In this episode of Theology Applied, Pastor Joel Webbon is joined by Bnonn Tennant (It’s Good To Be A Man) to discuss women wearing head coverings at church, the concept of glory, the principle of submission, and a whole lot more!
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Pastor Joel Webbon is the President and Founder of Right Response Ministries and the Senior Pastor of Covenant Bible Church, located on the North Side of Austin, Texas. He is the husband of Megan and the father of Olive, Ruth, and Eleanor.
Name: N. Martin | Age: 22 | Location: USA | Date started covering: 03/2021
1) Introduce yourself to our readers.
Throughout my teenage years, I was a bit of a prodigal daughter. I lived for the world and looked for the world to make me happy. By God’s grace, I came back to Jesus when I was 19 years old and dedicated my life to Him when I was 20. I’m now a little more than one year into marriage and love the work God is doing in my life!
2) Where do you attend church? Tell us a little bit about it. Do others practice head covering there?
I attend a non-denominational church. To my knowledge, I am the only one who practices head covering there.
3) What led you to start covering?
I first heard about head covering through an Allen Parr YouTube video titled, “Do Christian Women Have to Wear Head Coverings Today?” I had never heard of Christian head covering before. Immediately after watching the video, I wanted to do a deeper dive into this topic. Within that day, I knew I felt called to it. I was amazed by the idea of a Christian wearing a head covering, and I was surprised that I had never heard 1 Corinthians 11 before. I Googled the subject, read many articles and blog posts, and watched multiple YouTube sermons.
I had a feeling from the Holy Spirit that this was something I wanted to look into for myself, rather than forming my opinion based on this one video. For me, the video was kind of just an introduction.Read more
If you asked my husband what kind of wife I am, I think he would tell you the same thing he tells me: I’m devoted, loving, kind, and “the best thing that ever happened to me” (his actual words). Yet, submitting to my husband isn’t always easy.
At times, it feels like a blistering tug-of-war between my two selves: the noble, godly side of me and the not-so-noble, selfish side of me. It’s up and down. Sometimes it’s more up and sometimes it’s more down, depending on how I’m doing emotionally at any given time (if I told you that we have eight children and homeschool, that might help you understand). When I find myself in a down moment, or a whole series of down moments, there are certain things I like to tell myself in order to get back on track. I’d like to share what those things are, in the form of five helpful thoughts.
5 TRUTHS I REMIND MYSELF
Helpful Thought #1: Submission isn’t just for wives. If other people are expected to submit, so can I.
We are told to submit to the government (Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-17). When has the government ever been perfect? Never. But, we need to submit anyway (unless it involves denying Christ, Acts 5:27-32).
Servants are told to submit to their masters (Eph. 6:5-8; 1 Pet. 2:18-25). Masters (bosses, people in charge) aren’t always nice, but servants (employees) are reminded that when they do their job with a willing heart, as unto the Lord, God will reward them for it.
Children are told to honor and obey their parents (Eph. 6:1-3; Col. 3:20). I’ve never met a perfect parent, nor am I one. Though I certainly encourage honesty with my children, I don’t think it’s always necessary for them to feel that I am “worthy of respect” before they give me the respect that my position deserves. They don’t need to understand all my decisions or agree with them.Read more
It’s gotten pretty cliché to talk about how recent events have thrust us into “unprecedented times” and forced us to conform to a “new normal.” And there is a bit of truth to that. For some of us, the practice of head covering may have been affected along with many other parts of life.
When we were first expected to stay home and church services went online, our whole routine was jostled. For the most part, I cover just at church, so what was I supposed to do now? I had to figure that out. Every Sunday morning, we would settle in to watch the sermon from our living room couch, while the children played quietly on the floor or colored at the nearby kitchen table. In preparation, I would brew some coffee for my husband and I to sip on. When the sermon started, I would put my covering on, even though we were at home. It did make that time feel more special.
Then we got lazy.
I hate to admit it, but Sunday started to get a little too relaxed, without the expectation of having to actually go somewhere. We got up later. We started the sermons in the middle. Then we stopped watching them and began to do other things. I guess that’s not so bad — I mean, we were spending time together as a family, and we were resting. But it wasn’t the same as having fellowship with people at church, and worshiping the Lord with them. I went for several weeks (or was it months?) without once putting on my covering. I can just imagine your horror and disappointment, and I’m not being sarcastic. I disappointed myself a little, too.
I should have been more diligent and committed to observing these important spiritual habits, even under “unprecedented circumstances.” Why? Because head covering is not something I do just so that other people may observe and learn from its visual symbolism. It’s something I do for God.
Head covering also helps me, too. When I don’t cover at least once a week at church — even if it’s online church — I feel like I’m gradually starting to forget something important. It’s like I’m losing touch with it, millimeter by millimeter. I need the tactile reminder that the head covering gives me!
Head Covering and Our Physical Senses
God made us a composite of the spiritual and the physical. Spirit, soul, heart, mind, brain, body: all are wrapped up into one. When God gave us physical symbols like the head covering, I believe He was providing for our need to experience (through our body’s physical senses) connections to His abstract, spiritual truths. He knew we needed something tangible!Read more
Christian head covering for women isn’t about looking glamorous (it’s actually about symbolizing our God-given role), yet we needn’t give up on looking pretty! Though it’s common to struggle with feeling awkward at first, this thankfully doesn’t have to characterize our whole head covering journey.
