Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 34:4 (Autumn 2020)
Article: A Time To Speak
Author: Aaron Dilla

PP 34:4 (Autumn 2020) p. 13

A Time To Speak

Aaron Dilla

Aaron Dilla holds an MDiv, and is pursuing a DMin, from Emmanuel Christian Seminary in eastern Tennessee. He and his wife, Bethany, minister at Twin Oaks Christian Church in Eugene, Oregon.

For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in all the congregations of the Lord’s people.

Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

Or did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anyone thinks they are a prophet or otherwise gifted by the Spirit, let them acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord’s command. But if anyone ignores this, they will themselves be ignored. (1 Cor 14:33–38 NIV)

Did you hear that? “For it is disgraceful—it is shameful—for a woman to speak in church!” (1 Cor 14:35b). How many of you like that part of the Scripture you just heard? Some of you have spoken in church already today, haven’t you!

I want you to know that I’ve labored over this passage from 1 Cor 14 for several years. I’m passionate about it, and I’m going to be honest with you: I’m a little bit biased. I can’t help it—all of us bring some sort of bias to our reading of the Bible. However, I also want you to know that I have approached this text cautiously, because I don’t want to project what I think and feel onto the text, but instead to pull truth out of the text.

When I first came to this congregation a few years ago, I wasn’t sure how I felt about women being in professional ministry or other types of Christian leadership. The church I previously attended did not promote women in ministry. In fact, it was forbidden. However, I began to notice some inconsistencies. Women could be “directors,” for example, but not “pastors.” They could fill the function of a pastor, but they weren’t awarded that title. The church leaders claimed their stance was based in what the Scriptures say. But I wasn’t so sure, so I started doing some research, and my mind slowly began to change. There are reasons for that change, and I want to explore those reasons here.

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