Lightbulb! (or "Church of Christ Glasses")

In cartoons, when someone has an idea they get a lightbulb over their head shining with inspiration or revelation. That happened to me Sunday morning during Bible class...I just wish I could say that it was inspiration that prompted the light.

In this case, it was revelation...

The teacher (which happens to be one of our evangelists) was leading us in a study of 1 Timothy 2:9-15.

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.

A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing–if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

He read the scripture and then asked for comments. A man behind me said something to the effect of; women were new at this. They had not been able to participate in worship and Paul was instructing them on how to conduct themselves as they did it. I added that Paul, throughout his ministry, was a major advocate of freeing women of spirtual bondage. I also added that women of that time could be married or sell themselves, those were their options. They were not allowed to even speak to men in public. Women, unlike men, did not have experience in public worship, Paul was telling women the same thing that men of that time already knew.

The teacher quickly, (and politely) told me he did not agree with me. He re-read the scripture and just stated that women were supposed to be silent in public worship. He even agreed that the Bible tells us that women prayed and prophesied in the name of the Lord, but that this passage tells them to be quiet in worship.

At this point, if I were a cartoon character, the lightbulb would have appeared over my head.

All of my life, I have used the Bible to prove what I have been taught at Church. Whenever I opened it up I corrupted God's message by reading it through "Church of Christ Glasses". If I could read a passage and prove something that someone had told me in Bible Class or at Church then it must be true! The teacher was just doing the same thing. I shouldn't be upset (even though I was a little) or mad, but try to help him by influencing him over time. I was were he was for a long time.

It comes from years of practice and has been honed to a perfectly tuned machine.

"Holy Hands"

1 Timothy 2:8 - "I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger or disputing."

Lamentations 3:41 - "Let us lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven."

When I first saw someone with my own eyes lift up their hands during a worship service (I don't remember where it was) I will admit, it sort of "freaked me out". I didn't understand it, I had never seen someone at a Church of Christ do that! "They only do that on T.V.!", I thought.

Other things went through my mind. Generally, I thought that they were just "showing off" to call attention to themselves like, "...look at me, I'm REALLY into this, why aren't you?..." Another thought was, "...I'm going to shove this in your face, and make you feel uncomfortable because I think that we all need to do this...". The really paranoid part of me said, "...Ok, what's next? Are they going to start 'speaking in tongues'?"

Over the last few years I have come to grips with the fact that these were irrational thoughts. I can no more tell what another person is thinking than I can tell you the next time the Detroit Tigers will win the World Series! Also, after considering this practice, recalling my past studying of the Bible and doing some more studying I think I can honestly say that there is nothing scripturally wrong with it. The opposite may be the case, there may be biblical precedent for practicing it.

So the obvious question is, why DON'T we "raise holy hands"? Another question to be answered is why does it make us so uncomfortable? Still another is why is it being so strongly opposed by the "main stream Churches of Christ"?

I can only respond from my personal experience at this point, but I intend on discussing this with my friends, peers and Church leaders as I get opportunity. I believe it has to do with the dreaded word which I will probably bring up time and again...IDENTITY. We identify that kind of act as something that "those people" do, you know people like the "faith healers" on T.V., the T.V. evangelists, the Pentecostals... "They are just out of control", is what we might say. People are just afraid of starting down that "slipery slope" and never being able to get back up. From my view, (from the cheap seats) I believe that is where we must have STRONG, FORWARD-THINKING, PRAYERFUL, and BOLD LEADERS. It is the job of our elders to guide us down the right path prayerfully considering what is best and pleasing to our God.

Personally, in the past, I have felt funny about it. I think it often looks rehearsed or fake. However, there are moments when it's done at the right time and in small doses that it seems appropriate. MY spriritual life is going through a change, a re-birth, if you will, that has brought about many emotions that I have not felt for a long time or have never felt before. Although, I have never "raised holy hands", as of late, it has crossed my mind. I think this is a good thing, I think it means I MAY be on the right track.

I'm still not conviced that I will do it (and I readily admit that a prominent reason has to do with COURAGE), but don't be flabbergasted if at some very special point in an especially good act of worship you see my hands...slowly...carefully...go...up.

2 Corinthians 3:7-12

"Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, Will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold."