened to that as we drove to Topeka.

As we got into town I told Megan that she had to close her eyes until we got to our destination. I drove to the plaza around the state capital, where I pulled over and parked the car. The question you must be asking is, “Why in the world would you go to the state capital of Kansas to get engaged?!?” Well, I’ll tell you…

“Did you know that the state capital dome is green because it is made out of copper and it oxidizes? And there is an Indian on top pointing at the North Star named Ad Aspora, because of the state motto…”

Megan and I go through this conversation every time one of us drives through Topeka. The very first weekend I came to visit her she told me this story as we drove to Manhattan. Two days later, as we were driving back to the airport, Megan forgot she had told me the story and proceeded to explain it all again. I listened politely all the way through, then looked at her and said, “Umm… baby? I know. You’ve told me all this before. Two days ago…” Thus, our tradition was born! So what better place to choose than the state capital!

We got out of the car and walked over to the steps near the visitors’ entrance. We stood and talked together for a while, and I began to talk about our relationship and how I couldn’t wait to be her husband. The state motto of Kansas is “To the stars through difficulty…” I told Megan that our relationship had been such an amazing journey and was a total blessing from God, and being married to her would be reaching for the stars. Our life together would be full of ups and downs, good times and bad times, joy and some sorrow, but there was no one I wanted to face the journey with more than her. We stood and held each other for a while, then I asked her, “Question?” (To which she always replies, “Answer.”) I turned her to face me, got down on one knee, and asked her to be my wife! And Megan (while crying and turning red) said, “Absolutely!” I picked her up and twirled her around (after we kissed.)

As we got back to the car I reached behind her seat and pulled out an envelope. It contained a letter I had written to Megan in February when I realized I wanted to marry her. I had sealed it and given it to her in March, but I told Megan that she wasn’t allowed to open it until I told her she could. She filed it away in her filing cabinet so she wouldn’t be too tempted! So, I arranged with one of her roommates to come over today and steal the letter back. I came by and took it from her room, but I left a present behind. I had bought a dozen roses for Megan, and I arranged 11 of them in a vase and placed it on her desk. (She found them once we returned home that night.)

As we drove to the restaurant Megan read her letter and gave me a huge hug. When we got to Paisano’s we were shown to our table. After we ordered I went to the “bathroom” by way of my car. I had bought Megan a Willow Tree figurine, the “Promise”. It shows a couple holding hands as if they are dancing. It is one of her favorites and she wants to use it as her cake topper in the wedding. I had wrapped it that morning and placed it in the trunk. I snuck out and brought it inside and gave it to our waiter, who brought it to our table! We had an amazing Italian dinner, and then the restaurant treated us to cheesecake before we left. (Seriously, check out Paisano’s in Topeka or in Lawrence if you are ever there!)

As we drove home we talked, Megan stared at her ring, and we called all of our family members to tell them about our engagement!

Thanks to all of you who have been a part of our story so far. Our lives are richer for having known you. And we thank you for rejoicing with us in our engagement. Our wedding will be July 18^th at Northside Church of Christ in Wichita, probably around 2 pm.

The Bride of Christ

Nothing is more beautiful than a bride on her wedding day! For those of you at Nick and Lindsay’s wedding, you understand what I am talking about. Brides have such a glow as they walk down the aisle, her eyes only on her (soon-to-be) husband. At that moment she is the most beautiful person in the world.

I have always enjoyed turning and watching the groom’s face as his bride walks down the aisle. (And yes, I had the idea before watching “27 Dresses.” Hmm… maybe I shouldn’t have admitted watching that out loud…) His eyes light up, a smile beams across his face, and often tears begin to well up as he sees his beautiful bride coming towards him.

Now, both individuals have their imperfections and their flaws. Neither one of them is perfect. But they have chosen to love one another and dedicate themselves to one another, and at that moment all they see is the perfect person standing right beside them.

God uses this same metaphor to describe his relationship with his church. In Revelation 19, John is invited to the wedding celebration of the Lamb. John describes his vision:

“Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: "Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear…” Then the angel said to me, "Write: 'Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb!' " And he added, "These are the true words of God.”