In this article, let’s take a look at how different hair and head covering styles can help bring out the best in different face shapes!
STEP ONE: WHICH FACE SHAPE DO I HAVE?
To start out with, it’s good to be aware of your face shape. Some of the most common face shapes are oval, oblong (long), round, square, triangular (heart shaped), inverted triangle (pear-shaped), and diamond. Generally speaking, all people will find themselves with one of those face shapes or will at least come very close in a unique combination of a couple of them put together.
To find out which face shape you have, here’s a quick tip: pull your hair back away from your face, then look at yourself in the mirror. (If you want, you can try using a dry-erase marker directly on the mirror to outline your reflection.) Observe the length of your face compared to the width. Also look closely at the shape of your jawline and forehead.
-If your face is longer than it is wide, you might have an oval or oblong face. An oval face has a jawline and forehead with soft, rounded corners, while an oblong face has a jawline and forehead which are about equal with each other in width and are not as rounded at the corners.
-If your face is about equal in length and width, you might have a round or square face. A round face has a jawline and forehead with rounded corners (similar to the oval face, but not as long), while the square face has more angular corners (similar to the oblong face).
-If your jawline is not as wide as your forehead, you might have a triangular (heart-shaped) face. This face type has a pointy chin and broad forehead. Similarly, if your jawline is wider than your forehead, you probably have an inverted triangle (pear-shaped) face. This face type has a broad jawline but narrow forehead.
-If you have a pointy chin and narrow forehead with full cheekbones, you probably have a diamond face.
STEP TWO: WHICH HAIR AND HEAD COVERING STYLES FLATTER MY FACE SHAPE?
Before we move on, please keep this very important point in mind:
Each of us is beautiful in our own way! In my opinion, there is no “ideal” face shape, only variations of what God Himself considers beautiful and interesting. We shouldn’t fall into the trap of thinking we’re ugly if we don’t look like someone else we admire. These tips are meant to function more as fun ideas which you can use if you want. If your favorite head covering style isn’t recommended for your face shape, don’t feel you have to change! Still, it might be worthwhile to try something fresh, since your next-favorite look may be just around the corner!
The trick to finding out which head covering style might be most flattering for each face shape is to think about how we can balance out the proportions.Read more
“Covering the Web” is where we shine the spotlight on content about head covering or complementarianism that we did not produce ourselves. Each edition includes articles, videos, photos, as well as e-book deals relevant to our movement’s mission. Links are not endorsements.
MUST READ: “Should Women Preach in Our Churches?” (The Gospel Coalition)
“The best argument I’ve seen for women preaching is by the Australian minister and apologist John Dickson in his book Hearing Her Voice: A Biblical Invitation for Women to Preach … Even if you aren’t familiar with the book, I’m quite certain it’s influenced people you do know.”
“Does Ephesians 5:21 teach mutual submission?” (CBMW)
“How is the word of God teaching us to order our families? Is the husband supposed to be the leader, or does the Bible designate no leader?”
“No one is covering, should I?” (My life with God)
“I think it’s important for me to study even more about God’s love for us and how he sees us and wants his children to behave.”
The following are a list of limited time e-book deals which are on the topic of biblical manhood and womanhood. If you don’t have a Kindle device, you can install their free reading app on your computer, phone, or tablet. Prices may vary per region.
If you’d like to have your picture featured here, tag #headcoveringmovement in your relevant Instagram posts (make sure your account is public). You can follow us on Instagram @headcovering.
“Covering the Web” is where we shine the spotlight on content about head covering or complementarianism that we did not produce ourselves. Each edition includes articles, videos, photos, as well as e-book deals relevant to our movement’s mission. Links are not endorsements.
MUST READ:The Lies of Feminism (Founders)
“Some still try to sell the ‘Feminism is the radical notion that women are people’ line. It’s a lie that is somehow both blithe and misleading, but at least it’s short enough to fit in an Instagram post.”
The Gospel as Interpretive Key to 1 Corinthians 10:31–11:16: On Christian Worship, Head Coverings, and the Trinity (Themelios/TGC)
“Paul is not simply correcting the behavior of some of the Corinthian women who were dishonoring their husbands in gathered worship (11:4–6). He wants to bring the gospel, and its characteristic dispositions of dignity, humility, and grace to bear on the way in which all Christians worship.” — Note: This article takes the cultural view but is helpful nonetheless.
The Abolition of Men? (CBMW)
“For it is just this that could reinvigorate American boyhood: a vision of manhood that calls him away from self-indulgence and libertinism, and toward self-possession and discipline, embracing his God-given manliness in the service of right vs. racist wrong, good vs. existentialist evil — the kind of community-protecting, relationship-building, family-forming manhood that must be characterized by virtue.”
The following are a list of limited time e-book deals which are on the topic of biblical manhood and womanhood. If you don’t have a Kindle device, you can install their free reading app on your computer, phone, or tablet. Prices may vary per region.
If you’d like to have your picture featured here, tag #headcoveringmovement in your relevant Instagram posts (make sure your account is public). You can follow us on Instagram @headcovering.
