Women’s Voices in Worship Assemblies

To the “brothers and sisters” in the Corinthian church, the Apostle Paul wrote, “When you come together, each of you has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. Everything must be done so that the church may be built up.” 1 Cor. 14:26. Eight verses later, he instructed, “Women should remain silent in the churches. . . . If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home[.]” Yet three chapters earlier in this same letter, he opined, “[E]very woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is the same as having her head shaved.” 1 Cor. 11:4-5 (forbidding such head coverings for praying or prophesying men).

What were the Corinthians doing before receiving these instructions, and what did Paul want them to change? What relevance does Paul’s instruction (here and elsewhere) on women’s participation in worship have for us?

These important questions are explored in Women Serving God: My Journey in Understanding Their Story in the Bible (2020) by John Mark Hicks, Ph.D. Hicks recently retired as a Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University. He taught full-time there and at other institutions affiliated with Churches of Christ for more than forty years.

Hicks’s book explains why his views on women's roles in the church have evolved. Influenced by traditional interpretations, he acknowledges that initially he thought that women should have no leadership role, but based on a deeper engagement with Scripture, historical research, and theological reflection, he now thinks otherwise. First, restrictive directives in 1 Cor. 14 and elsewhere resulted from some women’s disrupting worship assemblies, promoting false teachings or behaving immodestly. Second, historical evidence suggests that early Christian worship permitted individual women’s voices. Third, this and other roles find support in the overarching theological themes and principles of Scripture. For example, in Acts 2:17-18, Apostle Peter explained that Pentecost’s manifestation of the Holy Spirit fulfilled the prediction (by Old Testament prophet Joel) that the Holy Spirit would empower both men and women to prophesy. Likewise, in Galatians 3:28, Apostle Paul emphasizes the equality of all believers in Christ. Hicks contends that God created women to function as co-workers with men in fulfilling God's purposes, and they have done just that, as various Biblical passages describe. Fourth, cultural and social factors may have unduly influenced contrary interpretations of these and other scriptures.

The Reading Circle (RC) will discuss this book via Zoom on March 25. One of our congregation’s former Elders, Lamar Reinsch (a retired professor at Abilene Christian, Georgetown, and Lubbock Christian universities), will lead our discussion. You are welcome to join even if you have not read the book. Contact me or new RC leader Robert Younger (another of our congregation’s former Elders) for details on how.

- Lloyd