We’re about to start a brand new series where I answer your head covering / 1 Corinthians 11 questions. In this video I explain how you can participate by recording and sending in your video questions.
It’s finally here! Today I’m excited to announce the release of my book Head Covering: A Forgotten Christian Practice For Modern Times. I started writing this book in 2009, so it’s a tremendous blessing to finally be able to release it after seven years of revising and re-vamping, while waiting for the right time to publish.
You can get yourself a copy today in paperback or Kindle by clicking the button below.
If you’d like to know more about this book, please visit this page.
If you consider yourself a part of this movement, here are a few ways you can help me get the word out about this teaching.
In 1 Corinthians 11, the Apostle Paul commands the practice of head covering when praying and prophesying. One of the most common objections to this being practiced today is the belief that Paul only commanded it for that specific culture. Whenever someone says this, the first thing I want to ask them is, “which culture?” Corinth was multi-cultural city. So which culture was Paul telling the Corinthian believers to adapt to? In this series of posts we will examine the three different cultures that are relevant, which are Greek, Roman, and Jewish cultures. Today we will answer the question, did Paul command head covering so that believers would not offend Jewish culture?
The Jerusalem Council
Around A.D. 48-49, the apostles and elders met together in Jerusalem to debate what was required of gentile believers who were coming to God. Some of the Pharisees said that Gentiles had to “be circumcised and to keep the Law of Moses” (Acts 15:5). This belief was what led to the council being called. After discussing and debating the issue, they came to a conclusion. They articulated this by letter which was delivered to the churches. Here’s what it said:
For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you [gentiles] no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. (Acts 15:28-29 ESV)
The Gentiles were instructed to abstain from four different things so that they would not offend Jewish custom. There was nothing further to be required of them so that there may be “no greater burden”. They didn’t need to be circumcised, they didn’t need to observe feasts and festivals, they didn’t need to do specific washings, and they didn’t need to cover/uncover their heads. No other Jewish practices would be required of Gentile believers. This is significant as the church in Corinth was comprised primarily of gentiles (1 Cor 12:2). So, if Paul were to command the Gentile Corinthians to practice headcovering in order to avoid offending the Jews, that would be contradictory to edict passed down from the Jerusalem council. Read more
[Series introduction: This post is part of a series that will examine what certain leaders in church history believed about head covering. Their arguments, choice of language and conclusions should not be misconstrued as an endorsement from us. The purpose of this series is to faithfully show what they believe about covering rather than only selectively quoting the parts we agree with.]
In May 1926, Arthur Pink addressed the congregation of Particular Baptist Church in Sydney, Australia. His topic was “Headship” and the sermon text was 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. Through this sermon we come to understand what Pink believed about the symbol of head covering.
He believed that the symbol should be practiced today and distanced himself from the cultural view. He said that “there are some who claim that much in this first epistle to the Corinthians only had to do with local conditions that then existed and does not apply to the churches of God today. I emphatically deny it.” He also didn’t see this as an insignificant matter. He knew that “there is nothing small or trivial in the things of God” and that “big doors swing on little hinges.” That’s why he exhorted his congregation on this passage. Through his words we see that head covering in Australia was losing popularity even in the 1920’s. He said that wearing one may “cause the world to sneer” and “bring upon you the taunt of ‘old-fashioned'”. He also mentioned that there was “fashion which is increasingly popular among women today” of cutting their hair short, which he was strictly against. This was the era of the first wave of feminism and we see that it was already having a negative impact on biblical gender roles and distinctions. Read more
It’s been many months since I updated you on the progress of my forthcoming book on head covering. In this video I let you know how close we are and I unveil (pun intended) the book cover.
So I’m sitting with a dear friend recently, a good pastor, with my heart breaking as he told me of a massive exodus in his church by women, who according to him, “Took their husbands and left.” My friend was hurting. Badly. I so get that, because I’ve been there.His crime? Seeking to teach and apply God’s directions for the order of home and church.Scripture lays out CLEARLY the distinct and complementary roles of men and women in the home and church. CLEARLY. Think about the number of clear precepts: 1 Tim 2, 1 Tim 3, Titus 1, Titus 2, 1 Cor 11, 1 Cor 14, Eph 5, Col 3, 1 Pet 3, etc. What else would Christ have to say to convince us? Yet we have a better plan. And our plan is terrible. People are getting hurt. Churches are getting hurt. Marriages are getting hurt. Culture has lost the light of the church. We have blatantly disobeyed God’s order for HIS church and we are paying a terrible price. Below is the most controversial sermon I’ve ever preached in my nearly 20 years of pastoring our church, and the most watched. It cost me members and friends (literally), but also gained me some as well, by the mercy of God. People are still calling, emailing, and even visiting our church from other states (two years later!) because we were bold enough to actually preach this sermon. Just yesterday, I met another brother in Christ from another state, who found this sermon, and now gets his family up early every Sunday to watch what God is doing in our church before he goes to his. I’m amazed because this just keeps happening. God has sense of humor! 🙂 In it, some of these issues are touched upon. May the Lord give us the strength to obey His Holy Word.
Source: Controversy…but NEEDED! — Calvary Revival Church Chesapeake
In this video Elizabeth McGee explains what a head covering means according to the Bible. If you’ve ever been asked “why are you wearing that?” this is how you can answer.
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