![]() ![]() Then how can it be moral to participate in a service in which women and young girls are prohibited from speaking, as a preacher or otherwise, because of their sex, some of them ask? Is it moral to participate in a worship service in which black people are prohibited from speaking, as a preacher or otherwise, because of their race? Many people have concluded it is immoral and a sin to participate in worship services in which women and young girls are prohibited from speaking, whether they are prohibited from speaking as a preacher or prohibited in any other way due to their sex. And they concluded that when the few sentences to which people point to support the tradition of completely prohibiting women from speaking ( 1 Cor 14:34-35 and 1 Tim 2:12) are read in context, they do not mean women are completely prohibited from speaking. Many of the changing congregations found that Churches of Christ have given woefully insufficient attention to the great amount of scripture that asks women to speak to, teach, lead, and have authority over men, in an assembly and elsewhere. Highland made this particular determination years ago during studies and decided now is the time for implementation. Like Highland Church of Christ, a growing number of Churches of Christ congregations studied scripture and changed after concluding that prohibiting women and girls in this manner is simply following a tradition of man and is contrary to God’s word. ![]() Growing Number of Churches of Christ Changed In another recent survey, an alarmingly high percentage of women in the Churches of Christ reported symptoms of trauma. It reported that adult women who had only male congregational-leaders growing up had, as an effect, (1) lower self-esteem (associated with more depression and anxiety), (2) less education, (3) higher unemployment, and (4) more of an authoritarian and judgmental view of God (associated with negative psychological health), on average, than men and than women who had influential female congregational-leaders growing up. Growing Recognition of Long-Term Harm to Young Girls Reports of TraumaĪ recent study found that having only male congregational-leaders causes long-term harm to many of the young girls in the congregation. It is common in Islam to completely prohibit women from speaking and leading in its worship service. ![]() Hardly any denomination in Christianity completely bans women from speaking and serving up front like the Churches of Christ does. Many evangelical denominations ( e.g., Assemblies of God, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Church of God, Church of the Nazarene) and nearly all mainline denominations ( e.g., Methodist) ordain female pastors. Some denominations do not ordain women as senior pastors or priests, but they generally do not completely prohibit women from reading scripture, leading singing, teaching Sunday School, and similar roles - and from preaching in some cases. The Churches of Christ are nearly alone in Christianity in completely prohibiting women and girls this way. The vast majority of Churches of Christ completely prohibit women from speaking and leading in their worship services and from teaching men and boys over the age of 10 in Sunday School. Women preach in chapel at most Church of Christ colleges now, while a minority-including Faulkner and Freed-Hardeman- still completely prohibit women from not only preaching but also from leading singing, reading scripture, and leading prayer in their chapel services when men are present.Ĭhurches of Christ Nearly Alone in Christianity in Prohibiting Women This Way ![]() Women Preaching Elsewhere in Church of Christ Settingsįulton reports on two other Church of Christ congregations in which women preach in the same article, The Refuge Church of Christ and the Minter Lane Church of Christ. After scripture study, the elders found “scripture supported a woman preaching in our assembly,” reports Loretta Fulton in a special to the Abilene Reporter News, part of the USA Today Network. Previously, it prohibited women from preaching. Highland Church of Christ in Abilene, Texas, one of the largest Churches of Christ congregations in the United States, announced this month that both women and men will preach in its worship services. ![]()
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