The Almighty Worship Hour

"The primary distinction that led...to silencing women was the view that any public speech by women was forbidden or indecent. Consequently, it was not simply that it was 'leadership' but rather that it was 'public leadership.'"

"And 'public' may have received more stress than leadership originally. For example, Lipscomb and Harding both thought women should participate in small, family or home settings but that it was different when the assembly was 'public.'"--J. M. Hicks

In addition to a host of other misunderstandings about first century Christianity like the collection for the saints, the assumption of dualism that leads to hierarchy/oligarchy--clergy/laity behaviors, the origins of the public building and modern sermon, institutional Christianity also exalts specific periods or 'hours' of life over others in order to control the masses.

One glaring inconsistency is "the Bible class hour" versus the "worship hour." Literally, women are allowed to speak in one assembly of Christians, but at the strike of the, evidently, 'almighty' clock and--even though they may have never left their seat--they are immediately forbidden to speak! It is similar to how we view the Lord's Supper. One may eat a 'common' meal only minutes after previously being forbidden to do so in a 'spiritual' meal during the 'worship hour.'

The Origin and History of the Modern Gospel Sermon

Frank Viola writes,

"The same person...giving an oration to the same group of people week after week, month after month, and year after year is not only un-biblical, it is counterproductive."1

"Is preaching and teaching the Word of God scriptural? Yes, absolutely. But the contemporary pulpit sermon is not the equivalent of the preaching and teaching that is found in the Scriptures...."2

For example, notice how the following translations of Acts 20:7 properly translate the biblical concept of "preaching" as a dialogue--not a monologue.

"On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them..." (ESV).

"Now on the first day of the week, the disciples being assembled to break bread, Paul was discussing with them..." (English Majority Text Version, EMTV).

Notice also from the larger contexts of Acts 8 and Acts 2 how "preaching" is conducted by more than one Christian and dialogue is also found to be the "preaching" style of Philip and Peter:

Using Emotional Intelligence in the Church

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"It’s frightening to be in a place you’re not familiar with and be completely in the dark. Case in point—have you ever planned to go camping but got to the site in the dark? It’s hard to get your bearings, you’re setting up a tent in the dark, and because you’re in the wilderness, it’s just eerily quiet and black. You go to bed with one eye open and hope for the best."

"The next day, you wake up tired and unzip your tent, and you’re amazed at the beauty around you: water, mountains, tree-lined trails, and cute little animals abound. There’s nothing to be afraid of—you soon forget last night’s anxieties, and you move about your day. What were you so worried about, anyway?"

Taking Care of God's Church: 1 Timothy 3:5

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In American courts, there is the principle of “Discovery Misconduct.” “There are many different types of misconduct,” but “one of the most common types is the withholding of evidence.” If “relevant information” that “would have affected the outcome of the trial" [jury’s decision, sp] is not provided , then the “court may order” disclosure of the information and “grant more time to review.” If evidence is not “disclosed that would favor the defendant” a mistrial may be declared by the judge.

In the “courtroom” of the American Church, not only is information not disclosed, but only one “lawyer” (gospel preacher) is allowed to speak to the “jury” of Christian listeners. I think the real Judge of the church Jesus—not the eldership—would have a problem with this, 1 Cor. 14:29-34. Some may think that “the truth” has already been settled, but perhaps thinking this way is the problem. When additional evidence is withheld, it must be allowed into court, because the purpose of the system is to allow the truth to come to light, not control the outcome.

Two years ago, I was involved in an intense discussion in a Sunday morning Bible class about the kind of "authority" God gives elders, so I prepared for the onslaught of "obey, submit, rule" passages that are misused to sustain and support the hierarchical interpretation of the verses that have these words. I came across some interesting information on two words/phrases in 1 Timothy 3:4-5. One is the word “rule” in the KJV (proistemi) [pro-ee-stay-me] and the other is the phrase “take care of” (epimeleomai) [epee-mel-e-oh-my].

‘Proistemi’ is translated "rule" in the KJV. Thayer does not even list "rule" as a usage. Strong gives it lastly, but the general idea is to "inspect” or “lead" as its compound of pros + istemi = "before + stand" shows. The interesting thing that I came across is the phrase “take care of” (epimeleomai) in 1 Timothy 3:5 which Paul tells Timothy was the purpose of a man being a ‘proistemi.’