We, as Christians, are the Bride of Christ! We have been chosen by God to be his bride, his chosen one. Yes, we have our fault and flaws. No, we aren’t perfect. But God has chosen us, and because of that we have been made perfect! And at the moment of that wedding celebration God believes that we are the perfect ones to be standing right beside him. Because of his great love for us we have fallen in love with him.

May we always remain faithful to the one who loves us this much!

Lament as Worship

In American, we believe in “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness..." It is our constitutional right, according to the laws of our land. Happiness is anything that makes me feel good, anything that gives me a momentary high or makes me feel better (if only for a moment).I believe that we in religious circles have fallen into the same trap. We believe that God desires our personal happiness, and if we aren’t happy then there must be something wrong with us. How many of you have ever heard the phrase, “God wouldn’t mind. He just wants me to be happy.” One of the ministers who best exemplifies this way of thinking is Joel Osteen, minister of the 40,000 member Lakewood Church in Houston, TX and author of bestselling Your Best Life Now. On his weekly TV program I routinely hear him say something to the effect of, “God will give you fulfillment, he will provide for the new car, he will give you the new job, because God just wants to bless you. He just wants you to be happy.” With all respect to Joel, I wonder if he’s ever read the book of Job or Habakkuk... The fact is, we are so concerned about what makes US happy that we assume that the same things will make GOD happy…

Similarly, I’ve heard this statement too many times before: "You have depression?!? Well, if you just had more faith then you wouldn’t be depressed!" OR “You just need to trust God more…” Or some other version of the same statement.

We are so concerned over our personal happiness that we think it trumps everything else. If we aren’t happy then there is something wrong with me, other people, the world, or (most importantly) GOD! Because God just wants me to be happy.

* I have HUGE theological problems with this mindset, mainly because our own happiness could and WILL lead us to

Aside from the major theological ramifications of this thinking, I have another problem with this mindset: It negates an entire range of human emotion and experience. It essentially tells us that there is no place for sadness, grief, suffering, complaining, etc. It simply tells us that we cannot be CHristians if these things are present! But the fact is that the world is full of suffering, both personal and communal
1. Victims of war
2. Victims of violence: Virginia Tech, etc.
3. Children who are forgotten and abandoned, even within their own homes
4. Etc.

At times our own lives are, at times, full of grief
1. Loneliness: away from home, away from loved ones
2. Lost friendships, lost relationships, lost opportunities
3. Sickness, of yourself or a family member
4. Someone close passes away and you wonder why

I want to tell you a secret: It’s ok to be sad and it’s ok to be angry, and it’s ok to yell and scream at God and wonder why. Indeed, it is the essence of relationship!

Part of a relationship with God is being able to question, to ask the big questions, to have doubts and wonder if God cares.

It’s ok to have times of lamenting towards God. Indeed, what we find out in Scripture is that not only is it ok to lament towards God, it is a part of worship!
It can be worship to question God and to wrestle with understanding him and his ways! Indeed, approximately 1/3 of all psalms are songs of lament.

Guidance from the Lament Psalms:
According to Rodney Plunkett, there are five elements that are typically contained in a lament
psalms
1. Address God: With a term of respect.
2. Complaint to God
3. Request for help
4. Affirmation of trust
5. Vow to praise God
“Lord, here is my complaint, and I trust you to help. And I promise to give you glory!”

Lamenting doesn't mean just complaining about all of our personal problems in our own lives. Laments in the Bible are both 1^st person and 3^rd person: we are learning to lament for ourselves and for others as we live in the midst of community. We are called to lament and question at the injustice, oppression, and violence that goes on around us. Indeed, if we don't I fear we have missed the point. We are called to be angry about the injustice in our world, because these things make God angry too!

Anything worth talking about is worth praying (and lamenting) about. And anything worth praying about is worth doing something about. Thus, we are called to lament AND to be instruments of peace.

Let us live as people who lament about our world but don't just stop at the complaining... Let us be willing to take action as well.

Jamaica's Gotta Soccer Team!

(Kingston, Jamaica)

On Saturday evening, the Jamaican soccer team beat Mexico 1-0 in World Cup Qualifying. All I have to say is this: Goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaalllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll!

