DISSERTATION ABSTRACT Doctor of Ministry

DISSERTATION ABSTRACT

Doctor of Ministry Emphasis in Mission

Adventist University of Africa

Theological Seminary

TITLE: A MISSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO FEMALE HEAD COVERING IN 1 CORINTHIANS 11:2-16 IN WORSHIP AT THE SUNNYSIDE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

Researcher: Mosimanegape Super Moesi

Faculty advisor: Davidson Razafiarivony, PhD

Date Completed: September 2016

This study was pictured to help Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist church to adopt a balanced view on the issue of head covering. The adoption of the balanced view would lead the church to use the right biblical principles to interpret Scripture, consider both missiological and cultural implications. The initial evaluation had revealed that, members take the Bible at face value and are torn between culture and the Bible. The study of biblical instances of uses of head covering in both the Old

Testament and the New Testament indicated that there is no biblical command for head covering.

The Bible revealed that head covering was a symbol with different meanings for different societies. However, the literature review indicated that there are two main different schools of thoughts among scholars. The first school suggests that head covering is imperative and universal for all Christendom. The reasons advanced vary

from theological thinking to personal experience. The second school indicates that

Paul’s passage in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 is non-imperative but relative to the

Corinthian culture. However, the latter school of thought acknowledges that the passage is still applicable to Christians today. This is in the light of timeless principles from the passage which could be applied relevantly today.

The initial survey used both the qualitative and quantitative (mixed) methods.

It revealed that the action taken by Sunnyside for female worshipers to cover their heads on the pulpit was done hastily without adequate information to make the move.

Seminars conducted – Five two-hour seminars were conducted on Sabbath afternoons as pre-arranged with the church except for additional two which were one hour sessions scheduled on Sabbath mornings. A quantitative final evaluation was conducted to ensure that the participants understood and captured the balanced view of head covering.

The final analysis revealed that 107 (71%) participants of the respondents indicated that the head covering topic was adequately addressed by the researcher.

Again, 107 (71%) of the respondents indicated that culture plays a role in the way people understand and interpret Scripture. Lastly, 120 (80%) of the participants indicated that the symbol of head covering can be used when reaching out to those who take it as a sign of honor and respect.

The results indicated that the intervention met its objective of bringing a balanced view of head covering. Sunnyside may be used as a model church to help other churches to resolve the issue. As shown in Appendix E, some members requested to have the presentations in order to help other churches.

Adventist University of Africa

Theological Seminary

A MISSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO FEMALE HEAD COVERING IN 1 CORINTHIANS 11:2-16 IN WORSHIP AT THE SUNNYSIDE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

A dissertation

presented in partial fulfillment

of the requirements for the degree

Doctor of Ministry

Mosimanegape Super Moesi

September 2016

A MISSIOLOGICAL RESPONSE TO FEMALE HEAD COVERING IN 1 CORINTHIANS 11:2-16 IN WORSHIP AT THE SUNNYSIDE SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH

A dissertation presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Ministry

by Mosimanegape Super Moesi

APPROVAL BY THE COMMITTEE:

______Advisor: Davidson Razafiarivony, PhD Programme Director, DMin Kelvin Onongha, PhD, DMin

______Reader: Anna Galeniece, DMin Dean, Theological Seminary Sampson Nwaomah, PhD

AUA Main Campus

Date: May 2017

Dedicated to the glory of God, to my mother, my late father, and my six siblings for raising me to be who I am. Dedicated to my wife, Boipelo Joy Moesi, and daughters,

Lefika Mighty and Lefilwe Jarona, for standing by me all the way.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ...... x

ACKNOWEDGEMENTS ...... xi

CHAPTER

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE MINISTRY CONTEXT ...... 1

Statement of the Problem ...... 5 Statement of the Purpose ...... 6 Justification of the Dissertation ...... 6 Delimitations ...... 6 Methodology and Procedures ...... 7 Expectations from the Dissertation ...... 8 Definitions of Terms ...... 9 Summary ...... 10

2. THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS ON HEAD COVERING ...... 11

Introduction ...... 11 Head Covering in the Old Testament ...... 12 Rebecca Case ...... 12 Tamar Case ...... 13 Suspected Wife Case ...... 14 Head Covering and Religious Use ...... 15 Priestly and Prophetic Use ...... 15 Aaron and sons ...... 16 Joshua and the High Priest ...... 16 False female prophetess...... 17 Head Covering and General Use ...... 19 Head Covering and Royalty ...... 19 Kings ...... 19 Queens...... 19 Head Covering and Military ...... 20 Commander and soldiers...... 20 Head Covering in Mourning ...... 20 King David ...... 21 Ezekiel ...... 21 Aaron and Sons ...... 21 Death Row Inmate ...... 23 Head Covering and the Angels ...... 24

Isaiah’s Vision ...... 24 Other Symbolic Expressions of Reverence ...... 26 Moses ...... 26 Joshua ...... 27 Summary ...... 28 Head Covering in the New Testament ...... 29 The Study of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 ...... 29 The Bible Passage ...... 30 Meaning of Head Covering ...... 30 Word Study ...... 31 Head...... 31 Covering...... 32 Uncovering...... 34 Hair...... 34 Head Covering in Paul’s Letters ...... 36 Sinai experience...... 36 Spiritual warfare gear...... 37 Paul on Other Issues in Comparison to Head Covering ...... 38 Marriage (1 Corinthians 7:2-6) ...... 38 Food Sacrificed to Idols ...... 39 Circumcision in Romans 2:25-28 ...... 39 A Woman Learning in Silence ...... 40 Head Covering and Ellen G. White ...... 41 Summary ...... 43

3. LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 44

Introduction ...... 44 Background of the City of Corinth ...... 44 Missionaries to Corinth ...... 45 Letters to the Corinthian Church ...... 46 Possible Reasons for Head Covering ...... 47 Liberation Movement Reason ...... 48 Authority Reason ...... 52 Binding Command Reason ...... 53 Cultural Dress Code Reason ...... 54 Head Covering in Comparison to Ordinances ...... 54 Ordinance of Baptism ...... 55 Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper ...... 56 Summary ...... 57 Head Covering and Creation Order ...... 57 Submission ...... 57 The cover and silence...... 59 Power to speak...... 60 Dress code ...... 60 Head Covering and Shaving ...... 61 Uncovered and Cut Hair ...... 61 Marriage Symbol ...... 63 Glory and Angels ...... 63 Head Covering and Equality in Christ ...... 66

Inferior position...... 66 Covering brings equality...... 66 Head Covering and Nature ...... 67 Unisex dress...... 67 Principle and application...... 68 Leadership segregation...... 68 Leadership equality...... 68 Hair and veil cover...... 69 Head Covering and Symbolism ...... 71 Head Covering Culture and the Bible ...... 73 Head Covering and Culture ...... 75 People Culture and the Gospel ...... 75 Worldview ...... 77 Personal Experience ...... 78 Interpreting Scripture...... 79 Bible Text ...... 80 Summary ...... 81

4. DESCRIPTION OF THE INITIATIVE DESIGN ...... 83

Introduction ...... 83 Description of the Macro-Context ...... 83 Gauteng Province and Pretoria ...... 84 Demography ...... 85 Education ...... 86 Industry ...... 87 Description of the Micro-Context ...... 88 Southern Africa Union Conference ...... 88 Northern Conference ...... 89 Sunnyside Church ...... 89 The Overall Goal ...... 92 Research Design ...... 93 Rationale for Selection ...... 93 Population and Sample ...... 95 Instrumentation ...... 96 Data Collection, Presentation, and Analysis ...... 96 Data Collection Procedures ...... 97 Quantitative Survey Form Data ...... 99 Item one...... 99 Item two ...... 100 Item three ...... 101 Item four...... 101 Item five ...... 102 Item six ...... 102 Item seven ...... 103 Quantitative Findings Analysis Summary ...... 104 Qualitative Data Presentation and Interpretation ...... 105 Category One Respondents ...... 106 Category Two Respondents ...... 109 First Respondent ...... 109

vii

Second Respondent...... 110 Findings and Analysis Summary ...... 111 Category Three Respondents ...... 111 First Respondent...... 111 Second Respondent...... 113 Category Four Respondent ...... 114 Category Five Respondent ...... 115 Category Six Respondents ...... 116 First Respondent...... 116 Second Respondent...... 117 Qualitative Findings Analysis Summary ...... 117 Summary of the Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Findings ...... 118 Designing of the Intervention ...... 120 The Intended Change ...... 120 Limitations ...... 121 Conclusion ...... 122

5. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERVENTION DESIGNED ...... 123

Introduction ...... 123 Implementation of the Intervention ...... 124 The General Objectives of the Seminars ...... 125 Seminar Presentation ...... 126 First Presentation Introduction ...... 126 Great Commission...... 126 Reasons for Choice of Study ...... 127 Church encounter ...... 127 Upbringing experience...... 127 Acquaintances experiences...... 128 Closure of a church...... 128 Removal from membership ...... 129 Summary ...... 129 Questions Considered ...... 129 Intervention Steps Followed ...... 130 Sharing the Quantitative Baseline Evaluation Results ...... 131 Initial Study of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 ...... 131 Participants’ Findings and Reflections ...... 132 Tripartite Intervention Model ...... 132 Second Presentation Seminar ...... 133 Bible interpretation and structure...... 133 Proof text method...... 134 Historical context...... 134 The literary context ...... 135 Application of the text...... 136 Participants’ Questions and Comments ...... 138 Third Presentation ...... 138 Culture...... 138 Participants’ Questions and Comments ...... 139 Fourth Presentation ...... 140 Mission...... 140

viii

Participants’ comments and questions...... 141 Positive and Negative effects of Head Covering ...... 142 Researcher’s Observations ...... 144 Concise Narrative of quantitative evaluation ...... 145 Comparative Demographic Evaluation Presentation and Analysis ...... 146 Demographic Data Analysis ...... 147 Other Questionnaire Items Evaluation Analysis ...... 148 Substructured Evaluation Analysis ...... 150 Summary ...... 151

6. SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...... 153

Introduction ...... 153 Summary ...... 153 Conclusion ...... 158 Recommendations ...... 161

APPENDICES ...... 162

A. LAITY SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS ...... 163

B. LETTER OF APPROVAL TO CONDUCT THE RESEARCH ...... 164

C. MAP OF SOUTH AFRICA ...... 165

D. HEAD COVERING ACTION AFFIRMATION LETTER ...... 166

E. SAMPLE VERBATIM ...... 167

F. SAMPLE E-MAILS ...... 174

G. SAMPLE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ...... 176

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 198

CURRICULUM VITAE ...... 208

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Adventist Seventh-day Adventist Church

SID Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division

SAU South Africa Union Conference

NC Northern Conference

KJV King James Version of the Holy Bible

NIV New International Version of the Holy Bible

NT New Testament

OT Old Testament

ACKNOWEDGEMENTS

First of all, I am grateful to the Lord God Omnipotent who reigns and piloted me through this ministerial shaping journey. Under His unprecedented care and love I did all through Him and have no doubt that He will do immeasurably more than I can think or imagine.

I am grateful to my effective and efficient advisor, Dr. Davidson

Razafiarivony, whose timely guidance and constant encouragement have led me through many days of toil. And to you professor, I say thank you. I am also grateful to

Clement Mawa and Joe Gumbala for reviewing my work and giving valuable inputs. I say thank you!

My appreciation goes to the tireless work of Dr. Anna Galeniece and Dr. Tom

Ogal in reviewing my work and giving further guidance. Thank you for your dedication and support.

My wife Boipelo Joy Moesi, my two lovely daughters, Chileya family and all who gave me support and encouraged me to go on when the going got tough. Thank you to all.

I appreciate the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division leadership, and the

Sunnyside Church that accorded me study opportunity and supported me to go through this program. Thank you again. May the good Lord repay you for your kindness.

My last but not the least appreciation is to the many professors and colleagues who have worked with me and supported me throughout this program, I say stay blessed and a blessing.

xii

CHAPTER 1

DESCRIPTION OF THE MINISTRY CONTEXT

The Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church (SSDAC) belongs to the

Northern Conference (NC), which is under the Southern Africa Union of the Seventh- day Adventist church in South Africa. Sunnyside Church is located about 80 kilometers north of Oliver Reginald Tambo international airport. It is located in

Sunnyside, a suburb of Pretoria in the Gauteng Province. Sunnyside Church was organized in 1960 under the auspices of the then Transvaal Conference of the

Seventh-day Adventist church.

The church was organized as a purely white church during the apartheid era.

Non-white races were not allowed to participate in the worship services. The dawn of democracy in 1994 and thereafter, made SSDAC a center of attraction for many races living in and around Pretoria. It was the only Seventh-day Adventist Church among other white churches in Pretoria that conducted its services in English. The rest of the churches used Afrikaans.

The arrival of the black folks caused a migration of former members to other churches. In 2007, when the researcher visited the Church, there was only one white couple remaining. In 2011, when the researcher conducted a two weeks’ evangelistic campaign at the church, there was not a single white family worshiping there anymore. The purely black Church still belongs to the same Conference operating under a new name, Northern Conference of Seventh-day Adventist, since 2014. This is the only white Conference organizationally in South Africa; all other white and

black conference in the same vicinity merged post-apartheid. However, it has employed pastors of other races to care for the diverse membership groupings in their churches. Currently, the Sunnyside Church has a membership of about 300 members.

One factor that contributed to other ethnic groups flocking to SSDAC post-apartheid could be the two convenient building structures readily available for worship. The main church building used by adults and a hall dedicated to youth services every

Sabbath. Prior to 1994, black churches were not allowed to own land, let alone in a former white dominated residence of Sunnyside suburb.

South Africa’s strong economy in the region attracts a lot of people from neighboring countries and beyond. The metropolitan SSDAC is composed of people from as far as eastern and western Africa, in addition to Southerners. The membership is constituted of citizens of countries such as Zimbabwe, Namibia, Zambia,

Swaziland, Lesotho, Malawi, and Mozambique from Southern Africa. The eastern

African countries include, Tanzania, DRC, and Kenya.

The western Africa is represented by nationalities of Ghana, Nigeria, and

Cameroon. Among the indigenous South African people, the tribes represented are

Xhosa, Swati, Ndebele, Venda, Sotho, Tsonga, and Zulu. SSDAC has more women than men. The local Conference considers it one of the highly evangelistic churches.

There are at least five former church Companies of Sunnyside that have been organized into fully fledged churches.

The membership composition of SSDAC could imply that there may be as many worldviews and worship practices as the number of tribes and nationalities. One prominent challenge that this growing missionary church has to address is the issue of female head covering in church. In the past, a church business meeting took an action to require all women to cover their heads. However, the action applies mainly to

females participating on the pulpit during divine service. It is a non-negotiable practice for both main church building and youth hall, as long as a female participates in the divine service ceremony.

The enforcing of this practice has divided the church into two groupings.

There are male and female members who do not want women to participate in the pulpit services without a head gear. There is another group which believes that it does not matter and should be optional. The deacons keep headscarves in the vestry to ensure that every female covers her head before ascending the pulpit. Nonetheless, a visiting female preacher once refused to cover, yet none of the local members has ever been allowed to go without a cover.

The head covering issue is not an isolated case of SSDAC alone. There are

Church entities in Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division, which are grappling with the same issue. The researcher shares three instances from three different countries to illustrate that it is not a periphery issue.

The researcher witnessed a fiery word exchange between a visiting female preacher and the hosting pastor over head covering in Botswana. The pastor categorically told the preacher from the higher organization that his pulpit was out of bounds for any female without head covering.

In 2013, the researcher had chosen Mamelodi Central Church to pursue the same research topic at the invitation of the church. One pastor had previously attempted to tackle the topic, but to no avail. The matter got so heated that at least two opposing camps emerged in the same church. It became so bad that some of the members left the church to worship elsewhere. Unfortunately, the researcher could not continue his research in Mamelodi because of other issues that compounded the

situation. Regrettably, the church was closed by a court order for the security of the members.

Solofo Mersmart, the president of Antsiranana mission in Madagascar, related an incident of an encounter with a group of about 40 Seventh-day Adventist members in Anpanefena district. The group taught, practiced and emphasized imperative head covering. The group was adamant that 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 has to be taken literally because it is in the Bible. The Conference and the district decided to remove them from membership after the Conference leadership’s tireless efforts to resolve the issue through dialogue and teaching which fell on deaf ears.

In the instances cited, unfolding in church entities, at least two opposing groups developed. Therefore, the issue has a negative impact on the mission of the church. The mission of the church is stagnated and paralyzed by this subject, which is seemingly of great importance to church members. In this dissertation, the focus of study will be on the SSDAC.

The research seeks to investigate and establish the reasons that led to the decision to require female worshipers to use head covering and address them. The head covering subject is militating against the mission of Jesus, which entails making disciples of all nations, kindred and tribes. It may be easy to bring people into the church but hard to retain them as members, under the prevailing circumstances.

The head covering matter is a wide-spread matter in the Southern Africa

Indian Ocean Division church. A community-based ministry of the Seventh-day

Adventist church called Dorcas society, composed of women, has a uniform that has a headgear. In Zambia and Angola, the uniform is blue, with white berets for the head.

In Zimbabwe the uniform is green with green head covers. In Malawi, there are two types of uniforms. Central Malawi Conference and North Malawi Field has white

blouses and blue skirts. South Malawi Field has white blouses and maroon skirts.

However, both these uniforms have a white head cover. Interestingly, almost all

African Christian churches have uniform with a head covering. Apart from African churches, the long established Christian churches such as the Roman Catholic Church and United Congregational Church of Southern Africa have a uniform with a head cover.

Culture has also played a pivotal rule in the practice of head covering.

Although the cultural aspect will be dealt with in detail in chapters four and five, it suffices to mention that in almost all special traditional occasions, women are expected to cover their heads in number of southern African cultures. Therefore, there is a general belief among members that, since it is a common societal practice, it has to be adopted by the church without scrutiny.

Statement of the Problem

The Sunnyside Church in Pretoria took an action in a business meeting to enforce head covering. This affected mainly every woman who participates in the divine service worship ceremony. The action was influenced by what some of the members considered immodest and suggestive attire by females. Common cultural practices of head covering and the leadership interpretation of 2 Corinthians 11:2-16 were possible contributory factors to the action.

The action has led to the discomfort of some worshipers, engendering a divide of views within the church over the practice. At least two churches in the Southern

Africa Indian Ocean Division have been adversely affected by the issue as elucidated in the ministry context. Head covering contributed to the closure of Mamelodi Church in South Africa. It also led to the dropping of forty members from membership in

Madagascar. This phenomenon militates against the mission and unity of the body of

Christ to reap and retain people in the church.

Statement of the Purpose

The purpose of this dissertation is to study and establish the reasons that led to the action of SSDAC to require head covering for women. Based on the findings of the research, the researcher developed an intervention program. The program has been implemented to address the head covering issue. An evaluation was carried out at the end of the implementation process to assess the success of the program. The research has equipped SSDAC members to deal systematically with issues of this nature and others that may emerge in future. The study has enlightened members on the effective study of the Bible and appropriate application in order to fulfill the mission of the church.

