The interim leader chose a provocative topic for Bible class discussion this morning: women's roles in the church. He bravely acknowledged that teachers are held to greater accountability and he confessed that if he misinterpreted scripture, as he had been known to do, he was fearful of the consequences of teaching error. Outlining a trail of scripture, he asked, "If this [denomination] proposes to use the first century church as its model, why aren't more women teaching in this church, facilitating discussion, praying aloud?" Answers included, "tradition," "interpretation" and "apostle Paul".

We talked about Paul's intention in writing what he did to the Corinthians; his desire to establish orderly worship practices in a rowdy Las Vegas-type, anything goes atmosphere. Paul said women should be silent in the churches, not allowed to speak, but submissive so as not to be disgraceful. Certainly Paul knew of the earliest gatherings of Christians in Jerusalem, men and women who prayed together, sang and offered words of instruction, all for encouragement.

Did Paul have a clue that his letter to Gentile converts would be bound in leather and edged in gold to inspire disciples throughout the centuries? Did he expect women everywhere, for all time, to be silent in churches?
And the question that casts the deeper shadow: does Jesus agree?

A woman in the group said that because her worship is not confined to Sunday morning, it is only for brief times when tradition exerts control and etiquette airs inconsistencies. Because of eternal freedom achieved through the Savior's surrender on the cross, women worship Him expressively, even in propriety.

The discrepancies beg definition. If feminine voices are to be muted, then why are women singing, reading scripture in unison, agreeing in prayer with a verbal "amen", greeting others in welcome, announcing in video clips, counseling the discouraged who respond to the sermon, and confessing before they are baptized?

And if females voices are included, presumably because Paul's instruction is interpreted for a cultural situation, then why are gifted women not also reading scripture, raising prayers?

The discipline of silence doesn't strangle, but the contradictory application of scripture does.

Letter to letter, Paul preached the principles of transformation.
And I have grown to love Paul, knowing the sacrifice he made of his enlightened life and what he endured in order to serve Jesus. Through his eloquent and earnest letters, he mirrors the most Christ-like person I can imagine. I am not about to argue with Paul.

Voices resonate throughout scripture. And so do women and men speak through what they write and how they live, creating legacies that reach into new generations. They pen avenues of influence in a myriad of creative conversations, through music, drama, curriculum, sermons, prayers, internet articles and devotional materials, not to mention the fruitful results of formal education.

In the past, I have complained about the diminished and subservient roles of church women and have even used that discouragement as an excuse not to study and not to pray. I didn't seek to identify spiritual gifts because I did not want to learn what I could not exercise. Bitterness produces a tightrope of apathy and arrogance.

The most effective defense I am permitted is conversing with God. After so many years of silent prayer, I am like a stage-frightened child, prone to weeping, attempting to squeak elementary phrases. With deep breathes, the voice inside, the one suffocated through intimidation, laziness, and exile is struggling, like a foal, to stand on its spiritual legs. In the security of a circle of women on their knees with heads bowed, praying aloud, I savor the promise and pleasure of waiting on the Lord. A submissive tongue is like precious pearl cloistered in mollusk.

As class dismissed, one man asked if we could resume our discussion next week. He said that he wanted more time to study and to think about comments he'd never heard before.

And it seems to me that it is men who will benefit more from challenging, prayerful reconsideration of scripture as it speaks to Christian unity. Women enjoy spacious fields outside church walls where their faith blossoms; women listen to men regularly, but they are also privileged to hear the sounds of sisters, reading, praying, teaching. And perhaps, most powerfully, many women have learned to worship joyfully in submission, through suppression, disappointment, and especially in silence, relying on the unmistakable voice of Jesus.