Long Hair and Head Coverings and Hierarchy, Oh My! 1 Cor. 11 in the Women in Ministry Sermon Series

1 Corinthians 11 may be one of the most confusing passages in the New Testament. What’s all this “headship” stuff about (and how can God be the head of Christ, if Christ IS God)? Do men represent “the glory of God” better than women? What’s all this talk about long hair, short hair, shaved heads, and angels, for cryin’ out loud? And how most Christians don’t encourage women to wear head coverings but cling to the hierarchy we (wrongly) assume that this passage is promoting?

Well, hurrah for modern scholarship! I learned a ton in this sermon on 1 Corinthians 11, which you can listen to here. You’ll get to hear what some of the early church fathers thought of women (brace yourself, it’s ugly), some of the shenanigans of how the church has historically treated women (even at my church–and you’ll get to hear Pastor Darrell lay the smack down on such behavior!), and then dive into the text–what in the world was Paul talking about? Did Corinthian women even wear head coverings? What did a woman’s shaved head or loose hair, or long hair on a man, signify? Did Paul’s instructions have anything to do with the cult of Dionysus that was so influential in Corinth?

This sermon, Equal Standing, was preached at Mission Covenant Church on May 25th, 2014 by Pastor Darrell Nelson.