Justification of the Dissertation

There is need for research in this topic of head covering because it has already adversely affected at least two Conferences in the southern region. The loss of members and closure of churches over head covering seriously compromises the tireless efforts of the church to fulfill its God given mission. The action by Sunnyside to require female members to cover their heads justifies the urgency of this research before the situating degenerates to a crisis level.

Delimitations

The challenge of head covering is affecting a number of countries, societies, and churches of different denominations in Southern Africa and the world. This study focused on SSDAC of the Northern Conference in South Africa. Occasionally, references to other churches and countries have been made to illustrate a point.

Although, the church has more than 150 members only twelve individuals have been interviewed. Nevertheless, the seminars were open to the entire church. The interviewees were selected on the bases of age and position in the church. The interviews were focusing more on the cultural and biblical perspectives of the topic.

Although head covering may affect men, this dissertation will be limited to head covering for women. However, this does not rule out the possibility of making reference to head covering for men to make a point. The time frame given to complete this dissertation shall be September 2016. Scriptural references would be from the

New King James Version (NKJV), unless otherwise specified.

Methodology and Procedures

The methodology and procedures section deals with chapter-by-chapter overview of all the research work. Each chapter is treated as a unit that connects to the previous chapter and the subsequent chapters.

Chapter one is a general overview of the research work. It deals with the description of the ministry context, the statement of the problem, the statement of purpose of the research, the justification of the dissertation, the delimitations of dissertation, the methodology, the expectations and the definition of terms.

Chapter two sets the tone of the biblical foundation for this study. The areas covered consists of head covering and its usage in the Bible, head covering in the Old

Testament, head covering in the New Testament, a word study of 1 Corinthians 11:2-

16, and head covering in E. G. White’s writings.

Chapter three is the literature review of Seventh-day Adventist works on head covering, literatures by other Christian denominations on the same subject, other religious literatures, and non-religious literature on the issues of head covering in

worship. Traditional and cultural literatures will also be considered to find out if head covering is a cultural imperative or carries other symbols and meanings.

Chapter four focuses on the baseline survey. This entails a concise description of the initiative, the understanding of the general context and the local church context.

A well-designed questionnaire, interviews will be used. Observations and the implementation of the initial intervention for baseline as well as data presentation and analysis will also be reported. The findings in this will lead to the development of an intervention program

Chapter five deals with the implementation of the initiative designed in chapter four. After implementation exercise, evaluation was done. The data collected were presented and analyzed with a presentation of the results.

Chapter six provides the overview of the whole process and the work done in this study. It also presents the conclusion and the recommendations for further research and action.

Expectations from the Dissertation

A successful completion of this dissertation will help SSDAC to beware of the place of the actual mission of the church and focus more on it. A common understanding of the topic will make church members better disciples and missionaries. The amicable understanding of both cultures and principles of interpreting the Bible will bring harmony among members. This will be a powerful tool for winning new converts to the church, without fear of being passive.

In the light of the fact that SSDAC is not an exception in the Southern Africa

Indian Ocean division (SID), the research will be used in other countries of SID to address the issue of female head covering. The global mission pioneers and pastors engaged in both church planting and nurturing of churches will find the study

informative. The research will equip them with materials useful to foster unity in the missionary churches. Subsequently, SSDAC will regain her vibrant missionary focus and carry out ministry in unison.

Definitions of Terms

This section of the dissertation seeks to define words that may not be familiar to reader. It endeavors to make it easy for the reader to go through the dissertation without wondering at the meaning of certain unfamiliar terms.

Division: A section of the General Conference, with administrative responsibility assigned to them in designated geographical areas.1

Southern Africa Union Conference: (SAU) An entity of the Seventh-day Adventist

Church administering the work in four Countries in Southern Africa, namely, South

Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland and Namibia.

Northern Conference: (NC) An administrative head office of the Seventh-day

Adventist church based in Johannesburg. The office oversees the work of the churches in its given territory under the supervision of the union.

Culture: “The more or less integrated systems of ideas, feelings, and values and their associated patterns of behavior and products shared by a group of people who organize and regulate what they think feel and do.”2

Worldview: "The foundational cognitive, affective, and evaluative assumptions and frameworks a group of people makes about the nature of reality which they use to

1General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, Seventh-day Adventist Church Manual (Silver Spring, MD: General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, 1990), 26.

2Paul G. Hiebert, Anthropological Insights for Missionaries (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2008), 30.

order their lives. It encompasses the people's images or maps of the reality of all things that they use for living their lives."3

Contextualization: “Fitting our message into the lives of people so they can understand it in their cultural uniqueness.”4 It is “the capacity to respond meaningfully to the gospel within the framework of one’s own situation.”5

Enculturation: “The process that begins from the moment of birth in which the cultural rules and pathways, values and dreams, and patterns and regulations of life are passed on from one generation to the next.”6

Summary

This chapter has introduced the research topic of this dissertation beginning with the ministry context. It has also stated the problem statement, purpose of the study as well as the delimitation and expectations. The methodology and procedure is a roadmap of the entire dissertation giving a synopsis of what each chapter is about.

The next chapter deals with the biblical foundation of head covering, focusing on both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

3Paul G. Hiebert, Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2008), 25, 26.

4K. O. Gangel, John, vol. 4 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2000), 153.

5A. S. Moreau, H. Netland, & C. van Engen, “Contextualization,” Evangelical Dictionary of World Missions (EDWM) (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000), 225.

6Moreau, Netland, and van Engen, “Enculturation,” EDWM, 309.

CHAPTER 2

THEOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS ON HEAD COVERING

This chapter is an endeavor to establish a theological foundation on head covering in order to respond to the problem identified in chapter one. It surveys and discusses the Old and New Testament Bible records on the topic of head covering to understand the biblical message on the topic.

Introduction

The first section of this chapter is a consideration of a few case studies on the use of head covering in the Old Testament. This is followed by a section on the use of head covering in the Greco-Roman world to establish how the different societies applied and interpreted head covering in both religious and public settings. The study explores three societies, (1) the Greeks who ruled Corinth before its destruction in 146

BC, (2) the Jews and (3) the Romans who rebuilt Corinth and ruled it at the time of the Apostle Paul’s writing.

The New Testament section begins with an overview of Corinth as a city and then goes on to deliberate on the establishment of the church in Corinth. It further discusses the church’s existence in this city. Among other things the narrative also highlights the challenges which the church grappled with in this city. The main passage of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 has been investigated. Other passages in the New

Testament which deal with head covering, or allude to it have also been studied.

Likewise, the researcher has done a search through the writings of Ellen G. White in order to establish her perspective and stance on head covering.

Head Covering in the Old Testament

The Old Testament has a number of texts which refer to the use of veil or head covering for both men and women. The events and occasions on which a head covering is implied vary from one to another. This chapter categorizes head covering according to its various uses and meanings. Considerations go beyond the literal head covering. These will include its relevance in the Corinthian community and the theological, ethical, and relational implications to God.

Rebecca Case

The narration indicates that when Rebecca learnt that Isaac was her future husband she dismounted the horse and threw a covering over her face (Gen 24:65).

This may have been a cultural practice because Jacob was later deceived by her uncle

Laban giving him Leah veiled under the pretext that she was Rachel (Gen 29:23). It seems Rebecca did a cultural act of honor and respect to Isaac.

Rebecca covered herself because it was proper decorum for a betrothed woman of the upper class.1 R. Jamieson posits that the veil was used to hide the eyes of the woman on appearance of a stranger and a token of reverence and subjection of a bride to her husband.2 J. P. Lange identifies the veil as an Arabian mantle for the head, which is still customary practice in the East. The bride has to appear before the groom veiled; her veil is only removed when the two are joined.3 Nichol concurs with

1K. A. Mathews, Genesis 11:27-50:26, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2005), 1:347.

2R. Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and D. Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 1, Genesis (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997), 29.

3J. P. Lange, P. Schaff, T. Lewis, & A. Gosman, A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: Genesis (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 1:487.

Lange that it was the custom in Rebecca’s country for the bride to cover her face until the marriage had been concluded.4

Matthews, Jamieson, and Lange, agree that Rebecca wore a veil covering when she saw her future husband. While the scholars agree on the veil, Lange indicates that it was a common Arabian customary practice in the east. Nichol,

Matthews, and Jamieson clarify that it signified a marital relationship. The weight of the evidence suggests to the researcher that there was a high respect of gender distinction and regard for the groom by the bride. It was expressed by covering her face with a veil flowing from the head. In this case, the form of head covering meant respect, reverence, and submission to the future husband by the female spouse. It was a cultural practice.

Tamar Case

The second episode is between Tamar and Judah, her father-in-law, who mistook her for a harlot and had sexual intercourse with her (Gen 38:15). The text seems to imply that in the Canaanite society, prostitutes were easily identified by a covering over their faces. W. D. Reyburn and E. M. Fry state that the cloth covered both the face and the head, suggesting that Tamar wore a covering to conceal her identity and resembled Canaanite cultural religious prostitutes who wore a veil.5 In fact, in verses 21 and 22, Tamar is categorically referred to as a cult prostitute by

Hirah, Judah’s friend, when he came back to pay her. Williams indicates that Tamar exchanged her mourning clothes for garments of a Shrine prostitute to trap her father- in-law. He goes on to postulate that Judah did not recognize Tamar because she was

4“Head Covering” [Gen 24:65], The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (SDABC), ed. Francis D. Nichol (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1978), 1:365.

5W. D. Reyburn, & E. M. Fry, A Handbook on Genesis (New York: United Bible Societies, 1998), 878.

veiled throughout the act.6 E. F. Roop alludes that as Judah was on his journey, he saw a woman dressed as a prostitute near the gate of Enaim, and he stopped for sexual gratification after the death of his wife.7 J. E. Smith simply submits that Judah went into Tamar because he thought she was a temple prostitute. Smith indicates that when

Judah’s friend, the Adullamite, went back with a goat, no one in the area knew about that cult prostitute.8 This case reveals that temple prostitution was common among the

Canaanites and the practitioners had a symbolic attire that included a veil covering.

The two cases above, both found in Genesis, reveal two different cultures with two different symbolisms. Rebecca used a veil to respect a rightful groom. Tamar used a similar symbol in a Canaanite territory to entice her father-in-law to commit adultery. This shows that there is always a meaning behind a symbol/form, and it may differ from one culture to another. What may be a sign of respect in one setting may be an insult in another, yet in exactly the same form.

Suspected Wife Case

Numbers 5:11-31records instruction of how a husband who suspects his wife of adultery should handle the case. The woman was supposed to be brought before the priests for a litmus test. One of the procedures included the uncovering of her head.

This is specifically mentioned in verse 18, “Then the priest shall stand the woman before the LORD, uncover the woman’s head, and put the offering for remembering in her hands, which is the grain offering of jealousy. And the priest shall have in his

6W. G. Williams, Genesis: A Commentary for Bible Students (Indianapolis, IN: Wesleyan, 1999), 262.

7E. F. Roop, Genesis (Scottsdale, PA: Herald, 1987), 250-251.

8J. E. Smith, “Genesis 38:1-30,” in The Pentateuch, 2nd ed. (Joplin, MO: College, 1993), 211.

hand the bitter water that brings a curse.” The verse implies that this married woman was wearing a head cover before coming to the priest for testing.

W. Thomas suggests that the taking away of the head covering was a sign that

“she had forfeited her glory by breaking, or by seeming to have broken, her allegiance to her husband.”9 Nichol simply postulates that “This was a gesture of shame as indicated in Leviticus 10:6; 13:45; 21:10.”10 However, the Levitical case was specifically referring to male covering. Both Thomas and Nichol agree that the uncovering of the head was a sign to the community, or those meeting the woman, that she had been shamed or unglorified. It implies that the society of the time knew what the symbol meant.

Head Covering and Religious Use

The Old Testament records the use of head covering for religious purposes.

Men who served God in the temple were required to wear head covers. It is shown in this section that false representatives of God also used head coverings to deceive

God’s people.

Priestly and Prophetic Use

In giving the instructions on the wilderness tabernacle, the Lord emphatically made it clear that priests’ attire must include head covering (Exod 29:6; 28:4; Lev 8:9;

16:4). It is unclear if God ever gave an injunction for prophets to wear a head gear, but it is evident that prophets used it profusely (Zech 3:5). However, in this section,

9W. Thomas, “Introductory Essay on the Authenticity and Authorship of the Book of Numbers,” in The Pulpit Commentary, edited by H. D. M. Spence, and Joseph S. Exell (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1910), 40.

10“Head Covering” [Leviticus 10:6], SDABC, 1:843.

only the false prophets will be discussed. The true prophets will be considered under the section on mourning.

Aaron and sons. In the wilderness, Moses was instructed to make a turban, specifically for Aaron, the High Priest. This attire was prescribed by God, for those serving Him in the tabernacle. Aaron’s children, who were priests, had a head covering identified as a hat (Exod 29:6; 28:4; Lev 8:9; 16:4). W. W. Wiersbe adds that “held by a lace of blue, was a golden plate that said ‘holiness to the Lord.’” The nation was accepted before God because of the High Priest (v. 38), just as God’s people are accepted in Jesus Christ.11 R. S. Boraas concurs with this observation when he defines a turban as “a cloth draped, wrapped, or wound around the head to give protection or distinctive appearance.”12

Fittingly, the practice pointed to Christ as the High Priest. It seems it was the plate that gave meaning to the turban. It appears the golden plate was more significant than the turban cover. The conclusion maybe that the main purpose of the turban was to hold the golden plate which pointed to Christ. On hindsight though, reverence may come into play since non-High Priests wore caps without a golden plate.

Joshua and the High Priest. A turban is again mentioned in the book of

Zechariah 3:5, “And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the LORD stood by.” Joshua, the High Priest, was stripped off his dirty clothes which were replaced by clean clothes and a turban wound around his head. The turban, called mitsnepheth in Hebrew, was something rolled round the head as the head-dress of the

11W. W. Wiersbe, Wiersbe’s Expository Outlines on the Old Testament: Exodus 28:36–3 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993).

12R. S. Boraas, “Turban” The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary: Revised and Updated, 3rd ed., ed. M. A. Powell (New York: HarperCollins, 2011), 1073.

High Priest. … It was a twisted band of fine linen, 8 yards in length, coiled into the form of a cap, and worn on official occasions and differed from the mitre or head- dress (migba'ah) of the common priest.”13

Ellen White explains that the vision symbolized Christ, the High Priest, forgiving a repentant sinner. Commenting on Zechariah 3:4-7, she writes “Christ is ready to say to the repenting sinner, ‘Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee.’”14 Christ is the connecting link between God and man. “The blood of Jesus

Christ is the eloquent plea that speaks in behalf of sinners.”15 It is still a case of meaning attached to the symbolism of Christ the Savior. It suffices to say one should never be stuck with the symbol but rather always find out the meaning.

False female prophetess. According to the prophetic book of Ezekiel, there were female prophets who wore sleeves and veils on their heads. It appears God did not approve of their sinister motives of wearing veils as the accepted decorum. The prophetesses’ aim was to turn God’s people from the true divine worship despite their seemingly proper worship attire (Ezek 13:18). The entire chapter thirteen of Ezekiel is a stern warning against false prophets, both male and female. However, from verses seventeen onwards, it is particularly directed towards false female prophets who among others wore veils on their heads. It appears that they used covers to keep charms to entice God’s people into rebellion. In reaction, God vowed to deal with the false prophetesses by tearing off their veils to deliver His people (Ezek 13:21). It seems veils were a common phenomenon for women at the time, including those who wore them in utter rebellion against God. In this case, the issue is not the veils but the

13John Isett, Easton's Bible Dictionary, accessed 8 August 2015, http://biblehub.com/ topical/m/mitre.htm.

14E. G. White, Our High Calling (Nampa, ID: Review and Herald, 1961), 38.

15Ibid.

content thereof. The form, in this case, did not mean reverence to God but rebellion by practice of magic.

Elwell, commenting on verse eighteen, states that the group of prophetesses in this prophecy seemingly did what was required of the Israelites by Moses’ command.

“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deut 6:8). The injunction was in reference to God’s commandments, but they did it for evil motives. Elwell went on to observe, “Here is a prostitution of the custom. There are no copies of the Decalogue beneath these charms or veils. What these women do is ensnare people”16 His comment shows that head covering had an expected meaning to God and His community, to which the false prophetess acted inversely.

Therefore, it is crucial that, in every visible form, the observer seeks to understand the meaning. Making a conclusion before investigating the meaning in a given situation, based on one’s worldview, may lead to wrong association. The symbol may mean different things to different communities and regions. The researcher agrees with Barry et al. that “The rare Hebrew word used here, mispachah, is used instead of the normal word for veil, suggesting a special type of head covering used in magical rituals.”17 Evidently, the prophetesses used the head covering veil for magic. This is another instance where the symbol stood for some other trade.

16W. A. Elwell, ed., “Ezekiel 13:1,”Evangelical Commentary on the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1995), 3:559-589.

17John D. Barry et al., “Ezekiel 13:18,” Faithlife Study Bible, Logos Bible Software (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2016).

Head Covering and General Use

This section traces the use of head covering in various day to day rituals and activities. It covers aspects such as royalty, military, and mourning head covering usages.

Head Covering and Royalty

Kings. Head covering for rulers and kings, both male and female, in diverse nations is dotted throughout the Scriptures. The Amalekite who gave a report of

Saul’s death brought evidence of the king’s crown and bracelet as a confirmation of the king’s demise. It may be common knowledge that all soldiers who went to war, wore helmets, but the king’s or leader’s royal crown or helmet was distinct from the rest (2 Sam 1:10).

The distinguishing attire for royalty is evidenced in 2 Chronicles 18: 29-31.

Jehoshaphat and Ahab went to war, and Ahab disguised himself to avoid easy identity probably. Unfortunately, Jehoshaphat was almost killed when mistaken for Ahab in battle front, based on royal attire. At the coronation of young king Joash, the Bible depicts people approaching him and placing a crown on his head and proclaiming him king over God’s people of Israel (2 Kgs 11:12; 2 Chr 23:11).

Queens. Scripture shows that, in the Medo-Persian Empire, the reigning queen wore a crown. Queen Vashti who refused the king’s request was to appear before the king wearing her royal crown (Esth 1:11). This suggested some form of common practice for queens. This is repeated when Vashti is deposed for violating the king’s command and Esther is chosen in the place of Vashti. A royal crown was set on

Esther as the reigning queen in place of Vashti (Esth 2:17). Jamieson suggests, “This

consisted only of a purple ribbon, streaked with white, bound round the forehead.”18 It seems the crown did not cover the head completely. This was symbol of a new and high position in the empire. The purpose of a head cover for royalty was to distinguish the high position of the leader from the rest of the army and status in the society.

Head Covering and Military

This section tracks and traces the use of head covering among commanders and ordinary soldiers. It is evident that it was used for protection from the darts of the enemies.

Commander and soldiers. In the battle between the Philistines and the

Israelites, Goliath is portrayed as wearing a bronze helmet. Saul, the king of Israel, is reported to have owned a helmet of brass (1 Sam 17:5, 38). King Uzziah’s fighting weaponry collection included among others, shields, spears, and helmets (2 Chr

26:14). Ezekiel, in proclaiming judgment on Jerusalem, describes Babylon as an army with flowing turbans. They were described as marching to attack Israel with weapons and wearing protective helmets (Ezek 23:15, 24). Even those from Persia, Lydia,

Libya, and Ethiopia had a helmet as men of war (Ezek 27:10; 38:5). It is evident that, in the military, headgear was used to protect soldiers against the darts of the enemy.

Head Covering in Mourning

Head covering could also be a symbol of mourning. Some mourners covered their head as a sign of mourning, while others uncovered their heads in biblical times.

18R. Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and D. Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, 1:303.

King David

He covered his head and walked barefoot as an expression of grief. The men who accompanied him followed his manner of sorrow over the hostility—created by his own son, Absalom—that plagued his family (2 Sam 15:30). It is not clear if they always wore head covers, or if they only wore them for mourning at this particular time. After the death of Absalom, his father mourned. David covered his face again and cried (2 Sam 19:4). At least twice, David covered himself to symbolize sorrow and grief both when the son usurped the throne and when he died.

Ezekiel

It appears it was typical of priests to take off the turban in times of mourning.

God had to instruct Ezekiel not to take off his turban but to mourn the passing away of his wife in silence (Ezek 24:17). This implies that just like the priests, the prophets may have had turbans as part of their attire. Keil and Delitzsch observe that “on occasions of mourning, it was customary to uncover the head and strew ashes upon it

(Isa 61:3), to go barefoot (2 Sam 15:30; Isa 20:2), and to cover the beard, that is to say, the lower part of the face as far as the nose (Mic 3:7). Ezekiel is not to do any of these things, but to arrange his head-attire.”19 This is different from what was done by

David in the time of mourning previously cited. The instruction given to Ezekiel had been given to Aaron and his sons before, as indicated in the next section.

Aaron and Sons

The weight of evidence in the Bible shows that it was a common practice among the priests and prophets to express their grief by removing their turbans. When

19K. F. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Ezekiel, Daniel, Commentary on the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 9:199.

Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, died before the Lord for bringing strange fire, Moses said to Aaron and his remaining sons, ‘Do not uncover your heads nor tear your clothes, lest you die, and wrath come upon all the people. But let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the LORD has kindled.’

Customarily, just like Ezekiel, they were going to mourn the usual way if

Moses had not given an instruction to the contrary. The researcher agrees with

Spencer-Jones who postulates, “It was customary for relatives to conduct the lament before burial (Gen 30:3–10); and the lament itself was often accompanied by weeping, wailing, beating the breast, and tearing the clothes (2 Sam 3:31; Isa 22:12;

Ezek 27:29–32; Joel 1:13; 2:12–13).”20

However, this should not be interpreted to mean that uncovering the head led to defilement always. The case of Job who had boils all over the body, including his head, implies that he had no covering. However, he was still regarded as righteous before God, depicting that there is no inherent power in a symbol. The instruction itself indicates that uncovering the head was an expected practice of Aaron’s family.

Ellen White shows that there was an exception, “It was the general custom for the garments to be rent at the death of friends. The only exception to this was in the case of the High Priest. Aaron lost his two sons for not following the specifics of glorifying God. He was forbidden to show sorrow and mourning by rending his garments. The prohibition was positive.21 Ellen White further clarifies the matter that the issue was not head covering but rending priestly clothes in obedience to the custom. She states that

20M. F. Rooker, Leviticus (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2000), 3:159.

21F. D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1980), 5:1105.

A High Priest was not to rend his garments. By the Levitical law, this was prohibited under sentence of death. Under no circumstances, on no occasion, was the priest to rend his robe. It was the custom among the Jews for the garments to be rent at the death of friends, but this custom the priests were not to observe. Express command had been given by Christ to Moses concerning this.22

Therefore, head cover had no inherent power but was just a symbol.

Death Row Inmate

In the Medo-Persian Empire, Haman who had planned to kill Mordecai was humiliated at the elevation of Mordecai. The Bible records that he mourned with his head covered. He quickly went mourning and in shame, disappointed at the turning of the events. He was confused. Through grief and sorrow, he covered his head. His head was covered again as he was led to the gallows where he was hanged to his death

(Esth 6:12; 7:8). This appears like a widespread practice at the time such that Persians also practiced it.

Spence-Jones argues that the covering of the head was a sign of grief for most of the Near Eastern Nations. “This was a sign of grief among the Persians, Egyptians, and Romans, as well as the Hebrews (for whom see Ezek 24:17), it being originally a natural movement to conceal an outburst of tears.”23 However, it is noteworthy that the manner of mourning was different from the way Ezekiel wanted to express it.

David covered his head, while Ezekiel wanted to uncover had it not been for the divine instruction.

Although Spence-Jones and Keil and Delitzsch do not agree on one practice and differ in many aspects of their positions, both views of covering and uncovering are reflected in biblical episodes. However, the researcher is convinced that the

22 E. G. White, The Desire of Ages (Pacific, 1898), 708-709.

23H. D. M. Spence-Jones, ed., 2 Samuel (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1909), 371.

weight of the biblical evidence shows that, to some extent, head covering was used to depict grief. One such episode was when David covered his head as he was grieving for Absalom, his son.

Head Covering and the Angels

This section will explore the prophet Isaiah’s vision of angels covering their faces with their wings before the Lord. The reason for including this passage is that the researcher has heard it quoted (even during interaction with Sunnyside) in support of female head covering.

Isaiah’s Vision

The prophet Isaiah recorded a vision of angels—called Seraphim—with six wings, worshiping before God. They covered both their feet and faces with two pair of wings as they flew with one pair. They cried to one another, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of Hosts; the whole earth is full of His Glory!” (Isa 6:2). The text does not give a detailed account as to whether this face covering is a continuous practice in heaven for angelic hosts. Isaiah focuses on one type of angels but the Bible indicates that there are other angels with less than six wings.

Briley posits they are at an advantage because “Their six wings allow them to show great reverence for God as they use one pair each to cover their faces and their feet. The holiness of God does not cause them to flee in terror, however, for with the other two wings they fly about and sing praise regarding God’s holiness.”24 The issue, therefore, is not the number of wings but showing reverence to God. Nonetheless, the other angels without six wings may have their own way of showing reverence to God.

24T. R. Briley, Isaiah (Joplin, MO: College, 2000), 97, 98.

Barry et al. indicate that there are angels with less wings. “The seraphim likely had to protect themselves from the brightness of the glory of Yahweh. In Ezekiel 1, the cherubim fly with two wings and cover their bodies with the other two. The seraphim cover their bodies with four wings and fly with two.”25 The meaning of the symbolism of covering some parts of the body is not explicit.

Jamieson concurs with Briley that it symbolized reverence but adds that it was among eastern monarchs, “two veiled their faces as unworthy to look on the holy

God, or pry into His secret counsels which they fulfilled (Exod 3:6; Job 4:18; 15:15); two covered their feet, or rather the whole of the lower parts of their persons—a practice usual in the presence of Eastern monarchs, in token of reverence.”26 He compares this to the eastern culture practice of reverence. The comparison is debatable since one scene takes place on earth with sinful beings, while the other one is in heaven performed by celestial beings. However, God uses common things to reveal himself to sinful man.

Ellen White concurs on the matter of reverence with emphasis on humility when she states,

As seraphim and cherubim look upon Christ, they cover their faces with their wings. Their own perfection and beauty are not displayed in the presence and glory of their Lord. Then how improper it is for men to exalt themselves! Let them rather be clothed with humility, cease all strife for supremacy, and learn what it means to be meek and lowly of heart. He who contemplates God’s glory and infinite love, will have humble views of himself, but by beholding the character of God, he will be changed into His divine image.27

25J. D. Barry, et. al., “Isaiah 6:2” Faithlife Study Bible, Logos Bible Software (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2016).

26R. Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and D. Brown, A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Whole Bible, 1:435.

27Ellen G. White, That I May Know Him (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 1964), 175.

However, face covering mostly runs from the head as in the case of Rebecca and Tamar explained earlier. The case under discussion shows that covering can be traced to some worship style in heaven as angels appear before the Holy God. The meaning of their act of covering is showing humility and reverence to God.

Other Symbolic Expressions of Reverence

This section showcases two instances where God instructed Moses and Joshua to demonstrate reverence. This was symbolically shown by the removing of shoes rather than a head covering. This reveals that there is no one-size-fits-all approach to reverence. God is sensitive to the culture and practice of the people as He reveals himself and teaches humanity of the required standards of worship.

Moses

There are two instances where God instructed Moses and Joshua to take off their shoes because the place in which they stood was holy. In Exodus 3:5, He instructed Moses to take off his shoes as He spoke to him by the burning bush. Stuart suggests that, “There are many references in the Bible to taking off or putting on sandals, but none has any connection with holiness except this one.”28 In addition,

Freedman and Chadwick posit that “removing shoes was cultural practice that came with respect for the superior … may have been on the basis of demanded respect or worship as some have suggested, but there may have been a more spiritual reason.”29

God spoke to Moses in the language he understood, and he obeyed. The symbol could have been different in another cultural setting.

28D. K. Stuart, Exodus, Vol. 2 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006), 114.

29J. M. Freeman and H. J. Chadwick, Manners & Customs of the Bible (North Brunswick, NJ: Bridge-Logos, 1998), 101–102.

Joshua

Joshua was instructed to take off his shoes too (Josh 5:15). Ellsworth suggests that “What we have here, then, is this: the Lord was not only accepting Joshua’s worship but also telling him to do it in the right way, that is, with reverence!”30

The scholars engaged in this section—Stuart, Ellsworth, and Freedman and

Chadwick—agree that the shoes were taken off, and all of them link the two experiences of Moses and Joshua. It obtains there were times when God gave an instruction of a certain form to His people based on the prevailing cultural practice for effective communication of His will. Sarna states, “In the ancient Near East, removal of footwear, here probably sandals of papyrus or leather, was a sign of respect and displayed an attitude of humility. Priests officiated barefoot in the sanctuary; and to this day they remove their footwear before pronouncing the priestly benediction in the synagogue service.”31 It is apparent that Moses knew what the taking off of sandals meant as an Easterner.

The practice is also found with the Muslims, who remove their shoes at the door of a mosque, carrying them in the left hand, sole to sole. Similarly, on entering a house, Muslims leave their shoes on the durḳā’ah, or lower part of the floor, before stepping on the leewān, or upper part, and they also remove them before stepping on a carpet or mat. In some instances the sacredness of the threshold demands that it be not touched with the foot when crossing it; hence among other rites that of taking off the shoes is sometimes found.32

The Muslims still take off their shoes when they go into their places of worship. In the interest of mission, Christians may embrace the prevalent culture and customs to avoid unnecessary prejudices if the culture of the target group does not compromise the gospel in anyway. Addressing Christians, Chapman says, “But what

30R. Ellsworth, Opening Up Joshua (Leominster, MA: Day One, 2008), 64.

31N. M. Sarna, Exodus (Philadelphia, PA: Jewish Publication Society, 1991), 15.

32J. A. MacCulloch, “Shoes and Sandals” in Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, edited by J. Hastings, J. A. Selbie, & L. H. Gray (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1908 – 1926), 11: 474.

if we take off our ‘Christian spectacles’ and try to see Jesus against the background of

Old Testament assumptions and several centuries of Jewish traditions? We then begin to realize that the Muslim reacts to Christian claims about Jesus in the same way as the High Priest reacted to Jesus’ claims about Himself.”33

If God would bring the message across using people’s cultures without necessarily making the symbol sacred, He may use the same today for the fulfillment of His mission. Although the practice of taking off shoes has no direct command from

God for all believers to observe always, reverence to God is timeless. There is no mention of taking off shoes when Moses met with God on various succeeding occasions including at Mount Sinai. There are instances and places in which God demands a certain pattern of behavior and adornment to symbolize reverence, respect, and humility, without necessarily making it mandatory for all.

Summary

In summary, the immediate preceding subsection has revealed that there is no biblical injunction whatsoever that binds all Christian women to cover their heads in worship. The majority of the cases discussed points to societal practice without any reference to a divine command for females to cover. However, though the symbol of head covering may be relative to culture, the values such as reverence, respect, and humility are timeless and universal.

It is evident that head covering meant different things to different people and societies. Head covering cannot be taken as a symbol that has universal meaning. In the texts explored, it meant respect, reverence, protection, mourning, holiness, prostitution, and even magical arts. Therefore, head covering is a symbol that can express what other symbols in the Bible can express like taking off shoes.

33C. J. Chapman, “Thinking Biblically About Islam” in Themelios 3 (Logos edition, 1978), 71.

The long section explored showed that the covering discussed referred to a literal veil or cloth as a symbol of a deeper meaning. However, in the case of

Rebecca, Tamar, and Haman, their veils covered both the head and face, while in the other narratives reviewed, only the head was covered. Therefore, there were two forms of covering: one that covered the head/hair only, while the other covered both hair and face. They all had their respective meanings. The next section explores head covering in the New Testament.

Head Covering in the New Testament

One of the challenging passages in scripture is on head covering in 1

Corinthians 11:2-16, and it is the main text in this research. This section will delve into the passage by way of word study to establish the definition of covering. Other passages of the New Testament related to head covering will be considered. However, the meaning of head covering in 1 Corinthians will be explored before probing other scriptural references. Texts that help clarify the theological base in relation to other seemingly controversial issues may be discussed. The next section is the word study of the title passage of this dissertation.

The Study of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16

This section is a brief exegetical study of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 through analysis of some words. The researcher has identified at least four words which are repeated. They are more aligned to the issue of female head covering as expended in the passage. The words are head, covering, uncovering, and hair/long hair.

The Bible Passage

The full text on which this dissertation hinges reads

Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God. Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her for a covering. But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God. (1 Cor 11:2-16, NIV)

Meaning of Head Covering

There are several positions taken by scholars on the actual meaning of head covering in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16. David Phillips identifies four supposed meanings of the type of head covering referred to in the passage. “A cloth over the top of the head, a veil worn over a woman’s face, a woman’s husband as a ‘spiritual covering,’ and a woman’s long hair.”34

The word study in the preceding section, especially on the word covering or katakalupto, indicates that the covering referred to in verses 5-7 and verse 13 is a cloth or veil that covers the head not the face. However, verses 14-15 refer to hair as covering, in place of the cloak or mantle wrapped around. Although Phillips’s posits

34David Phillips, Covered Glory: 1st Corinthians 11 & The Christian Use of Head Coverings, (La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 3.

“Paul states in verse 6 that when a woman does not cover her head then she should shave her hair off. However, cutting her hair off is impossible if hair is the covering that the shaved woman is already missing. For this reason, the head covering in verse

6 cannot be the woman’s long hair.”35 Therefore, Phillips negates the concept that hair could be used as a covering. Unfortunately, his argument is only based on verse 6. In verse 15, the meaning of the word covering for her indicates that hair is in place of a wrap-round or cloak.

Word Study

The following subsection will be a study of key words in 1 Corinthians 11:2-

16. The study cannot cover each and every word in the passage because of its scope.

Head. The word head, (kεφαλή) kephalē, appears eleven times in the passage—verses 3-6, 10, and 13. This word that denotes the top part of the body most often refers to a human head (Matt 6:17). It may refer to an entire person (1 Cor 11:4) or, metaphorically, to those who are of high status (Eph 1:22).36 It appears three times in verse three and once in verse four. In all these instances, it has a sense of reference to the entire person. “A figurative extension of meaning of κεφαλή ‘head,’ one who is of supreme or pre-eminent status, in view of authority to order or command—‘one who is the head of, one who is superior to, one who is supreme over.’”37 Verse three is an issue of relationship between God Jesus and humanity.

This may bring a sense of superiority and inferiority between males and females in the church, but the example of Christ and the Father negates the ideology.

35David Phillips, Covered Glory, 8.

36D. Mangum, Theological Wordbook (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2014).

37J. P. Louw, and E. A. Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, Electronic ed., vol. 1 (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 738.

Commenting on verse three, L.O. Richards says “The word’s use does not imply superiority/inferiority, as Jesus is not inferior to the Father. Paul’s point is that this is a divine order in creation which is right and good.”38 The head in the rest of the passage refers to an upper human body of either a male or a female, depending on the text. The reason for studying this word is to lay the foundation for the next word study which deals with the covering of the head.

Covering. The word related to cover, covering, and uncovering appears at least seven times in the passage under study. However, the word study will focus on verse 6, where covered appears twice referring to a woman’s head and verses 13 and

14 where covering and uncovering appear in the same vein.

Κατακαλύπτω, katakalyptō, cover. Kittel posits that, “Outside the NT the word is found in the sense of ‘to veil’ or ‘to veil oneself.’”39 Louw and Nida suggest that this word means “to wear a covering over one’s head—‘to have one’s head covered,’ ‘to cover one’s head.’”40 They contend that the word ‘covered’ in verse six means to wear a covering over one’s head, to have one’s head covered or to cover one’s head.41 Kittel argues that the same word, as used in the Old Testament in

Exodus 29:22, refers to the fat that covered the entrails in sacrificial regulations. It is also used in Exodus 26:34 to refer to God’s instruction that the Ark should be hid behind the dividing curtain in the tabernacle. The word appears again in Isaiah 6:2 and refers to angels who cover their feet and faces before the Lord. Finally, the same word is employed in Genesis 38:15 when Tamar covered herself like a prostitute to

38L. O. Richards, The Bible Reader’s Companion, Electronic ed. (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1991), 767.

39G. Kittel, G. W. Bromiley, and G. Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Electronic ed., vol. 3 (Grand Rapids, MI: William Eerdmans, 1964), 561.

40Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 526.

entice her father-in-law. Lust agrees with Kittel when he renders the word as “to cover with [τίτινι] Ex 26:34; to cover [τι] (of a cloud) Ez 38, 9; to cover, to flood.”42

The preceding information gives a pointer to understanding 1 Corinthians 11: 6.

Barry advances a reason for covering, based on verse six, “In Paul’s day, a woman with an uncovered head may have been considered sexually revealing and thus a distraction to men in the context of worship. Paul therefore recommends that women should wear head coverings to avoid such issues.”43 The engaging arguments in this section suggest Paul is referring to a cover over the hair. The word katakalypto is rendered as a compound word with two parts kata and kalupto which will be studied individually. Arndt states that kata is a “preposition denoting a marker of extension or orientation in space or specific area of location that is relatively lower, or down from something.”44

Arndt makes reference to verse four that uses the same word referring to a male covering. Thomas states that “kalypto (καλύπτω) means to cover—being covered, concealed, cover, covers, veiled.”45 Balz and Schneider support Thomas as they render “(καλύπτω) kalyptō as cover, conceal; pass: be concealed.”46 The researcher concludes that Paul referred to head covering not simply hair covering. The next word then will be “uncovered” appearing in verses five and thirteen.

41Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 526.

42J. Lust, E. Eynikel, & K. Hauspie, A Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint: Revised Edition (Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft: Stuttgart, 2003).

43J. D. Barry, et. al., Faithlife Study Bible: 1 Co 11:6 (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2016).

44W. F. Arndt, F. W. Danker, & W. Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3rd ed. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago, 2000), 511.

45R. L. Thomas, New American Standard Hebrew-Aramaic and Greek Dictionaries, updated ed. (Anaheim, CA: Foundation, 1998).

46H. R. Balz, & G. Schneider, Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, MI: William Eerdmans, 1990), 246.

Uncovering. Logos software renders uncovered asἀκατακάλυπτος, akatakalyptos, uncovered.47 It is mainly the opposite of covering studied above.

Abbot-Smith posits that it means “uncovered, unveiled: 1 Cor 11:5, 13.”48 Abbot-

Smith gives reference to the exact verses of the passages under study. Abbot-Smith and Logos software give a sense of exposure of the head in the absence of a covering, cloth, or veil. In verse five, the apostle Paul clearly states that a woman who is not covered is the same as one shaved. This suggests that those who shaved did not necessarily cover their heads; their heads were exposed for everyone to see. In fact,

Richards suggests the reason for not covering as follows, “But in not covering their heads, women were asserting their equality with men by symbolically adopting a culturally defined male prerogative.”49 The weight of evidence presented above indicates that some form of covering had to cover the hair for female worshipers in the Corinthian church.

However, the evidence so far points to a foreign object or fabric over the head.

This leads to study of the word “hair,” which is mentioned three times in the passage.

Once, in verse fourteen, in reference to a male worshiper and twice, in verse fifteen, referring to a woman worshiper. It appears like the apostle Paul says there is no need for a fabric or veil over the head, but the woman’s hair is a covering.

Hair. Analytical lexicon renders hair as Κόμη, kome, hair; hair of the head.50

47Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (Logos Bible Software, 2011).

48G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922), 16.

49L. O. Richards, The Bible Reader’s Companion, 767.

50Lexham Analytical Lexicon to the Septuagint (Bellingham, WA: Lexham, 2012).

κόμηkomē … hair, in context, the length is distinctive from a man’s (1 Cor 11:15).51

In the immediate preceding quotes, the two agree that hair refers to the natural hair that grows from the head of a human being. This leads to the study of the meaning of the Apostle Paul’s statement in verse fifteen, “for a hair of a woman serving as covering.” Louw and Nida postulate that κομάω, Komao, means to wear long hair as part of one’s attire—‘to have long hair, to appear with long hair.

γυνὴδὲἐὰνκομᾷδόξααὐτῇἐστιν ‘if a women wears long hair, it is a pride for her’ 1 Cor

11:15. In a number of languages, it may be necessary to translate κομάω as ‘to let one’s hair grow long’ or ‘not to cut one’s hair.52

Nida and Louw indicate in their comment that the long hair being referred to is hair that grows naturally. This may lead to think that there was no other covering apart from the hair. However, the substantiation, so far, indicated that the apostle was discussing a veil or fabric. According to Lindell, the word covering in verse fifteen is

περιβολάδιον», peribolaion, which means “wrapper, that which is thrown round, covering, woman’s headgear, (1 Cor 11:15), covering for the feet, chariot-cover, bedcover, dressing-gown, warm wrap.”53

It is evident that Paul accepted both the long hair and the head scarf or veil as a form of head covering in worship for females. This is clearly stated by Paul in 1

Corinthians 11:15, ‘For hair is given to her as a [head] covering.” The Greek text does not have the word “long.” It is just hair kome (hair). In fact, some Bibles translate verse 15 correctly “nor that hair is a woman’s glory, for hair is given as a substitute

51J. Swanson, Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek New Testament, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, 1997).

52Louw & Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 526.

53H. G. Liddell, et. al., A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon, 1996), 1369.

for coverings.54 This appropriate translation covers both short and long hair. Barry posits that in mentioning hair, “Paul is saying that it is permissible for a woman to have long hair. The sexual desire of men should not hinder this.”55

Based on explored information, then the apostle Paul welcomed females with just hair into the church, and those who preferred to use a veil or fabric as a cover.

This may be confirmed by the fact that while the Old Testament is silent on head covering injunction, the New Testament records a number of instances of females’ encounter with Jesus and angels without any emphasis on head covering.

In summation, the sectional study has shown that covering, in the passage, refers first to a veil covering the hair over the head (v. 6). Secondly, the passage also shows that hair as covering (v. 15) was also accepted in the Corinthian church. The researcher concludes that both the hair covering and veil covering were a common feature in the Corinthian church. The next section surveys a few of the figurative uses of head covering by Paul in the New Testament.

Head Covering in Paul’s Letters

This section surveys the figurative use of head covering in two of the Apostle

Paul’s letters. In fact, there is not much found in the New Testament on the head covering matter. The Pauline letters (2 Cor 3:13-16; Eph 6:17) bear at least two metaphorical uses of head covering.

Sinai experience. Paul alludes to Moses’ Sinai experience where he covered his face as he descended the mountain after speaking with God. The reason for the

54International Standard Version New Testament, version 1.1 1 Co 11:15. (Yorba Linda, CA: The Learning Foundation 2000).

55Barry, et. al., Electronic Media.

covering in this instance was to veil the brightness of his face after communion with

God at the people’s request. He seems to use the removal of the veil metaphorically.

He urges people to personally receive God in order to be unveiled. The figurative or symbolic use of the veil, here, undergirds the importance of knowing

God experientially through Jesus Christ (2 Cor 3:13-16). Kent posits that the veil in this case symbolized hardness. “The veil was not, and is not, intellectual but rather moral—a heart-veil. “The ‘veil [that] covers [Israel’s] heart’ (v. 15b) does not refer to a cognitive inability because of a lack of a special spiritual endowment, but to a volitional inability as a result of a hardened disposition.56 The form of a veil in the case of Moses meant hiding his bright face, but Paul used it to teach a spiritual lesson for Christians in his day. Head covering in Moses time literally was to hide the brightness of his face to be accessible. However, Paul drew a deeper meaning from the symbol.

Spiritual warfare gear. Paul again used the military attire symbolism that included a helmet. However, in this case, he urges Christian soldiers to be in full spiritual warfare gear to enable them to withstand the evil one. The helmet of salvation is obviously on the head to protect the head from the darts of the unrelenting devil (Eph 6:17). Although Paul probably draws this lesson from the Roman soldier literal attire in his daily interaction with them, he drew a spiritual lesson for Christians to ensure their spiritual protection. “Now, according to Ephesians, he gives his helmet to believers for their protection. This helmet is salvation itself (the genitive is one of apposition: ‘the helmet which is salvation’), and believers are urged to lay hold of it as

56R. K. Hughes, 2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006), 78.

they engage in the spiritual warfare.”57 Head covering, in this case, symbolizes protection and salvation from God.

Paul on Other Issues in Comparison to Head Covering

There are a number of Pauline letters addressing certain subjects—like the main passage under discussion in the dissertation at hand—that leave the reader confused. Even the Apostle Peter confessed that Paul writes some issues that are difficult to understand (2 Pet 3:13-16). The following section tackles a few issues that emanate from the Apostle Paul’s writings that are difficult to deal with and understand in order to build a theological base.

Marriage (1 Corinthians 7:2-6)

In one instance, the apostle Paul wishes that all men were like him, single. His reasoning is that when one is married they are occupied with the spouse. This may lead one to conclude that, for one to truly and properly serve the Lord, celibacy is inevitable. However, Paul is not at all trying to reverse the order of creation by God who said it is not good for a man to be alone. Although he seems to be pushing marriage to a periphery of failure to control oneself, he affirms it in a number of his letters. It is, therefore, important to read all that Paul addresses on a topic before making a conclusion. It is important to consider the general context before rendering a biblical passage prescriptive.

It would not make sense to assume that Paul is against creation order that he appeals to in the passage under scrutiny. The apostle Paul upholds marriage when he states that every man must have his own wife. Therefore, this demands for time space

57P. T. O’Brien, The Letter to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1999), 481.

and circumstances to be taken into consideration. The same consideration is very important in dealing with head covering.

Food Sacrificed to Idols

In 1 Corinthians 10, Paul addresses the issue of food sacrificed to idols. In his discourse, he seems to forbid Christians from eating food sacrificed to idols. Paul, at the same time, negates the power and effect of idols, which seemingly gives

Christians liberty to eat the food. However, he is emphatic that one should be considerate of the others’ faith and well-being in the church. The sense is that no

Christian in Christ’s mission should neglect the sentiments and concerns of others with regard to their faith and spirituality.

As already alluded to before, head covering is a cultural issue. This sectional passage, 1 Corinthians 10, may be key to resolving the head covering issue based on the spirit of consideration and love for one another. There is no other biblical evidence in the New Testament showing that the practice of head covering was compulsory in other churches established by Paul.

Circumcision in Romans 2:25-28

God Himself had instructed Abraham on the matter of circumcision and it was perpetuated into the New Testament time. Even Jesus Christ was circumcised. In the book of Acts, the Gentiles who were not circumcised turned to the faith. They were not really welcomed into the faith because of circumcision, and others insisted they needed to undergo the ritual. The Holy Spirit overruled this custom and fell on

Cornelius and his company to the surprise of Peter. Some Jews had taught that for

Gentiles to be saved, they must first become Jews by circumcision. The Jerusalem council, however, ruled against this long standing practice. Today, there are church

members who, basing themselves on their cultural background and worldviews, adhere to the same and believe that a true Christian and pastor must be circumcised to serve God (Acts 15).

The case of circumcision may cause division in places where it is tenaciously clung to, but the Jerusalem council recounted the fulfillment of the mission among the uncircumcised. Peter bore witness to this. In his discourse with Cornelius (Acts 10:

30-37), he discovered that God was “no respecter of persons” (v. 34). In another setting, Paul himself writes of the fleshly circumcision as secondary to the circumcision of the heart that leads to salvation. For both Peter and Paul, there is nothing wrong with circumcision neither should it be treated as a sacred act or vital connection to God for male Christian. This occurrence is pivotal to addressing the head covering issue which is dividing the church today. Both the circumcised and the uncircumcised worshiped together.

A Woman Learning in Silence

The Apostle Paul clearly states that he does not permit a woman to talk in church in both his letter to the Corinthians and to Timothy (1 Cor14:34, 35; 1 Tim

2:12-15). In 1 Corinthians 14, the apostle is categorical that they should keep quiet in the church. He then goes on to mention that if they have any questions, they should ask their husbands at home. The challenge is that if this statement is taken on face value, the church was only for married women and their husbands. One complication is that in the subject under study, he permits women to speak, while in the other, there is no clue of ever allowing them to do so.

In Timothy, the apostle reiterates the same: that women must learn in silence.

He further makes reference to child-bearing as the only way that they will be saved.

This seems to contradict the passage under study where he gives instruction on

decorum when speaking. The challenge of making this a rule in church will be unfair because Paul instructs men to lift holy hands, which is hardly spoken of. Another hitch with his reasoning is whether women who have children, in or out of wedlock, are already saved on the basis of child-bearing.

This again calls for an in-depth study, taking into consideration the circumstances surrounding the admonition, as in the issue of head covering.

Interestingly, Paul had a lot of female partners in mission. One such co-worker was

Priscilla. Paul deemed her as a fellow missionary in Corinth. The Bible records that

Priscilla and Aquilla, her husband, both ministered alongside Paul (Acts 18:18, 19). It further recounts how this family guided Apollos, an enthusiastic teacher, who only knew about John’s baptism, into “a better understanding of the way of God” (verses

25, 26).

Head Covering and Ellen G. White

Ellen G. White has not written extensively on head covering as she did on other topics such as the Sabbath and the Ten Commandments. However, she has made comments on women either covering or uncovering their heads in worship in her time, as the following shows.

Fagal indicates that Mrs. White was not known to wear a noticeable head covering. She travelled extensively making presentations in various places. He further argues that the Ellen G. White estate has no photos of Mrs. White wearing a bonnet or veil in worship, though she may have worn one at some point. “She often wore a hairnet to hold her hair in place, but it was scarcely noticeable and did not ‘veil’

anything.”58 The immediate preceding quote shows that head covering was probably an issue of neatness. Hence, she used a hair net to keep her hair neat.

There seems to be only two occasions where she made a comment on head covering in worship. In both occasions, women were wearing hats, not necessarily veils, in worship. However, this was not with reference to the passage under study.

The first instance was in Indianapolis, and the second was in Carr Street Church where there were a number of female worshipers.

I have attended many meetings in different places. At Indianapolis I was surprised to meet so large a number. On the Sabbath I met with most intelligent looking people in the church. The audience presented a singular appearance, for all the sisters had removed their hats. This was well. I was impressed with the favorable appearance. The people were not obliged to stretch their necks to see over a mass of flowers and ribbons. I believe that this is an example worth following by other congregations.59

The above comment by Ellen White indicates that it may have been a common practice for woman to wear a hat with a flower or ribbon decoration. Head covering might have been an issue of decorum, not a biblical imperative to her. This is supported by the fact that it could be removed in worship if it obstructed others. She also spoke favorably about the appearance of the ladies without their hats and wished all congregations could imitate the Indianapolis example.

She further remarked that,

Every receptacle for flowers was removed. Every seat that could be crowded in was occupied. There was not one crying voice of a child, and the pleasant, happy faces were a sight that brought joy to my heart and did my soul good. The sisters, as far as I could see, removed their hats, and what a pleasure it was to view their countenances. I had good freedom in speaking.60

58William Fagal, “1st Corinthians 11:1-16 (Covering of Head),” accessed 5 January, 2015, http://ellenwhite.org/content/file/1st-corinthians-111-16-covering-head#document.

59Ellen White, Manuscript Releases\20mr-menuscript releases Vol. 20, Nos 1420-1500 1993, 307.1.

60Fagal, “1st Corinthians 11:1-16 (Covering of Head),” accessed 5 January, 2015, http: //ellenwhite.org/content/file/1st-corinthians-111-16-covering-head#document.

Thus, she again considered the taking off of the sisters’ hats in worship at Carr street church with much appreciation. This implies that the taking off of the hats made it easy to see their faces. The weight of evidence leads to the inference that Ellen

White was not against head covering, neither did she take it as a biblical imperative in worship.

As illustrated by the number of texts reviewed in this chapter, the Bible records the use of head covering for different reasons and meaning.

In the Old Testament, the Bible clearly indicates that head covering was used by males in worship. God gave an instruction regarding head covering of a turban for the High Priest and priests. Women also used head covering, but there is no instruction from God as in the case of priests. However, the weight of evidence indicates that women used a head covering for various reasons―for respect, as in the case of Rebecca (Gen 24:65), and for prostitution, as with Tamar (Gen 38:14).

Summary

There is no suggestion in this chapter that head covering is a universal biblical imperative for all Christians at all times. It is purely cultural and not universally enjoined. It is evident from the passages explored in both the Old and New

Testaments that there is no divine command for head covering. It may be adopted for the sake of contextualization in certain cultural settings. In fact, 1 Peter 3:3 indicates that other churches had women, who freely braided their hair in the church. The admonition was not for them to cover but focus more on the internal not the external.

CHAPTER 3

LITERATURE REVIEW

The previous chapter laid the foundation of head covering from the Bible with limited interaction with scholars. Chapter three reviews the writings of various scholars in an endeavor to address the issue of head covering particularly in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16.

However, the next section will explore the history of Corinth.

Introduction

The chapter begins by reviewing the history of Corinth as a city and its historical context. The discussion in this section will focus on the various positions taken by authors on the passage under study. There are mainly two schools of thoughts on the issue of head covering. On one hand the imperative stance, believes head covering is non-negotiable while on the other hand the non-imperative position considers it optional in Christendom today. The sections in this chapter will discuss several subjects emanating from the positions taken by the scholars on head covering. The section is followed by brief discussion on culture, worldview and guidelines of Bible interpretation before the summation of the chapter.

Background of the City of Corinth

Corinth was a thriving port city under the Roman province of Achaia. Hughes asserts that it was called a master of harbors because of its geographical location. It was located at the crossroads of Greece and became the third most important city of the

Roman Empire.1 It was located along the road from Rome to the east. This made it a thriving metropolitan city which attracted many ethnicities from various backgrounds and cultures. The city had been destroyed by the Greeks in 146 BC but was rebuilt by the

Romans in 44 BC under Julius Caesar. Garland posits that Lucius killed the male population and sold the woman and children into slavery.2 The city was popular for its sexual immorality and vice. It was also known for its many religious cults and gods.

However, most of the religious sects were affected by the destruction of the old city.

Missionaries to Corinth

The Scriptures identify the Apostle Paul as a missionary who moved from one place to another preaching the Gospel and making disciples of Jesus Christ in various cities. Corinth is one of the cities he visited on his second missionary journey. He established a church there and later wrote letters on a number of issues (Acts 18:1-18). He was not the sole missionary to the city. Others such as Aquila, Priscilla, Timothy, and

Silas also contributed to the growth and work of the church in Corinth.

Paul met Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth and worked with them, “They were tentmakers, so Paul asked them for a job to support himself and they hired him.”3 He stayed with this couple as he “he reasoned” every Sabbath with the Jews, persuading them that Jesus was the Christ. After Paul’s departure, a number of issues broke up in the

Corinthian church.

1R. K. Hughes, 2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2006), 13, 14.

2D. E. Garland, 2 Corinthians, The New American Commentary (NAC) 29 (Nashville: TN, Broadman & Holman 1999), 21–23.

3Jack J. Blanco, Acts Through Revelation Witness: A Fresh Look at the New Testament Church (Hagerstown, MD: Autumn, 2009), 57.

Letters to the Corinthian Church

It is written in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians that he got a report from the house of Chloe and a delegation bringing a number of issues. The issues are as they appear in the letter, divisions, fornication, conduct during the Lord’s Supper, the custom of men and women decorum in worship. One of such issues had been head covering for women during worship (1 Cor 11:2-16).

Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was not prompted by a direct revelation from

God on issues affecting the Corinthian church. He wrote in response to the report he received from those who had first-hand information as he was guided by the Holy Spirit.

Udo, Ekot, Nwaomah state that “First Corinthians is a reply to two sets of correspondences from the Corinthians. … On his third missionary journey during his stay at Ephesus, he received correspondences from the Corinthians.”4

Garland agrees with Udo, Ekot, Nawomah and that in fact, what is recorded in the

Bible as a first letter to the Corinthians is a second one because the first one got lost (1

Cor 5:9). Garland further affirms that the letter was prompted by the reports from Chloe’s people and possibly Stephanas’ company. Apollos also might have reported the situation to the founder of the Corinthian church. It appeared as if the cosmopolitan city, with its multiple and diverse customs, might have contributed to the symbolical departure from traditional decorum for women.

Bacchiocchi concurs with Udo, Ekot, and Nwaomah that Paul was responding to a report received about some Corinthian women who claimed liberty and equality in Jesus

Christ and negated head covering. He states “the importance of this passage lies not so much in what Paul says about head coverings as such, but rather in the significance that he attaches to head coverings as a symbol of distinctions that men and women must

4Tom Udo, Tom Ekot, and Sampson M. Nwaomah, Paul: His Ministry and His Writings (Rock Haven, Jos, Nigeria: Fab Anieah Nigeria, 2015), 138.

preserve in the church.”5 Bacchiocchi identifies head covering as a symbol of male and female distinction in worship.

The brief history above indicates that Corinth was a metropolitan city with a church composed of Jews and gentile believers. “But the Jews turned against him. So he shook the dust off his robe and said ‘you are responsible for your own destruction, no one else. From now on I am preaching to the Gentiles’.”6 The converts were of different backgrounds and practices. The clash of varying practices and backgrounds caused discomfort and a number of issues arose. Thus, this dissertation is dealing with only one of the issues, female head covering. The subjects which emerge as scholars wrestle with head covering are the creation order; the angels; nature; and in some instances, glory.

Creation order, angels, and glory are the three main issues that the scholars are grappling with in the scholarly discussions in the chapter. Some scholars believe head covering was a cultural issue, while others conclude that it was a timeless injunction for all women in church throughout Christendom to date. The imperative stance’s emphasis is that it is in the Bible as a command and has to be done.

Possible Reasons for Head Covering

This section presents several possible reasons which are presented by various scholars in the literature which has been reviewed. This portrays a variety of understandings and interpretations of 2 Corinthians 11:2-16. Perhaps these suppositions might assist in the attempt to understand the mind of the Apostle Paul as he was addressing this almost daunting concern.

5Samuele Bacchiocchi, Women in the Church: A Biblical Study on the Role of Woman in the Church (Berrien Springs, MI: Biblical Perspectives, 1987), 126.

6Blanco, Acts Through Revelation Witness, 57.

Liberation Movement Reason

MacArthur and Stegemeng agree that there was a woman liberation movement that took Corinth by storm and brought confusion into the Corinthian church. This confused some women and they started coming to church uncovered. They posit that prostitutes and feminists were the only ones who wore no covering. While the prostitutes were in the licentious job, the feminists were in total rejection of the submission principle symbolized by head covering.

This brought reproach to the church and Christ’s name. Based on this background

MacArthur suggests that a woman should “respond to that symbol, so that the world doesn’t see the church rebelling against a God-ordained principle.” Paul is simply saying that a woman is to take a place of submission and that she should never violate that place.7

MacArthur’s conclusion is that symbol is intertwined with the God-ordained principle (submission) so they go together. The only challenge with MacAthur’s statement above is that he is not very clear on the principle. Symbolisms for expressing principles differ in various times and places. On the other hand, Stegemeg views Paul’s response on head covering as all-encompassing to some extent. “Paul’s correction of

Corinthian behavior seems, moreover, to be in the interest of a standard behavior for all communities and thus of social control (11:16), which is perhaps also envisioned for the sake of the outside influence of the ekklēsia.8

Stegemman and Stegemman seem to suggest that this sociological approach to this symbolism is essential for all Christian communities to date. Garland posits that there must have been a misinterpretation of Galatians 3:28 that there is no need for male and

7J. F. MacArthur, Jr. The Fulfilled Family, (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1981).

8E. W. Stegemann and W. Stegemann, The Jesus Movement: A Social History of Its First Century, ed. O. C. Dean Jr., (Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 1999), 398, 399.

female distinction in worship. It is evident that scholars do not agree on the principle symbolized by head covering then. Some allude to submission of woman, while others allude to feminist movement or social reasons.

Thomson agrees with Garland on hairdos but indicates that Paul’s concern was the issue of distinction between the sexes. “The true importance of Plutarch’s passage is the underlying conviction that in hairstyle and head covering women and men must be different. Paul too is anxious to maintain distinctions.”9

Garland postulates that, the taking off, of women’s covering had to do among others with, a breach of sexual decorum, hairdos, theological reasons, influence, from the feminist movement. “We are left only with guesses as to the motivation behind this behavior”10 Although it cannot be clear for certain what exactly caused Paul to address this issue, all the scholars agree that the head cover was a symbol of something significant.

There is also a school of thought which peddles that covering semantic word study reveals that the practice was purely meant for physiological reasons. Troy Martin, in his study of the word peribolion in 1 Corinthians 11:15b concludes that “the term periplokai alludes to female hair, the term peribolai to testicles in males. … Hair grows most prolifically from the head because the brain is the place where semen is produced and at least stored.”11 He continues to postulate that on one hand, man should not have long hair because he already has testicles which produce semen that cause hair growth in the human body. On the other hand, Paul’s instruction for woman

9Cynthia L. Thompson, “Hairstyles, Head Coverings, and St Paul’s Portraits from Roman Corinth” in The Biblical Archaeologist, June, 1988, accessed 24 March, 2016, http:/www./ about.jstor.org/terms99- 115.

10Garland, 2 Corinthians, NAC 29, 507.

11Troy Martin, “Paul’s Argument from Nature for the Veil in 1 Corinthians 11:13-15 A Testicle Instead of a Head Covering,” in ATLAS (St. Xavier University, Chicago, IL 60655, JBL 123/1, 2004): 75- 79.

to cover their heads is reasonable because their hair is part of genitalia which help pull semen up the body. “This ancient physiological conception of hair indicates that Paul’s argument from nature in 1 Cor11:13-15 contrasts long hair in woman with testicles in a man.”12 In summation Martin’s reasoning is that every female reaching puberty stage must cover their head while the prepubescent are free to go bare headed.

The challenge with Martin’s argument is that it makes head covering imperative for females in all public places and universal for all Christian women. However, in his perspective, Lowry argues that the letter to the Ephesians is meant for the universal church while 1 Corinthians is directly addressing concerns of a self-centered local church.

“The theme of personal freedom exercised without regard for the needs of others or the glory of God seems no less a part of 11:2–14:40, a section about practices affecting the assembly of the church”13

Lowry’s main point is that the apostle Paul was addressing the contentious atmosphere in Corinth that promoted disunity and inequality. The researcher agrees with

Lowry because the letter came as a response to issues peculiar to the Corinthian church.

It seems that in Corinthian slogan, ‘Everything is permissible,’ had been applied to all meetings of the church as well, and the Corinthian woman had expressed that principle by throwing off their distinguishing dress. More importantly they seem to have rejected the concept of subordination within the church (and perhaps society) and with it any cultural symbol (e.g. a head covering) which might have been attached to it.14

Gill posits that Paul was dealing with the elite in the church both male and female.

He further indicates that the former Greek city was a roman colony at the time

12Troy Martin, “Paul’s Argument from Nature,” in ATLAS, 83.

13David K. Lowry, “The Head Covering and the Lord’s Supper in 1 Corinthians 11:2-34,” ATLAS (Biblical Sacra April –June 1986): 155.

14Lowry, “The Head Covering and the Lord’s Supper,” 157.

of Paul’s writing. “Institutions, legal procedures, social customs, architecture, public images and to some extent language owed more to Rome than Greek world.”15 Gill asserts that some artifacts and sculptures dug by archeologists show men covered with either a toga, or a wreath.

This was mainly for the elite and affluent in the society such as the emperors such as Nero who wore a covering to show their status in the society. “The issue which Paul is dealing with here seems to be that members of the social elite within the church—the dunatoi and the eugenesis (1:26) were adopting a form of dress during worship which drew attention to their status in society.”16 Gill also indicates that women who appeared bare-headed were associated with prostitution in the Aphrodite temple.

However, this does not mean that all women were covered with a veil. He further postulates that the passage refers to married women only and not to all females. “The wearing of the veil said something about the wife’s position in the society: the lack of it at meeting such as this would have been a poor reflection on the husband.”17 In Gill’s submission a married woman who wore a covering showed both respect and honor to their husband.

Thompson on the other hand agrees with Gill on the sculptures discovered by archeologists. Thompson’s article displays pictures of men and women showing how they used to dress and cover their heads. “Head coverings sometimes had religious significance. Paul’s congregation in Corinth would have been familiar with the symbolism of the cloth covering from a toga associated with pagan sacrifice or the more

15David W. J. Gill, “The importance of Roman Portraiture for Head-Covering in 1 Corinthians 11:2-16,” Tyndale Bulletin 41.2 (1990), 245.

16Ibid., 250.

17Ibid., 254.

vestigial religious meanings of wreaths.”18 In essence, Thomson adds that Paul is merely discussing hair styles and covering for both males and females.

Thompson further gives synopsis of the cultural practices of both the Greeks and the Romans. These may have been among the majority in the Corinthian Church.

“Romans grieve by the men covering their heads and the woman letting their hair down without any covering. When Greeks mourn, men let their hair grow long whereas woman cut theirs short.”19 Therefore, the head covering symbol is still highlighted and reverted in different cultures.

Authority Reason

Peter Hobson brought forth four reasons for continuance of head covering in the churches today. In reference to head covering Hobson writes, “I came under the conviction that this was yet another area of the New Covenant that had been neglected by the universal church.”20 He acknowledges that there are churches that have made this an absolute rule. In Hobson’s view, the issue really is not head covering as such but authority. According to Hobson, Paul’s aim is to clarify the male and female roles in the church. He begins by highlighting the importance of understanding the cultural background of the people to whom the letter was addressed.

Hobson is so passionate about the restoration of head covering that he calls it a

New Covenant command that should not be violated. “But where the word of God in the

New Testament explicitly commands us to do or not to do something, the compromise and /or disobedience is sin.”21 In this submission, Hobson equates failure to cover one’s

18Thompson, “Hairstyles, Head coverings, and St Paul’s Portraits,” 99-115.

19Ibid., 104.

20 Peter Hobson, Head Covering and Lady Pastor – Teachers (Bethlehem, Kuala Lumpur: Malaysia, 1997), IV.

21Ibid., 2.

head to sin based on his reasoning that it is a universal command. Hobson contradicts himself when he also submits that it is a matter of conscience.

Garland and Hobson agree that there are three main reasons, they purport were given for the instruction regarding head covering. The discussion in this section revolves around the three, creation, angels and glory. However, there is a fourth reason suggested by Hobson.

Feminism is pointed out, as the leading cause for females to uncover their heads in the Corinthian Church. However, Garland surmises that Corinth was a city that was rampant with Roman cultural values. He argues that the letter to the Corinthians should be read with this background in mind. “They were established to foster the majesty of the

Roman culture, religion, and values.”22 It was a societal practice for woman to wear a covering in public places.

Binding Command Reason

Hobson and W, Peter Ditzel, proclaim themselves as apostles of the restoration of the forgotten commandment of the New Testament. They unequivocally state that head covering is not a cultural issue but a mandate from God through the apostle Paul. They lament that a whole young generation grows up without the knowledge the universal

Christian practice of head covering. “I hope to encourage the reintroduction of a practice that is soundly Biblical.”23 He begins his article by citing seven positions promulgated in favor of cultural perspective of the issue, then moves to verse 1 which will be part of the next section. However, the researcher discovered that the two do not refer to any other

22Garland, 2 Corinthians, NAC 29, 3.

23Peter Ditzel, An Exposition of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, accessed 16, 2016, http://www .wordofhisgrace.org/headcovering.pdf.

larger scriptural context in the Old Testament to substantiate their position. It is built around one passage only.

Cultural Dress Code Reason

Contrary to Ditzel, Mclver in Pfandl posit that, Paul’s advice on head covering was meant for the Christians of the first century Greece. The conclusion is arrived at against the background he gives, “The role of a respectable married woman in Greece was very circumscribed. Like her respectable married contemporaries in Palestine and even in

Rome, she would not appear in public without a head covering”24 For example, Mclver gives a missiological reason for head covering in Corinth by pointing out that it was an acceptable communal practice.

This would help new converts associate certain values cherished by the community with the church and attract them to the church. Whether it was for modesty or not it was a required symbol. Mclver further suggests that female dresses had a mantle that could be easily pulled over to cover the head. According to Mclver as other scholar previously engaged, statues of Roman women have been found depicting them wearing a head cover. This shows that the Corinthian church may have been practicing head covering for missiological purposes to attract the community in accepting the gospel.

Head Covering in Comparison to Ordinances

Ditzel posits that the word “ordinances” (paradidos) in 1 Corinthians 11:2, where

Paul starts by praising the Corinthians church, is a key word translated “traditions.” Ditzel posits that the traditions in the mind of Paul are important and the Christians are to hold on to them. He compares the text with Jeremiah 6:16 which calls believers to remember

24Robert K. Mclver, “Why should Women Cover in Church” in Interpreting Scripture; Bible Questions and Answers, ed. Gerhard Pfandl, Biblical Research Institute Studies, vol. 2 (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald, 2010), 366.

the old ways. In Ditzel’s opinion, this is not just a social custom which can be limited to the time and space of the Corinthians. His argument is that baptism and the Lord’s Supper which are also ordinances might as be disregarded as it is the case with head covering.

Kaiser, who supports Ditzel, surmises that head covering is not a Pauline injunction but has an authority of Jesus Christ. In Kaiser’s view, it is an imperative tradition that has been handed down for all Christendom. “These traditions did not originate in Corinth, nor did they originate with Paul. They were deposits of truth given by the revelation of Christ to Paul to Corinth.”25 Unfortunately, the researcher finds

Kaiser’s reasoning porous, in that there is no biblical reference given to support the position.

Ordinance of Baptism

The important ordinance of baptism is also symbolic but its biblical use has always pointed to the same meaning. Morris rightly comments on Romans 6:3 regarding baptism when he states “When it is applied to Christian initiation it means death, death to a whole way of life.”26 It is this which Paul’s point out here. “Christians are people who have died, and their baptism emphasizes that death.”27 In all the instances that baptism was performed, whether by Jesus Christ and the disciples, or by the apostles, it always meant a death to the old life and an acceptance to live a new life which is in accordance with the commandments of God. Baptism can be traced to the Old Testament where the crossing of the Red Sea by the children of Israel is counted as baptism (1 Cor 10:1-2).

25Phillip Kaiser, Glory and coverings: A Study of 1 Corinthians 11:1-16 (Omaha, NE: Biblical Blueprints, 2009), 5.

26L. Morris, The Epistle to the Romans (Leicester, England: W.B. Eerdmans; InterVarsity Press, 1988), 246, 247.

27Ibid.

Christ also gave a clear command that baptism should be a result when people of different nations, tribes, and obviously cultures and customs accept him as their personal

Savior (Matt 28:18-20). Baptism also symbolizes unity with Crist and His church without any divisive practices (Eph 3:5).

Ordinance of the Lord’s Supper

The ordinance of the Lord’s Supper is also symbolic of Christ’s death, but Christ instituted it and gave an injunction that the disciples should do it until He comes (Luke

22:18-19). France states, “Like the preceding symbolism of the broken body and poured out blood, this verse also emphasizes that Jesus’ life on earth is coming to an end: there is to be no more drinking of wine here. But this verse also now looks beyond the imminent death to a ‘day’ when Jesus will drink τὸγένηματῆςἀμπέλου (the phrase used in the traditional thanksgiving for wine) again.”28

Therefore, the Lord’s Supper, just like baptism, is supported by other scriptural texts which bring the meaning of the symbolism clear and that it is has to be continued until the end of all things. Ditzel further argues that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are given prominence and applied to all churches and questions why head covering is pushed to the periphery. However, this reasoning neglects the broader scriptural context of the two other ordinances. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper had been affirmed and practiced by

Christ and still signify the same thing to date. In the Old Testament baptism was symbolized a sense of belonging and covenanting with God through circumcision. Again the children of Israel were instructed to celebrate pass over by God symbolizing their deliverance and Christ affirmed the same when he instituted the Lord’s Supper.

28R. T. France, The Gospel of Mark: A Commentary on the Greek Text (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 2002), 157.

Summary

Head covering has meant various things to various people in the Bible times.

Rodriguez admits that the issue of head covering is highly debated by scholars in the

Christian circle and they hardly come to an agreement. “The passage you refer to is difficult to interpret, mainly because we are not as well-informed about the topic as Paul's original readers were. Scholars have written much about this passage and its socio- historical background, but still they disagree.”29

He suggests that the Seventh-day Adventist Church normally takes the Bible at face value unless the text suggest otherwise. He compares the matter of head covering to that of taking off shoes, postulating that it symbolizes respect and reverence. He posits that some of the passages in Scripture may be relevant to those it was written to at the time. He harmonizes with Mclver that modesty in Paul’s day mandated head covering.

Head Covering and Creation Order

This section engages various authors on various arguments they advance in regard to head covering. The issues which are highlighted in the next section discuss the subject of submission. This is another controversial subject which emanated from Corinth and had to with the woman’s position both in the church and in the home. It concerned headship and submissiveness.

Submission

Bacchiocchi and France make it clear that they are in no way suggesting that women are inferior to men but that all are equal before God. This is substantiated by the

29Angel Manuel Rodriguez, “1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul Wrote that Women Should Cover their Heads in Church (1 Cor. 11:2-16): Why do We Not Enforce that Mandate?” accessed 16 July 2016, https://www .adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/ bible-nt-texts/1-corinthians-112-16.

fact that the Father and the Son are of the same essence but Christ submitted to the Father.

They posit that a woman is of the same spiritual value as a man but she must submit to the headship of the husband. Based on the advanced reasons and that the issue is authority, they argue that head covering should not be enforced today but submission. “Paul is not presenting a universal teaching that women should have their heads covered in church . . .

The universal principle of submission however must be maintained.”30 However, they do not give a formula of enforcing submission which and normal circumstances is a matter of conscience and freewill.

Owing to their understanding of the passage to be about authority, they posit that a women are not supposed to speak in church but learn in silence (1 Tim 2:12). “Paul’s correction of their lack of submission here is not an approval of their praying or prophesying in the Church”31 The researcher finds the two to be saying what is contrary to the text itself. Ditzel agrees with the Hobson on the principle of submission in verse 3.

The only slight difference is that he points to the fact that Christ voluntarily submitted to the Father (Phil 2:5-8). He indicates the wife has to voluntarily submits to their husbands in everything (Eph 5:23-24).

Subordination does not mean inferior but males and females together worshiping together bring glory to God. “Neither should be independent of the other or think of themselves superior to the other. Woman’s subordination does not mean inferiority. Man is not superior in being to a woman.”32 Lowry therefore clarifies that subordination is not equivalent to degrading a person or making one better than the other. The apostle’s main objective is to bring peace and harmony in the church by doing away with self- centeredness.

30France, The Gospel of Mark, 157.

31Ibid.

Ditzel argues that this is not temporary. “Paul is not addressing a social custom.

He is teaching a symbolism that speaks important truth, as much as baptism and the

Lord’s Supper.”33 Ditzel seems to be concerned much with the symbolism and married women without considering the singles. Ditzel, just like the Hobson, subscribes to the understanding that verse 5 is superseded by 1 Timothy 2:11-12, and 1 Corinthians 14:34 -

35. The position advanced is that women should not talk but learn in silence and ask their husbands at home.

This unfortunately is at variance with the verse 5 that covering is required for the purpose of prophesying and praying in worship. This also negates the original meaning of the prophesying and praying which include speaking forth to God for man in prayer and to man for God in prophesying. It is difficult to imagine a silent speech.

The cover and silence. However, Ditzel posits that prophesying and praying may mean teaching outside the worship maybe in an assembly. The challenge with reasoning is that, is that the Bible is refers to instances of women speaking in worship such as

Miriam, Moses’ sister, and Anna, the prophetess, who was in the Temple at the time of the dedication of Jesus as a baby. Unlike the above Watson does suggests that headship should not be a stumbling block for a woman to speak publicly in worship.

While Ditzel suggests that woman must learn in silence, Watson views head covering as an empowering symbol to a woman to speak in the presence of man. Ditzel surmises “I want to simply point out that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, unmistakably forbids woman from speaking in public worship. Speaking involved authority that women do not have.”34 Ditzel further purports that, even the daughters of

32Lowry, “The Head Covering and the Lord’s Supper,” in ATLAS, 158.