I have never liked the Mexican soccer team. They have the WORST attitude. During the last US/Mexico match (in which the US beat Mexico), the Mexican squad walked off the field without shaking hands OR exchanging jerseys. That's a big, Big, BIG no-no in the soccer world. I mean, come on... Even Iraq and Iran exchange jerseys after matches, and then go back to shooting one another. Egypt and Israel shake hands after the match is done. And the US grants amnesty to any Cuban player who can get out of their hotel!

But leave it to the Mexicans... they want our salaries, but not our sweaty jerseys. Jamaica, good on ya!

"Hey ma', you gotta believe... Jamaica's gotta soccer team!"

Simple vs. Easy

Being a follower of Christ is simple, but it was never meant to be easy!

That statement might surprise you, shock you, discourage you, or anger you. But I wanted to let you in on Christ’s secret: it isn’t easy to be a follower of Christ. Honestly, it never was. In a conversation with his followers in John 6, Jesus’ message drives away the thousands who have been following him. Jesus tells his disciples that if they want to be first in the kingdom then they must be last and the servant of all. Jesus tells the rich man that the only way to be his follower is to sell everything and give it all to the poor. We are told to love our enemies, turn the other cheek, do not be angry, stop lusting… all countercultural ideas in both Jesus’ time and in ours. Jesus never tells his disciples it will be easy to follow him; indeed, he tells them it will be anything but!

It isn’t easy to be a follower of Christ. But it is rather simple. Simply put, if we want to become a true follower of Christ we must be willing to give up everything and put ourselves (and our desires) last for the sake of the Kingdom. Jesus tells his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:24-26). In the Greco-Roman world, nothing was more shameful than a cross. The cross was reserved for thieves, terrorists, and enemies of the state. Crucified criminals were taunted and ridiculed by all who saw them. Thus, Jesus’ simple instructions to his disciples shouldn’t bring much joy. Jesus is calling his disciples to be so radically different from the world that they would be (at times) ridiculed, taunted, and even killed for their beliefs. It isn’t easy to be a Christian, but the idea sure is simple.

What does it mean for us to be simple Christians? What would it look like in our workplace, our classroom, our families? How would our lives be different if we decided each morning to take up our cross no matter what may happen? How would our world be different? What would change if we were willing to give it all up for the sake of the Kingdom? What would life be like if we decided to practice simple Christianity? Being a Christian is simple, but it sure isn’t easy.

Honor/Shame and Individual Holiness

I recently posted on Ben Witherington's blog about rights vs. gifts, and I argued that we in American are so focused on individualism that we have lost any sense of honor/shame. I sincerely think that we must regain a sense of honor/shame in order to fix the moral problems that pervade American culture.

I ended with the phrase "God doesn't necessarily want us to be happy, he wants us to be holy." My personal opinion is that the things that make us happy are not always the things that God would have us do. Many students here at KU are made happy by getting plastered, sleeping around, and skipping class. The last time I checked these things didn't make you holy; indeed, God speaks out against them! (Except the whole class cutting thing... But I digress...)

One respondee took up my comments and stated, "What is holiness to you? How you define holiness is everything! And becasue we may disagree to what that means, also means that we must not make the assessment for others. Your holiness is not mine..." I am intrigued by her statement. The problem facing our culture (both secular and Christian) today is that everyone thinks they have the right to define holiness for themselves. The Bible is very clear: We are called to be holy BECAUSE God is holy. God's holiness defines what holiness is, not our broken or shallow definitions. Holiness is defined by God.

She goes on to say that God wants us to have an abundant life filled with blessings. I think this sorely misses the point of the entire Bible! God's desire is not for our health and wealth, despite what Joel Osteen might tell us. God does NOT promise us great material blessings; read the end of Habakkuk: "Though there are no sheep in the pens, cattle in the stalls, crops in the fields..." God doesn't promise us great material blessings as a result of our following him; rather, he promises us he will be faithful to us if we are faithful to him...

The problem is that we see the blessings of God as our right rather than our gift. God doesn't owe us stuff because we follow him; sometimes it brings more heartache, pain, and persecutions! As Jesus reminds his disciples, "I tell you the truth," Jesus replied, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life..." (Mark 10:29-30)

What God wants is for us to live lives that honor and glorify him through our holiness. That is our RIGHT and what, consequently, is RIGHT to do in our lives...