Pastor Weekly - 4/29/26
Hello ICC Family!
When the Lord called Laurel and I to ICC a few years ago, we were talking to several other churches at the same time. In the same way that ICC was praying about which of the multiple candidates that applied for this job they should interview and hire, Laurel and I were seeking guidance as to which church God was calling us to. Just a few weeks before preaching for the first time here, we were up in Dearborn, Michigan interviewing with a church there. There were other churches in Chicago, Boston, and New Jersey to which we thought the Lord was potentially calling us. Needless to say, we are so very grateful that the Lord led us here and led all of you to bring us to Goose Creek! We love this place and love this church!
I bring this up because this week I was reminded of one particular Zoom interview that I had during that job search process. It was with a church up in New England. From the start, the interview was not near as warm and friendly as all of the others that I had. The reason became clear as we got through the pleasantries and introductions, as one man on their search committee asked me why I didn’t believe the Bible(!) They had my statement of faith and ministry philosophy which clearly stated that I did, but he kept pushing, finally bringing up that one of my statements said that I believe that in some situations women can and should be able to teach and lead areas of the church. And he referenced a verse in 1 Corinthians that we didn’t have time for last Sunday…
Women should be silent during the church meetings.
It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.
35 If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home,
for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35
“Why don’t you believe that?” he kept asking. It was clear that this was not going to be a good fit for any of us, and everybody on the call was uncomfortable except for this man. To this day I can’t understand why that search committee wanted to interview me if they didn’t like my doctrinal statement, although I got the feeling that it was just the one guy that disagreed. There are many things that I wish I would have said at the time, but the Spirit directed me to politely disengage and wish them the best.
If I hadn’t been so shocked by the quick turn in the interview, I would have responded this way… Usually when we run across verses in Scripture that make us think, “Surely it can’t mean that!…” it is because we don’t like what the verse says and it doesn’t fit our modern worldview. However, there are times when we know the Scripture doesn’t mean what it says simply because of the context of the verse itself. This happens to be one of those times. We know that Paul was not banning women from speaking in the church service because of the numerous other verses that talk about what women can and should do in the service! We know this from a few chapters earlier (11) when Paul made an extended point about how women should pray and prophecy in church! We know this because Paul has made the point over and over that everyone in the church (including women) has been given a spiritual gift and each one should use it to help each other - in songs, teaching, prophecy, tongues, or interpretation. All ways that require women to speak! Instead of the plain meaning, these verses in chapter 14 appear to be either in relation to women not being allowed to evaluate prophecy (since that function went along with an elder role in the church), or that some women in the church were in the habit of interrupting things while their husbands were prophesying. In those cases, these verses are telling those particular women to stay quiet.
There will be several more verses that I will not have time to talk about as we finish up our series in 1st Corinthians this coming Sunday. Perhaps I can write about those next week, or you can always send me a note and I will try to address them. Don’t hesitate to ask hard questions when it comes to God’s Word. If you are seeking the truth, the Lord will reveal it to you in his perfect timing!
We will be celebrating Communion together this coming Sunday as we look at the beautiful story of the gospel together. Please come so you can participate with us in person. And we would love to see you tonight at discipleship time as well. 5:45 for dinner and 6:15 for study.
Blessings to you all!
And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
When the Lord called Laurel and I to ICC a few years ago, we were talking to several other churches at the same time. In the same way that ICC was praying about which of the multiple candidates that applied for this job they should interview and hire, Laurel and I were seeking guidance as to which church God was calling us to. Just a few weeks before preaching for the first time here, we were up in Dearborn, Michigan interviewing with a church there. There were other churches in Chicago, Boston, and New Jersey to which we thought the Lord was potentially calling us. Needless to say, we are so very grateful that the Lord led us here and led all of you to bring us to Goose Creek! We love this place and love this church!
I bring this up because this week I was reminded of one particular Zoom interview that I had during that job search process. It was with a church up in New England. From the start, the interview was not near as warm and friendly as all of the others that I had. The reason became clear as we got through the pleasantries and introductions, as one man on their search committee asked me why I didn’t believe the Bible(!) They had my statement of faith and ministry philosophy which clearly stated that I did, but he kept pushing, finally bringing up that one of my statements said that I believe that in some situations women can and should be able to teach and lead areas of the church. And he referenced a verse in 1 Corinthians that we didn’t have time for last Sunday…
Women should be silent during the church meetings.
It is not proper for them to speak. They should be submissive, just as the law says.
35 If they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home,
for it is improper for women to speak in church meetings.
1 Corinthians 14:34-35
“Why don’t you believe that?” he kept asking. It was clear that this was not going to be a good fit for any of us, and everybody on the call was uncomfortable except for this man. To this day I can’t understand why that search committee wanted to interview me if they didn’t like my doctrinal statement, although I got the feeling that it was just the one guy that disagreed. There are many things that I wish I would have said at the time, but the Spirit directed me to politely disengage and wish them the best.
If I hadn’t been so shocked by the quick turn in the interview, I would have responded this way… Usually when we run across verses in Scripture that make us think, “Surely it can’t mean that!…” it is because we don’t like what the verse says and it doesn’t fit our modern worldview. However, there are times when we know the Scripture doesn’t mean what it says simply because of the context of the verse itself. This happens to be one of those times. We know that Paul was not banning women from speaking in the church service because of the numerous other verses that talk about what women can and should do in the service! We know this from a few chapters earlier (11) when Paul made an extended point about how women should pray and prophecy in church! We know this because Paul has made the point over and over that everyone in the church (including women) has been given a spiritual gift and each one should use it to help each other - in songs, teaching, prophecy, tongues, or interpretation. All ways that require women to speak! Instead of the plain meaning, these verses in chapter 14 appear to be either in relation to women not being allowed to evaluate prophecy (since that function went along with an elder role in the church), or that some women in the church were in the habit of interrupting things while their husbands were prophesying. In those cases, these verses are telling those particular women to stay quiet.
There will be several more verses that I will not have time to talk about as we finish up our series in 1st Corinthians this coming Sunday. Perhaps I can write about those next week, or you can always send me a note and I will try to address them. Don’t hesitate to ask hard questions when it comes to God’s Word. If you are seeking the truth, the Lord will reveal it to you in his perfect timing!
We will be celebrating Communion together this coming Sunday as we look at the beautiful story of the gospel together. Please come so you can participate with us in person. And we would love to see you tonight at discipleship time as well. 5:45 for dinner and 6:15 for study.
Blessings to you all!
And know that I am praying for you!
Pastor Aaron
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