33Peter Ditzel, Head Covering: An Exposition of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16, accessed 11 January 2016, http://www.wordofhisgrace.org/headcovering1.html.

34Ditzel, Head Covering.

Phillip (Acts 21:9) who were prophetesses had to do it in silence hence Agubus came from Judea to prophesy to Paul in their presence. On the other hand Watson argues “the covering of the head gives woman the authority to proclaim the word of God to the congregation irrespective of her relation with any other head.”35

The researcher is in concurrence with Bacchiocchi who posits that “Paul does not oppose the participation of women in worship service. What he opposes is the behavior of those women who had disregarded their subordinate position by praying and giving prophetic exhortations to the congregation with uncovered head like the men.”36 The covering of the head gives a woman the “authority to proclaim the word of God to the congregation irrespective of her relation to any other head. The fact that ‘the head of a woman is man’ is potential deterrent to a woman’s proclamation which the covering in here head will effectively nullify.”37

Power to speak. Watson’s worldview is that head covering is a clear authority handed over to a woman to speak audibly in church, either praying or prophesying.

Watson further argues that subjection to the one above in the passage does not necessarily entail the veiling of a literal head. If that was the case a male covering would be a requirement to show subjection to Christ. “At this point, pure arbitrariness appears to reign, in other words the underlying issue is still completely unclear.”38

Dress code. On the other hand, Kaiser views the matter as an important dress code for both sexes in worship and cannot be relegated to mere cultural convention because it is important to Christ. Kaiser states “This passage focuses exclusively on proper dress

35Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 44.

36Bacchiocchi, Women in the Church, 128.

37Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 44.

38Ibid., 45.

code for men and women in the public assemblies of formal worship. And Paul wants them to guard the tradition on dress code from any change.”39 He postulates that this dress code is not only for the time of prophecy and prayer participation but decorum throughout worship in spite of participation or not.

Head Covering and Shaving

The next section explores a number of submissions by different scholars on the aspect of woman shaving their hair if they are not willing to abide instruction to cover.

Uncovered and Cut Hair

Ditzel’s refers to verse 6, that the apostle Paul gives no chance to a hair as being a covering nor cutting the hair being uncovering. He purports that, Paul is sarcastically condemning uncovering of the head since it was common knowledge that the shaving for a woman is a shame. The fact that “Paul is writing only of hair, and not of a covering in addition to hair, does not stand up to examination.”40 On the other hand, Martin, who confesses of the difficulty of the passage, points out the lack of proper understanding of the language adds to the misinterpretation of the passage. “Many and various are the interpretations that have been put upon this passage in Paul’s writings, and not all have been complimentary to Paul’s logic or his lucidity. That this passage is difficult no one would deny”41 Martin’s position is that verse six refers to hair. According to him there are several indications beyond any reasonable doubt that Paul used the “covered" with reference to hair. He backs up his position with two points. Firstly,

39 Kaiser, Glory and Coverings, 5.

40Ditzel, An Exposition of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16.

41William J. Martin, “1 Corinthians 11:2-16: An Interpretation,” in Apostolic History and the Gospel. Biblical and Historical Essays Presented to F.F.Bruce, ed. W. Ward Gasque & Ralph P. Martin (Exeter: The Paternoster, 1970), 231-241, accessed 5 January 2015, http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ahg /corinthians_martin.pdf.

the use of ‘ou’ ‘not,’ which is almost invariably used with the ‘real’ indicative, that is something actually existing or happening, and not contrary to fact. The state of things was actually occurring. Second reason is the use of two forms of the imperative, aorist and present, must be sought. … A vast literature has grown up around the problem of the character of the aorist in general and the Greek aorist in particular.42

Unlike Hobson and Ditzel, Martin affirms that Paul gave a woman authority in the

Corinthian church to audibly engage in praying and prophesying. This was applicable as long as she had hair covering her head. The challenging aspect with the hair being the cover is that the apostle Paul in verse 6 states that failure to cover one’s head then is as good as shaving it which leads to shame. Watson blends with Ditzel and that the covering in verse five refers to a veil not hair.

Watson argues that the view is affirmed by the Septuagint use of “katakaluptein” as a verb three times in 1 Corinthians 11:6-7. Watson refers to Genesis 38:15 where it was used in the case of Tamar veiling herself. Surprisingly Watson’s understanding of the covering in this passage is that the veil covered both the face and the head, therefore shame refers to physical nakedness. The line of thinking is that, the face that may be erotic to the male listeners. So the face ought to be covered during their participation in church. “She speaks the word of the Lord or human response to the word, but her face as it appears to the gaze of ‘eros’ is incommensurate with that speech. It is a barrier to hearing not because of what it is in itself but because of the mode of its appearance as the passive object of erotic fantasy.”43

Watson, Hobson, and Ditzel are right when they state that the passage discloses that there was a veil or fabric up and above hair. Otherwise, Paul would not say shave

42William J. Martin, “1 Corinthians 11:2-16: An Interpretation,” in Apostolic History and the Gospel. Biblical and Historical Essays Presented to F.F.Bruce, ed. W. Ward Gasque & Ralph P. Martin (Exeter: The Paternoster, 1970), 231-241, accessed 5 January 2015, http://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/ahg /corinthians_martin.pdf.

43Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 53.

because it indicates that the hair was visible. However, the primary focus of this dissertation is not whether it was hair or a veil but the meaning of the covering symbolism and its effect on missions.

Marriage Symbol

Bacchiocchi conceives that the head covering was also a symbol of marital submission. In the Old Testament time an adulteress would be stoned according the

Jewish law. Owing to the fact that a woman without hair would be disgraced. The only punishment meted out would be to shave her hair to shame hair. Otherwise, according to the Old Testament she would be executed (Lev 20:10). This proves that symbols were the order of the day and the passage cannot be divorced from the socio-cultural setting in an endeavor to interpret it appropriately.

Glory and Angels

Hobson’s interpretation of this text is that both male and female were created in the image of God but man was given authority and dominion to rule the earth. He further argues that Adam was the first one in the garden who was told to dress it and keep it and in the process named animals. Eve was introduced as a helper.

Hobson asserts that verse nine shows that a woman is the glory of man who is the glory of God. The interpretation of verse ten is that “head coverings are no longer a part of culture, but the woman is still to be covered with her husband’s authority.”44 The researcher discovered that the interpretation of making the head covering contemporary as a sign of the husband authority fails to address at least two issues. Firstly, it does not say anything about single females in the church. Secondly, by divorcing it from culture it makes the conclusion highly opinionated and bias.

44Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 53.

Barrett takes another non-cultural stance on head covering, making it an imperative practice for all Christians. Barrett states that, “it is the position of the free

Presbyterian church that the shifting customs of society do not influence or abrogate the imperative of Scripture.”45 The researcher noticed that although Barrett refers to the

Greeks as non-covering people and the Jews as those who covered, there is no consideration of the socio-cultural implications in his interpretation of the passage. Barrett concludes that Christ’s established order is clear, man must uncover and women must cover in church. However, Barrett does not substantiate the point at all neither does he consider the Romans who ruled at the time.

Watson claims that verse seven of chapter eleven clarifies why a woman has to be covered by stating “Man as the manifestation of God should not be veiled, but woman as the object of man’s erotic joy, love, love and devotion, should be veiled. Why? Because it is her face that is the focal point of the male erotic drive.”46 Watson further insists that the head covering gives a woman authority. The reason why Paul appeals to angels is because the angels should know that a new era of prophecy has dawned. The angels must back-off to allow a covered woman to work freely in the church. Watson may not be fully right on his conclusion on a female face covering but a leaf on the principle of modesty can be borrowed. The researcher realizes that Watson overstretches the aspect of angels backing off.

Unlike other proponents of non-customary view of the passage Barrett posits that women must cover their heads because of the angels. His interpretation of angels is linked to creation by stating that the Bible records that angels are sons of God and were witnesses of creation. So women do not honor only their husbands, but the angels who

45Michael P. V. Barrett, Head Covering for Public Worship, An exposition of 1 Corinthians 11:2- 16 (Greenville: SC, Free Presbyterian Church, 2003).

46Watson, Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 69.

witnessed their creation order.47 Contrary to Barrett, Kaiser suggests that the unfallen angels appreciate head covering as a sign of creation order.48 Kaiser further states,

“Angels are highly offended when they see women casting off a symbol of authority. It is also my contention that wicked angels (demons) take this as an invitation to tempt such families.”49

This view on angels then makes head cover a sacred timeless symbol on its own for all Christendom. The researcher does not agree with Kaiser and Barrett because it makes the symbol inherently powerful.

Rodriguez proposes cultural reasons for practice by giving three points in his short article. The first one is that, the Bible reveals a variety of views for head covering. It was used in prostitution like in the case of Tamar. The second one being that the Roman culture required a woman to cover as a symbol of values, preservation of femininity and commitment to the husband as well as honor to the husband and family.50 The third and final one is what the researcher refers to as a missiological reason: Paul enforced a societal practice that symbolized high values for the community to have high regard for the church, and to realize that the church is in support of good community values.

This suggests that there are some cultural forms and practices that are congruent with the gospel and if they enhance the preaching of the gospel they can be entertained where applicable. Mclver concurs when he states “Biblical texts have to be taken seriously even if cultures and customs change. All of us, both man and women must dress

47Barrett, Head Covering for Public Worship, 10.

48Kaiser, Glory and Coverings, 14

49Ibid.

50Rodriguez, “1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul Wrote that Women Should Cover their Heads in Church (1 Cor. 11:2-16): Why do We Not Enforce that Mandate?” accessed 16 July 2016, https://www .adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/ bible-nt-texts/1-corinthians-112-16.

modestly, especially when attending worship. What exactly that means may vary from country to country and even from culture to culture within the same country.”51

Jesus accepted worship from at least one woman who was not covered. Jesus allowed the woman to wipe his feet with her own hair. So Barrett’s position of a sanctified head cover of symbol lacks biblical support and contradicts practical

Christianity by Jesus.

Head Covering and Equality in Christ

Inferior position. Trinity Baptists posit that real Christian men, exercise the power and authority given them by God with fear and trembling. So they do not lord it over the woman but apply the principle of love always. They reason that Paul wanted to make it clear that man should not entertain superiority complex.52 Their loose use of

Scripture also alludes to 1 Timothy 2:2-15 that woman saved from the stigma of instigating the fall by raising offspring. The researcher finds challenge with the above conclusion. It does not take into consideration the barren and single woman in the churches who have no children to raise. The supposition also perpetrates righteousness by works instead of the merits of Christ.

Covering brings equality. Watson perceives that togetherness in worship refers to equal ability bestowed upon man naturally and upon the woman by head covering to proclaim the gospel. “The veil that differentiates them is intended to preserve the distinctive Christian character of this speech as a dialogue of God and the community, by screening out the erotic look.”53 Watson posits that it is agapē (brotherly love) that should prevail in a worship setting, rather than eros (sexual love) hence the covering of the

51Gerhard Pfandl, “Why Should Women Cover?” 367.

52Trinity Baptist Church Disciple Training, 7.

53Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 75.

evocative head and face.54 The researcher disagrees with Watson because he advocates covering of the face while the word study revealed that the covering was of the head not necessarily the face.

The togetherness of a man and a woman though they are different, Watson suggests that God is their source and they both have to enjoy koinonia (fellowship) in his presence as the source of their creation.55 Bacchiocchi’s claims the following statement resolves headship and equality, “by recognizing that the hierarchical distinctions are functional and not ontological, that is, they have to do with roles and not with essential worth or dignity of being.”56

The researcher agrees with Bacchiocchi that all people are equal before God. They may have differences in the types of roles they administer. However, the disagreement sets in when he concludes that that women cannot become elders and pastors in the church though they can teach and speak. The reason being that both the Old and New

Testaments are laden with examples of women in leadership positions and holding prophetic offices.

Head Covering and Nature

Unisex dress. Trinity Baptists emphasize that in the beginning God ordained man and woman to different roles outwardly for easy distinction. They posit that the texts are serious condemnation to unisex attire in the modern world. They cite Deuteronomy 22:5 as a clear command that man should not wear woman’s clothes neither the woman to wear man’s clothes. To them verse sixteen is a seal their stand that all Christian churches practice head covering and those who do not practice this are acting in utter rebellion

54Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 76.

55Ibid., 89.

56Bacchiocchi, Women in the Church, 127.

against God. Though they start with the proposition that understanding background is ideal they seem to have neglected that in the four principles advanced.57

Principle and application. The researcher disagrees with Trinity Baptist but concurs with Bacchiocchi who advocates a distinction between a local application and a universal principal. He states “Paul saw such covering as a fitting cultural expression of a woman’s acknowledgement of the headship of man”58 His conclusion on the significance of head covering may be flawed, but he has a point on local fitting cultural expression.

Leadership segregation. Barrett concludes that the matter of distinction of male and female in the New Testament limits church leadership to males. “So for women to assume the occupation of a pastor or any official church office would go beyond their rights.”59 But he seems to disregard the larger context where women such as Hulda (2 Kgs

22:14 – 20, 2 Chr 34:22-28) Deborah (Judg 4:4), and Anna (Luke 2:36-38) took leadership roles in the presence of men. Huldah prophesied to a priest who was a man.

Deborah was both judge, prophet and even led in a military attack. Anna praised God audibly and publicly when she saw baby Jesus. The social status of these women also water down the argument that married woman should learn in silence since they were all married.

Leadership equality. In contrast, Watson suggests that, when a woman is only praying it maybe at the discretion of the church. But when it includes prophecy it is compulsory. Watson further concludes that a veil empowers a woman to perform all masculine functions, which renders head covering a permanent feature for women in the church. Watson quotes a church father, “According to Tertullian, the Corinthian church

57Trinity Baptist, Head Covering for Women, 9.

58Bacchiocchi, Women in the Church, 132.

59Barrett, Head Covering for Public Worship.

understands the apostle’s imposition of the veil to apply to all women alike, indeed this is the custom of the majority of the churches throughout Greece, although some impose the veil only on married woman”60 This comment shows that Watson’s main concern is that women have been given authority in church to speak just as men do in public worship contrary to Hobson and Ditzel.

Hair and veil cover. Apart from head covering being authority for women to speak, Watson also purports that covering was for erotic reasons. Watson suggests that the covering of the face is key to him to avoid distorting of the message. Unfortunately, he does not engage with verse 15. Conversely, Kaiser posits that the Greek word for cover used previously refers to a garment around the head while the one in verse fifteen means wrap around. Then he also considers that the word further refers to a woman’s flowing hair, as her natural covering He concludes by stating that “it is not valid to use the

“covering” in verse 15 to invalidate the different covering in verses 5-13.”61

The researcher concurs with Kaiser on this point that the passage seems to refer to two kinds of coverings being both the veil and long hair.

Louis Torres posits that it appears there must have been a problem with regard to the covering or uncovering of the ladies’ hair. He argues that “Paul says ‘her hair is given for a covering.’ In other words do not make an issue out of it.”62 Torres conclusion is based on verse 16, “But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, neither the churches of God.” The researcher discovered that Paul was against those who caused contention even of non-salvation related matters.

60Watson, Agape, Eros, Gender, 83.

61Kaiser, Glory and Coverings, 9.

62Louis Torres, Bothersome and Disturbing Bible Passages (Gaston, OR: TorresLC Ministries, 2007), 69.

The proponents are very selective in the way they look at scripture. There is no consideration of the larger context, cultural context and differentiating the symbol from a universal principle. They are either unaware or refuse to accept that passages of Scripture can be either descriptive or prescriptive. One lacking aspect in their interpretation of scripture is that a symbol can mean different things to different people at different times.

Although the researcher does not agree with Bacchiocchi on his interpretation of headship at home and the church, that woman cannot serve as pastors and elders, he is correct when he says, “The head covering was a custom (vv. 13-15) subservient to the principle ‘the head of a woman is man’ (v. 3, Literal Translation). While the principle is permanent, its application will vary in different cultures.”63

Rodriguez concurs with considering people’s culture to draw biblical principles by stating, “The fact that covering the head was a cultural issue does not mean that what

Paul wrote is meaningless for us. The values he was attempting to inculcate in believers are to be preserved by us and embodied in other ways.”64 Therefore, according to

Rodriguez it is not the symbol or form of head covering that is crucial to the church today but the non-cultural values emanating from the passage that need to be encouraged today.

All the scholars engaged in the preceding discussion, advanced their own diverse interpretation of the passage under study, however, all of them agree that the form of head covering symbolized something significant. In response to stance of putting at par the head covering symbol to the Lord’s Supper and Baptism, the researcher has a section below that covers symbolism.

63Bacchiocchi, Women in the Church, 132.

64Rodriguez, “1 Corinthians 11:2-16, Paul Wrote that Women Should Cover their Heads in Church (1 Cor. 11:2-16): Why do We Not Enforce that Mandate?” accessed 16 July 2016, https://www .adventistbiblicalresearch.org/materials/ bible-nt-texts/1-corinthians-112-16.

Head Covering and Symbolism

The symbol of baptism has always been constant and consistent in meaning in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In the Old Testament a sign of being part of God’s elected people was symbolized by circumcision. However, in the New

Testament a sign of belonging is to the chosen of God is symbolized by baptism when one accepts Christ as a personal savior. McNaughton states,

In the Old Testament, circumcision was the outward sign of the covenant made with Abraham and the seal of membership of the covenant people of God. … The New Testament knows nothing about Christianity without baptism, just as it knows nothing about Christianity without circumcision of the heart.65

Though in the Old Testament circumcision was performed on infants as well it does not necessarily mean that infant baptism is applicable today. Circumcision was handed down by God in the Old Testament and Baptism was equally God’s instruction in the New Testament. They applied to everyone in both Testaments of the Bible. However, in the New Testament it is replaced by baptism (Col 2:11-12). Some may still circumcise but it does not necessarily carry the meaning of covenant with God.

Pratt rightly states, “no one should take pride in his circumcised or uncircumcised status. At one point, Paul encouraged Timothy to be circumcised for the sake of peace in the church, though never allowing that circumcision might be thought meritorious for salvation. In general, however, he believed that the uncircumcised should remain so. The only truly important thing is obedience to God’s commands.”66

The symbolism is now obsolete, posits Pratt, but the significance is taken over by another symbolism. Circumcision symbolism was even annulled by the Jerusalem council

65I. S. McNaughton, Opening up Colossians and Philemon (Leominster, MA: Day One, 2006), 46.

66R. L, Pratt, Jr., I & II Corinthians, vol. 7 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2000), 118.

in Acts chapter 15. It is important to note that Timothy was encouraged by the same Paul to be circumcised for missionary purposes and to avoid rejection to preach the Gospel.

In like manner, in the Old Testament the observance of Passover reminded the children of Israel of the power of God who rescued them from the house of bondage in

Egypt. This was observed by every Israelite and the foreigners who joined them to worship the God of Israel. In the New Testament, God Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s

Supper. It is a symbol of Christ’s act of delivering a sinner out of sin through death. In the

Old Testament, it applied to everyone who believed in God. The New Testament has the same requirement.

Based on the biblical evidence that the Holy Communion can be traced in both the old and New Testaments, the researcher agrees with Leon who states the following about

Holy Communion, “It is observed by practically all Christians, and always has been. …

He locates it in the Passover celebration and describes a very simple rite—the breaking and sharing of bread and the sharing of wine from a single wine cup.67 Freeman and

Chadwick concur with Leon by saying “The actions of Jesus at the Last Supper are the basis for the Christian sacrament of Holy Communion, or the Eucharist, in which the faithful partake of bread and wine.”68

Contrasting the symbolisms to head covering, in the Old Testament head covering instruction from God was for male head covering. In particular, the High Priest and priests who served in the presence of Shekinah light. There was never a divine command in the Old Testament for female covering. The only reference that alludes to a practice of head covering for females in the Old Testament is Numbers 5:18. It implies covering that is removed by the priest in case of a married woman suspected of infidelity. Keil and

67L. Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew (Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans, 1992), 653.

68Freeman and Chadwick, Manners & Customs of the Bible, 474, 475.

Delitzsch state that “the loosening of the hair of the head (see Lev 13:45), in other cases a sign of mourning, is to be regarded here as a removal or loosening of the female head- dress, and a symbol of the loss of the proper ornament of female morality and conjugal fidelity.”69

The loosening of the hair in this case was to shame the adulterer or suspect. This suggests the cultural head cover in the ancient near east as a sign of morality and conjugal fidelity. Almost all women of moral respect wore head covering. The findings in chapter two revealed that there is no injunction for women to cover their head at all. The only instruction was for priests to cover in their daily duties. Paul advertently prohibits males from covering their heads in worship. The Bible does not contradict itself. The main emphasis is that in both Testaments head covering was a symbol. Stuart states, “The gold forehead plate was not primarily decorative but apparently symbolized Aaron’s role as representative of the people in the process of atonement.70 The ministry of Aaron symbolized the priesthood of Christ who became both lamb and priest once and for all. In the light of overwhelming evidence that God regards culture and no society receives

God’s word in a vacuum, the next section will discuss culture and the Bible.

Head Covering Culture and the Bible

This section will discuss the place of culture and the interpretation of the Bible.

The reason for the discussion is to create a framework that does not just end with two schools without any missionary thrust.

Although all principles of interpretation are important to this dissertation, they will be discussed in detail later in this section. The following section will have bias towards

69C. K. Keil and F. Delitzsch, Pentateuch, Commentary on the Old Testament (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1996), 1:670.

70D. K. Stuart, Exodus, vol. 2 (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2006), 615.

culture. This is because this research is a missiological response, and culture plays a major role for mission accomplishment. In fact, all human beings are born into a culture that shapes them and their way of perceiving reality. The symbolism of head covering precipitates the study of the cultures of the target people to know their understanding of the issue of head covering.

The researcher concurs with Luz when he states “it is important to know the cultures and customs of peoples in Bible times. Often faulty interpretations stem from an ignorance of those customs.”71 This indicates that culture exegesis is also important to the interpretation of Scripture to communicate the gospel effectively and make true disciples in fulfillment of the mission.

Bruce Bauer posits that it is important for

our biblical scholars and theologians to admit that even their interpretations and theological views can be and often are impacted by the cultural and worldview values and assumption they hold in their personal experiences lived. It is time for all church leaders to better understand that culture, worldview, and experience do impact our understanding of reality, and do impact how we read and interpret the Bible.72

In the statement above Bauer underlines three important aspects that are important when dealing with a biblical passage. Scholars engaged in this dissertation have alluded to head covering as a symbolism which may have different meaning to different people.

Therefore, it is necessary to consider culture, worldview and personal experience in studying Head covering.

71D. K. Campbell, “Foreword,” in Basic Bible Interpretation: A Practical Guide to Discovering Biblical Truth, ed. C. Bubeck (Colorado Springs, CO: 1991).

72Bruce L. Bauer, “The Impact of Culture, Worldview, and Personal Experience on the Reading and Interpreting of Scripture,” presented at First Annual AUA Research Conference (4-6 September, 2014).

Head Covering and Culture

This section tracks and traces the effect of culture in in trying to understand and interpret the Bible. The issue of worldview and personal experience are also discussed.

People Culture and the Gospel

Since the Bible was not given in a vacuum, but to people who already exited in an established culture there is need to consider culture to do appropriate missionary work. In fact, Whitesel, quoting Kraft, states that “he (Kraft) emphasizes that though “Christ is above culture,” Christ is also “working through culture.” And, “God chooses the cultural milieu … as the arena for his interaction with people.”73 For example, Jesus’ taking on the human form to communicate with us (Phil 2:6–11).

If Christ himself is interested in culture, a disciple of Christ must learn, know and understand the culture of the target group in order to communicate the gospel effectively.

Retention and meaningful worship experience will be achieved when the missiologist know the cultural customs and values that will keep the church united in congruence with the Bible. Whitesel captured it well, “While we must remain above the evil aspects of culture, we still must use cultural behavior, ideas, and products (when they do not go against the biblical teachings) to interact and communicate with different cultures.”74

Kraft statement by Whitesel challenges the Bible student and a missionary to ensure they understand both the Bible and the people to be reached. The knowledge will help to use certain symbolisms such as head covering that are non-militant to the gospel to promote eternal principles. The understanding of culture helps the missionary to communicate the gospel effectively and maintain the new and probably old members in

73B. Whitesel, Preparing for Change Reaction: How to Introduce Change in Your Church (Indianapolis, IN: WPH, 2007), 60, 61.

74Ibid.

the church. In so doing, the community may realize that the gospel of Jesus Christ is not antagonistic to any one’s cultural inclinations, but accommodates that which is good and discard that which is not in line with biblical teachings.

Jackson, et.al. posit that “The Bible was not written in cultural vacuum for it was the cultural context of the ancient Near East that served as an incubator for the thought and literature of the biblical people.”75 Whenever God comes to people to reveal

Himself, He never negates their culture. He uses it effectively as an avenue and channel to communicate with Community. In addition to the engaged scholars on culture, the researcher concurs with Pilch that “God demonstrates His respect for human culture by working through it than above or outside it.”76 This shows that the word of God as we have it in the Bible has come through people. They were called by God to communicate

His message while living in given cultural settings but this does not make the word of

God cultural or fallible. Rogers further clarifies the issue of culture when he states,

God interacted with Abraham, Israel and the prophets, with Jesus, with the apostles and with every one of us not in some other worldly or heavenly context, but in the context of material world, a world of human culture. … God uses human culture as a vehicle for interaction and communication with humans because human culture is the only context in which humans can communicate. This is not because God is limited. It is because humans are limited. Human Culture is the only frame work of reference humans have. If God wants to communicate with humans it must be within the framework of human culture.77

Culture is therefore, important to this study because the study is done within in a human setting where the cultural aspects and human customs come into play.78 This

75Henry Jackson Flanders, Robert Wilson Crapps, and David Anthony Smith, People of the Covenant: An Introduction to the Hebrew Bible (NY: Oxford University, 1996), 50.

76John Pilch, Introducing the Cultural Context of the Old Testament (Mahwah, NJ: Paulist, 1991), 159.

77Glenn Rogers, The Bible Culturally Speaking: Understanding the Role of Culture in the Production, Presentation and Interpretation of God's Word (Wood Dale, IL: Mission and Ministry Resources, 2006), 282.

78 This reminds the researcher what he calls a cultural clash. The researcher used to wear a cap on AUA school campus and when going to town in Kenya. More than three times the researcher was warned

experience emphasized the truth that cultural settings are a powerful tool of fashioning a people’s mindset and the way people interpret reality which Paul Hiebert calls a worldview as also alluded to by Bruce L. Bauer.

Worldview

Paul Hiebert advocates that people involuntarily approach the Bible with their own assumptions so it may be arrogant to claim a biblical worldview. Hiebert defines biblical world view “as the human understanding of the underlying givens in Scripture rather than as the creation as God sees it. All our attempts to understand what God has revealed in scripture are partial and biased by our historical and cultural perspectives.”79 A worldview may be thought of as having four integrated components: words, categories, patterned life experiences (i.e. schemas), and themes. Each of these contributes to the distinctiveness of a worldview and to how that worldview governs people as they live out their lives.80

Moreau et al. corroborate Hiebert when he summarizes worldview as follows, “A worldview may be thought of as having four integrated components: words, categories, patterned life experiences (i.e. schemas), and themes. Each of these contributes to the distinctiveness of a worldview and to how that worldview governs people as they live out their lives.”81

The worldview concept calls for a balance between cultural studies to understand how people perceive reality. Employing a theological systematic approach to the Bible

by fellow students that he risked an attack from the ruling party supporters. Apparently the type of cap was associated with the opposition party leader in Kenya. Wearing it in Kenya meant belonging to the opposition. He had been wearing the same cap in South Africa and it had no significant meaning, except one of the fashion head covers.

79Paul G. Hiebert, Transforming Worldviews: An Anthropological Understanding of How People Change, 265.

80Moreau, Netland, and van Engen, “World’s Parliaments of Religions,” EDWM, 1033.

81Moreau, Netland, and van Engen, “Worldview,” EDWM, 1033.

will help to arrive at an appropriate conclusion. It assists to present a balanced message in order to accomplish the mission. Another aspect important to a gospel communicator is personal experience. It has the capacity to cause noise to the pure gospel being communicated, thereby distorting the message. Likewise, the same personal experience can assist the gospel communicator to grasp the message.

Personal Experience

According to McKean “It is believed that a person’s values emerge from that person’s experiences and that it is therefore inappropriate to expect one person to have or adopt the same set of values as another person. Thus it seems inappropriate to base moral and values education on transmitting or imposing an external set of values.”82

Bauer posits “Those who have experienced an answer to prayer would also have a different perspective of reality from those who have never had such an answer, and people who believe God answers prayer and who have had a personal prayer answered, and who have studied and analyzed prayer would even have a stronger perspective on the reality of a God who hears and answers prayer.”83

Disciples should then be humble every time they approach scripture in order to arrive at the understanding of the will of God. The church members as missionaries must be aware that each one of the members may have a way of understanding scripture and how they interpret it. The church’s mission is to reveal Christ to the world and disciple them into a communion with Christ.

The missionary must understand the culture of the target group in order to communicate the gospel effectively. A balance can only be brought to this discussion

82R. B. McKean, “Values Clarification,” in Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology and Counseling, 2nd ed., ed. D. G. Benner and P. C. Hill (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 1245.

83Bauer, “The Impact of Culture.”

when both the guidelines of interpreting scripture are considered together with the cultural aspect. The next section will discuss interpretation of scripture for intervention framework purposes.

Interpreting Scripture. Gugliotto states that there are at least six aspects to be considered in trying to interpret Scripture. This “six step-procedure that, under that Holy

Spirit’s direction, should allow you to prepare to faithfully the text for any practical application.”84 Guguliotto prompts the student of the Bible into a world of analysis where one has to analyze the context, structure, verbs, culture, theology and homiletics.

The Bible as the word of God has been revealed to man at different times and in different ways. The discussion in this chapter and in chapter two, have engaged some of the principles or guidelines of interpreting scripture. The researcher agrees with Elwell and Beitzel that “Biblical interpretation is a fundamentally important task because the

Bible is considered to be God’s spoken and written Word. The Creator’s own revelation of himself and of his purpose for his creatures is the most significant communication human beings could possibly receive.”85

As mentioned previously, our world today is different from that of Greco-Roman world. Therefore, it is important to know what the text meant and what it means now. In order to address the matter of head covering amicably the guidelines of scriptural interpretation must be considered to do justice to both culture and the Bible. Mueller proposes a historical-grammatical method of approaching scripture which the research

84Lee J. Guglliotto, Handbook for Bible Study: A Guide to Understanding Teaching, and Preaching the Word of God (Review and Herald Hagerstown, MD: 1995), 20.

85W. A. Elwell, and B. J. Beitzel, Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998), 308.

will use to draw ideas for intervention.86 The researcher chose this method because it amicably covers the scope of issues under discussion in this dissertation.

Reid suggests ten chronological steps for interpreting scripture. The researcher found prudent not to discuss them in detail except a few. He advocates that one should start with, turning to God in prayer, reading the text, using the best possible reading, translating the text and investigating the context. Mueller further advises that, analyzing the text, performing theological analysis, applying the text, using resources and taking time, are critical in dealing with Bible text.87 Three hermeneutical guidelines will be singled out in the following because they are mostly used in the intervention construction.

Bible Text

The first hermeneutical guideline is investigation of the context. It involves considering the historical context which, Mueller postulates that the Bible student must ask and answer questions such as “To whom was the book originally addressed? What was the author’s purpose? At which time and in which geographical location did events described happen? What was the political, economic, and social situation at the time?

What do we know about the religious background and situation? What customs were prevailing?”

The second aspect to be considered is the literary context. Mueller states that

“literary context consists of the verses, paragraphs, chapters, and even books that precede and follow the text to be studied.”88 Both the larger and the immediate context must be considered. In this case what the books of the Old Testament and the New Testament

86George W. Reid, ed., Understanding Scripture, An Adventist Approach; Biblical Research Institute Studies, vol.1 (Hagerstown, MD: Review and Herald 2006), 113.

87George W. Reid, Understanding Scripture, 113.

88Ibid.

record on head covering. This demands for a Bible student to do a thorough study on a particular topic before making a final ruling or conclusion on what the Bible means.

The other helpful step guideline is “applying the text.” Mueller postulates that it has to do with how the message affects an individual. The text has to be personalized ask questions like “What does God wants to tell me with this passage? How does it affect my devotion and commitment to him, my spiritual life, my insights into God’s character and into His plan for us, my actions ad my obedience?”89 However, Mueller hastens to give guidance to personalizing the text to avoid extremes by leading the Bible student to ask the following questions. “Which parts in Scripture are permanent, even in details and which contain only a permanent principle?90

In other words, there are passages dealing with doctrine. This will always have the same meaning then and now. In Matthew 24, Jesus spoke about the second coming and that is still means the same thing as it did then. Genesis records the doctrine of creation and it is still means the same today as it did then. The missionary has to understand doctrinal, narrative, prophetic, wisdom and commands passages in order to communicate the gospel effectively to different cultures and people.

Summary

The study of the head covering in this chapter has revealed that there are two schools of thought, imperative and non-imperative. However, both schools agree that it is symbol or a form of something significant in the Bible. The weight of evidence revealed that this was a temporary and cultural form that signified the principle of modesty, morality, respect, decorum and reverence. The form was culturally conditioned while the principles from the passage are permanent.

89Reid, Understanding Scripture, 128.

90Ibid.

Head covering is not necessarily advocated as a universally applicable practice, but the principle is applicable cross culturally. Adventist belief 22 states that “while recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit.”91 The head covering matter was a way of addressing a principle then and the same principle maybe addressed differently today. It is evident in chapter two that head covering signified different things to different people in the Old Testament. The researcher infers that it was done communally, since Paul does not seem introduce something new. However, there is no clear biblical injunction on head covering either from Jesus or His Disciples. Advertently the divine command in the Old

Testament was for male covering.

91General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, “Christian Behavior” in Seventh-day Adventists Believe: An Exposition of the Fundamental Beliefs of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Boise, ID: Pacific, 2005), 311.

CHAPTER 4

DESCRIPTION OF THE INITIATIVE DESIGN

The ministry context describes the place where the research took place. It is the central chapter of the study. It draws from chapter two and three to address the problem identified in chapter one.

Introduction

This chapter covers the description of both the macro and micro ministry contexts of South Africa and Sunnyside Church respectively. A section on research design follows this, advancing reasons why it was chosen. The population sample and criteria for the sample procedure are also presented. The design of instrumentation is clearly portrayed. The data collected is presented and concisely analyzed. The design of the intervention program is properly presented as well as the limitations encountered during the research.

Description of the Macro-Context

South Africa is a country in the Southern region of Africa. It lies on surface area that is covering 1,219,602 km2, with bustling modern cities and a vibrant economy. It shares common boundaries with the countries of Botswana, Namibia,

Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique, while the mountain kingdom of Lesotho is completely surrounded by South Africa.1 South Africa is divided into nine political and administrative provinces. It can be rightly termed as a world in one country with

1South African Government, accessed 12 January 2016, http://www.gov.za/about- sa/geography-and-climate.

its eleven official languages indicating a plethora of cultures. The church under study is located within the Gauteng province in the city of Pretoria. According to the 2015 statistical report, the mid-year estimate of the population of the country was 54.9 million, with 51 percent of the population being female.2 Since the targeted church is in the Gauteng province the next section describes the Gauteng province and Pretoria city respectively.

Gauteng Province and Pretoria

State of cities report, indicates that the urban part of the Gauteng province is composed primarily of three cities, namely Johannesburg Midrand and Pretoria. The population of the urban portion of the province was approximately 13.2 million by the end of 2015.3 Pretoria city where the Sunnyside suburb hosts the church is located on a land surface of 1644 km2 Pretoria has an urban population of over two million people while the city population is about 700 000. Pretoria is one of the three capital cities in the country and it is the government executive branch.4

Pretoria can be considered one of the largest cities in the world. It is the seat of

Government administrations and also occupied by embassies. The Gauteng province occupies a land area of 1.4% of South Africa's land area. However, Gauteng province is contributing 33% to the national economy and a phenomenal 10% to the GDP of the entire African continent.5 This makes Gauteng province a very attractive center for businesspeople from the neighboring countries and beyond, exploring better life for

2Mid-year Population Estimates, 2015, accessed 12 May 2016, https://www.statssa.gov.za /publications/P0302/P03022015.pdf.

3Ibid.

4 Pretoria Population, 2016 World Population Review, accessed 16 May 2016, http://www.worldpopulationreview.com/ world-cities/ Pretoria-population.

5Gerhardt Bouwer, “Statistics South Africa,” accessed 17 May 2016, http://www.statssa.gov.za /economic_growth/16%20Regional%20estimates.pdf.

their families. It is an economic hub of not only South Africa but the continental region of Southern Africa and outside. The thriving economy in the Gauteng province makes it an attraction to people of neighboring countries and afar. The migrant population makes it, a multi-national province because of employment seekers.

Demography

Gauteng is the smallest of the nine provinces of South Africa, yet it has one of the highest populations in the country. It has by far the highest population density of

575 per square kilometer especially in the Johannesburg city area.6 The people of

Gauteng have the highest per capita income level in the country.7 The province of

Gauteng blends cultures, colors and first and third-world traditions and flavored by a number of foreign influences.8

The country has eleven official languages. “Much of the country’s media has been tailored to include as many of these languages as possible. Of course, many other languages from all over the world are spoken here too; including Portuguese, Greek,

Italian, French, Chinese, and so on.”9 South Africa as a whole has always been referred to as a rainbow nation. All because of the founding multi tribes, races and colors and further, the migrant nationalities who are found mostly in the Gauteng province.10

6P. J. Lehohla, “Government Statistics,” accessed 10 June, 2016, http//www.statssa.gov.za/ publications/ P0302/ P03022015.pdf.

7Pieter Kok, South Africa’s Magnifying Glass, A profile of Gauteng Province (Pretoria, South Africa: HSRS, 1998), 223.

8Mbhazima Shilowa, Portfolio Municipalities South Africa (Johannesburg, South Africa: Platinum Media, 2008), 230.

9South Africa Information, accessed 2 May 2016, http://www.sa-venues.com/sa_languages _and_culture.htm.

10Frank Welsh, A History of South Africa (London, Great Britain: Harper Collins, 2000), 431.

Education

The Gauteng province has the most important educational and health centers in the country. Pretoria hosts the largest residential university in South Africa, the

University of Pretoria, and University of South Africa (Unisa). Unisa is believed to be the largest correspondence university in the world.11 Pretoria has becomes a home to many young people who come from neighboring countries and the region in search of higher education in South Africa.

Pretoria is also a center for research in the country, more than 60% of South

Africa's research and development takes place in Gauteng.12 “Located in Pretoria, the

CSIR’s research and development areas include biosciences; the built environment; information and communication; materials science and manufacturing; natural resources and the environment; mineral resources; space technology; nanotechnology and synthetic biology.”13 The city also houses the HSRC, Humanities and Social Sciences

Research and MRC, Medical Research Charity.

Pretoria being the administrative city and highly industrialized has attracted people from different nationalities. The city’s affordable one roomed accommodation is contributing to the high density population of foreign nationals. They come seeking to improve the lives. This is even more pronounced in the analysis of the demography of Sunnyside Church in the latter sections.

11SA Yearbook 2014/15, accessed 7 May 2016, http://www.gov.za/about-sa/south-africas- provinces.

12Ibid.

13Ibid.

Industry

Gauteng hosts more than seventy of foreign banks head offices.14 This renders

Gauteng the financial capital of the continent of Africa. The Johannesburg Stock exchange, the largest security exchange in Africa,15 is also located in Gauteng. A number of South African banks and insurance giants are found in Gauteng. The most important economic sectors are financial and business services, logistics, communications, and mining.16

Pretoria, where Sunnyside is located has become a center of innovation and knowledge creation. “The Innovation Hub in Pretoria is Africa’s first internationally accredited science park and a full member of the International Association of Science

Parks.”17 The opportunities of study, accommodation, business and many others as highlighted above, provide an environment for mission. These could also serve as a gateway to spreading the gospel to many nationalities found in Gauteng and particularly Sunnyside suburb in Pretoria.

Understanding the place of culture in worship and Christian life would assist

Sunnyside Church reach within the lives of many who worship at the church and reach out to the community around. Principles of interpreting the Bible are equally important in helping members differentiate essential teachings of the Bible from the negotiable ones. Since Sunnyside is a suburb of Pretoria and both have been discussed in the

14Nkosi Phendule Kolisile, “Gauteng MEC Opening Remarks at Brics,” accessed 30 July 2016, http://www.gov.za/gauteng-mec-economic-development-nkosiphendule-kolisiles-opening-and- welcome-remarks-brics.

15Michelle Joubert, “News Release: Johannesburg Stock Exchange,” accessed 27 July 2016, http://oceana.co.za/sri-news-release-johannesburg-stock-exchange.

16South Africa Information, “Gauteng Province,” accessed 23 May 2016, http://www. southafrica.info/about/geography/gauteng.htm#.V7GVWZN95E4.

17Ibid.

Marco context above the researcher dedicates the next section to the micro context within the larger body of the church and Sunnyside Church.

Description of the Micro-Context

The micro context starts with brief description of the Seventh-day Adventist church bodies in South Africa. These bodies are the Southern Africa Union

Conference and Northern Conference. The Sunnyside Church operates under the auspices of the Northern Conference. The Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist church will be described in detail after the brief description of the two Conferences.

Southern Africa Union Conference

The Southern Africa Union Conference (SAU) is a national administrative structure of the Seventh-day Adventist church in South Africa. It was first organized in

1902 and reorganized in 1991, headquartered in the country’s judicial capital of

Bloemfontein city.

Southern Africa Union territory extends to the islands of St Helena, Tristan da and the countries of Lesotho, Namibia and Swaziland. It has seven lower administrative bodies called Conferences. Southern Africa Union has 1 264 churches and a membership of 164, 707, by the end 2015.18 One of the conferences is the

Northern Conference, which hosts the Sunnyside Church. This church is a multi-racial congregation of all classes of people. It is where the implementation of this research took place.

18Secretariat, Southern Africa Indian Ocean, Fourth Quarter Statistical Report, 2015.

Northern Conference

Northern Conference is the administrative unit of Seventh-day Adventist

Churches that are scattered in the provinces of Mpumalanga, Free State, Limpopo,

North West, Northern Cape and the host province of Gauteng. The Conference headquarters are located in Bedford view Garden suburb in Johannesburg. The

Conference serves a population of over fifteen million with 114 churches.19 One of the churches is Sunnyside Church. Owing to the apartheid history of South Africa, the conference was originally organized as a purely white Conference. It took care of white churches under the old name of Transvaal Conference.

It is the only Conference in South Africa that has not merged with other races structurally. However, it has black churches under its jurisdiction after the abolishment of apartheid. Post-apartheid, the Conference employed pastors across racial lines to service its diverse churches and districts. However, the Conference later changed its name from Transvaal Conference to the current of Northern Conference.

Sunnyside Church

Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church was organized in 1960 as a White church under Transvaal Conference. The Sunnyside Church remains under the authority of Northern Conference despite its completely black membership. This metropolitan church has attracted a lot of blacks of different nationalities and indigenous ethnic groups of South Africa and other nationalities. The Church became conducive for people of different tribes and nationalities because it conducted its services in English. The majority of the churches within the same vicinity continued to

19Office of Archives Statistics and Research, accessed 29 July 2016, http://www. adventistdirectory.org/ViewAdmField.aspx?AdmFieldID=TSVC.

use Afrikaans in their services post-apartheid. It is one of the eleven official languages of South Africa.

Sunnyside Church took an action to compel woman to wear a head covering when participating during divine service on the pulpit. The researcher has inserted a letter in the appendices proving that the action was taken. The church clerk and leadership could not locate the actual action. According to the baseline demographic evaluation by the researcher, the metropolitan Church of Sunnyside is composed of people from as far as eastern and western Africa, in addition to Southern Africans. The

96 respondents to the baseline evaluation form yielded the following demography.

The table below portrays the demographic data of the Sunnyside Church as reflected in the baseline quantitative evaluation instrument. The analysis of the data is immediately discussed following the table. The rest of the baseline items will be presented under the research design section.

Table 1. Demography of Sunnyside Church The Demographic Analysis of Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church Number of Years and Corresponding Number of People 0-5 6-10 11-20 21 plus Years as SDA Church Member 13 12 18 42 Gender Male Female No ID 37 49 9 Age Range 19-25 26-35 36-66 67 plus 9 56 28 0 Ethnicity & Country Number Xhosa 11 Sotho & Liberia 2 Zimbabwe 46 Malawi & English 2 Kenya 2 Pedi 2 Zulu 4 Zambia 3 Venda 3 None ID 20

The base line evaluation uncovered that countries forming membership based on respondents are Zimbabwe 46 (44.16%), Zambia 3 (2.88%) Lesotho 1(0.96%),

Malawi 1 (0.96%), Kenya 2 (1.92%), Nigeria (1) 0.96%, Mozambique (1) 0.96%,

Liberia 1 (0.96%), Swaziland 1 (0.96%). The South African indigenous tribes represented are Xhosa 11(10.56%), Venda 3 (2.88%), Pedi 2 (1.92). However, 20

(11.52%) of the participants did not reveal their ethnicity. The reason could be they did not want to or the researcher’s instructions were not clear.

The base line demographics evaluation indicated that the Zimbabwean nationals are the most dominant in the church. Among the local tribes the Xhosa tribe was higher than the other indigenous tribes. Although this research is focusing on head

covering, it is worth noting that from the demographic information, the Sunnyside

Church has more Zimbabwe nationals than the indigenous people.

The evaluation revealed that there were 37, (35.52%) male participants compared to 49 (47.04%) females. Unfortunately, 9 (8.64%) of the participants did not complete the gender section. There were 65 (62%) participants who were within the bracket age of 19 – 35 years. This shows that Sunnyside is a vibrant youthful church enthusiastic for God’s mission. The current unaudited membership of Sunnyside

Church stands at 585.20 However, the head count of the church attendance approximated 150 to 300 people. This may be an indication that record keeping is a challenge as the researcher could not get the recorded action of the business meeting requested.

The Macro context of the country of South Africa, Gauteng and Pretoria has a serious bearing on the demography of Sunnyside. The availability of universities, jobs, business opportunities are central to the swarming immigrants from within the country of South Africa and other countries. The trend obviously has a bearing on the

Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church and its mission to reach all nations.

The Overall Goal

The overall goal of the study is to bring a balanced perspective on the head covering issue at Sunnyside. The project sought to lessen any possible retardation of the mission of the church by fights and divisions. It is anticipated that Sunnyside becomes a model church to other churches in amicably resolving the issue of head covering.

20Seventh-day Adventist Church Membership Management System, Congregation Members’ List, 21 February 2016.

Research Design

The researcher decided to use a mixed research method of merging the qualitative and the quantitative method to carry out this research. The researcher decided to use both research methods because of the sensitivity of this issue that caused divisions and even loss of members as referred to in chapter one. The researcher used mixed method so that both the church and a select group can participate.

John Creswell and Plano Clack submits that, “As a method it focuses on collecting, analyzing and mixing both quantitative and qualitative data in a single study or series of studies. Its central premise is that the use of quantitative and qualitative approaches, in a combination, provides a better understanding of research problems than either approach alone.”21 The reason is because the repercussions of mishandling the issue normally affects the entire church. It is prudent to get both opinions prior to beginning the research.

The researcher received a letter of approval from the church board to carry out the research. The researcher was also given an opportunity by the church to clearly explain the purpose of the research. Explaining what the research was all about and why it was necessary to do the research on the particular topic.

Rationale for Selection

The quantitative method was used for the baseline evaluation because the opinion of the entire church on the issue of head covering was essential. The information helped the researcher to develop an appropriate intervention program. The researcher agrees with Mugenda and Mugenda when they state “Quantitative research

21 John W. Creswell and Vicki L. Plano Clack, Designing and Conducting Mixed Methods Research, 2nd ed. (Los Angeles, CA: Sage, 2011), 5.

includes designs, techniques and measures that produce discreet numerical or quantifiable data. If a research study yields quantifiable data, then it is a quantitative study.”22 Quantitative would also assist the researcher to know the gender, age, and ethnicity of the people that constitute Sunnyside Church. The researcher designed a survey questionnaire with seven closed ended questions. A sample of this evaluation instrument can be found in appendices section of this research.

The researcher in addition to the quantitative method chose the qualitative method because of the limitedness of the former in extracting information from the participants. Olive Mugenda and Abel Mugenda state “Qualitative research is advantageous in that it permits research to go beyond that statistical results usually reported in quantitative research.”23 The topic needed more information where participants could express themselves. Giving opportunity to share their opinions and worldviews on the issue, which could be achieved by the qualitative method.

The qualitative method was chosen to allow the researcher to conduct interviews with a selected group representing the church. Interviewing the whole church would not be possible. However, the quantitative method shed light on the views of the majority of the church members. An open ended questionnaire was designed with the help of the advisor.

The questionnaire had eleven open ended questions and was administered by researcher. It has been discovered that “Many qualitative researchers choose to conduct formal in-depth interviews with people. Interviews are good research

22Olive M. Mugenda and Abel G. Mugenda, Research Methods: Quantitative and Qualitative Approaches (Nairobi, Kenya: Acts, 2003), 156.

23Ibid., 55.

techniques when you want to know what people think or feel about something.”24 The researcher decided to do individual interviews without any focus groups. This was done to avoid clash of opinions and worldviews given the previous sharp differences on the topic.

Population and Sample

In view of the fact that the whole church could not be interviewed a group of ten participants were selected for interviews done on 24/01/2016. The criteria shared with the elders to help select the group was as follows, two young people male and female, to represent youth population, two elderly office bearers in the church male and female to represent adult population, a church elder to represent church leadership population, the current church pastor and the previous church pastor to represent the pastorate.

It is similar to quota sampling explained by Allen Rubin and Earl Babbie as

“Quota sampling begins with matrix that describes the target population’s characteristics: what proportion of the population is male and female, for example; and, for each sex, what proportion falls into various age categories, educational levels, ethnic groups, and so forth.”25At least two pastors who lived or worked among the

Xhosas and Zimbabwe to represent corroborate the data from members. The researcher requested the leadership to be ethnicity sensitive in selecting the sample group to create a balance. John Creswell and Vicki Plano Clark suggest that, “In qualitative research, the inquirer purposefully selects individuals and sites that can provide the necessary information. Purposeful sampling in qualitative research means

24Kristin G. Esterberg, Qualitative Methods in Social Research (Boston Burr Ridge, IL: The McGraw Hill, 2002), 36.

25Allen Rubin and Earl R. Babbie, Research Methods for Social Work, Sixth Edition (Belmont, CA: Thomson Brooks/Cole, 2008), 343.

that researchers intentionally select participants who experienced the central phenomenon or the key concept being explored in the study.”26 The researcher regards the pastors and leaders who did not work at the church as key informants on the practice.

Instrumentation

There were three instruments that were designed by the researcher with the help of the advisor for data collection. The baseline evaluation was done using a questionnaire with seven closed ended questions. It was administered indiscriminately to all church members on the evaluation day. The researcher thought it appropriate to use the instrument since closed ended question information could be easily compiled,

“Structured or closed ended questions are easier to analyze since they are in an immediate usable form. They are easier to administer because each item because each item is followed by alternative answers”27

The second instrument was a questionnaire with a set of eleven open ended questions that were administered to the sample group of those interviewed. The last instrument was the post intervention evaluation questionnaire which was similar to the baseline quantitative evaluation questionnaire with slight changes. Observation was also employed throughout the research.

Data Collection, Presentation, and Analysis

The data analysis section discusses the procedures employed in collecting the data as well as presentation and description of findings. The data is further analyzed

26Creswell and Plano Clack, Designing ad conducting Mixed Methods Research, 173.

27Mugenda and Mugenda, Research Methods, 72.

followed by the intervention design and a hint on the limitations experienced by the researcher.

Data Collection Procedures

As already explained the researcher used the quantitative methods by administering a questionnaire developed in a form format. The quantitative inquiry in a questionnaire format was used because it addressed the researcher’s quest to survey the opinions of 150 participants28 at the Sunnyside Church. The baseline survey forms were handed out on a Sabbath. It was done after a brief introduction of the topic to the local church as per church board request. The researcher came equipped with pens to help quicken the process of filling in the survey forms. The forms were given to the deacons at the entrance during Sabbath School and were handed back at the end of

Sabbath School and divine service.

The reason for handing them out during Sabbath School was because the church has combined Sabbath School with young people before they go to their different worship halls after Sabbath School classes. The researcher then received the

96 (64%) completed forms out of 150 (100%) that were handed out. This means that

54 (34%) of the forms were not returned. The data was compiled as presented in the tables below.

The interviews were conducted on a one-to-one with the participants. Four were conducted at church on a Sunday. Two were done by phone because the participants were too busy to honor the appointment. However, the participants received the questionnaire prior to the telephonic interview. Two were administered in the participants’ offices, while one was done at the participant’s home. One participant

28Abel Gitau Mugenda, Social Science Research: Theory and Principles (Nairobi, Kenya: Applied Research & Training Service, 2008), 41, 82-83.

was interviewed in Mozambique where he attended a meeting with the researcher. The last one was done on Adventist University of Africa campus where the researcher studied with the participant. As Rubin and Babbie suggest “Whenever the questionnaire contains open-ended questions―those that solicit the respondent’s answer―it is critical that the interviewer record the answer exactly as given.”29 The researcher used a voice recorder to record all the interviews. And a sample of the transcribed interview can be seen in the appendices.

The legend is as follows: BR- biblical reasons, CR- Cultural reasons, O-

Other Reason, ATT- All the time, NAA- Not at all, DW- During Worship, AP- As

Participants, C- Compulsory, O- Optional, NO- no opinion, VM- Very much, M- much, AL- a little, NAA- Not at all, N- neutral, F- favorably, U- Unfavorably, IDK- I don’t know, N- neutral, I- impressive, O- oppressive, S- suppressive, N&O- neutral and other.

Table 2. Baseline Questionnaire Base Line Questionnaire BR CR O Women in Sunnyside cover the head for: 44 27 29

ATT NAA DW AP Wome n should cover their heads: 27 11 19 38

C O N O Wome n’s head covering should be: 31 51 14

VM M AL NAA N The issue of head covering is affecting the church: 20 15 35 23 23 F U IDK N Non Adventists view head covering in the church: 29 10 56 2

7 10 13 14 O When did Sunnyside take the action to enforce head 1 1 1 1 87 covering at worship? I O S N&O What is your feeling on the action for women to cover at 54 10 6 8 Sunnyside?

29 Rubin and Babbie, 375.

Quantitative Survey Form Data

Item one. The first question of the seven questions was “Women in

Sunnyside Church cover their heads for:” 44 (42.24%) of the participants responded that they cover their heads for a biblical reason while 27 (25.92%) associated it with cultural reasons. The two responses were the most prominent with biblical reason at the lead. Out of all the participants 11 (10.56%) had no idea, why women cover their heads at Sunnyside.

The rest of the participants gave assorted reasons. The following variable responses came from at least one of the remaining participants; for formality, bad hair day, not to offend, style, conviction by the Holy Spirit, required by God, it is a commandment, no cover at all. However, 5 (4.8%) of the participants indicated that it is for divine service ceremony. Another 5 (4.8%) participants simply responded, “just other.” The responses show that there is no common understanding why women have to cover their heads at Sunnyside Church in spite of the fact that it is a recorded action of the church.

It is evident that the majority of the members believe that head covering is a biblical issue which may render it imperative. In fact, two other responses above, namely, commandment and conviction by the Holy Spirit may be categorized as biblical reasons because they draw from Bible teachings. The second-high scoring response is the cultural reason, where the participants simply intertwined church worship with their culture. This will be discussed further under interview questions.

The responses to this question indicate that head covering signifies different understanding to different people. However, the two higher score responses need particular attention in the intervention design. As it has been mentioned in chapter two

there is need to help the church understand Scripture interpretation and the place of culture in relation to the Bible.

The other assorted reasons are important to the design of strategy to show how varied head covering use has been in the Bible as indicated in chapter two and three. The understanding will bring a common ground where all parties can appreciate one another without prejudice. Love for one another has a bearing on the strategy design.

Item two. “Women should cover their heads at.” The participants had four options to choose from. While 27 (22.95%) of the participants believe that women should cover their heads all the time in church premises regardless of activity, 11

(9.35%) of the participant have no place for head cover at all. Their response was that woman should not cover at all. However, 19 (16.15%) of the participants assume that women should cover always during worship in comparison to 38 (32.3%) that believe that woman should only cover when they are participating on the pulpit. Only

3(2.55%) of the participants took a neutral stance.

The data reveals that the highest percentage is that of those who believe that woman should cover their heads only when they participate on the platform. This goes hand in clove with the action of the church. The second high percentage is that of those who believe that women should cover their heads all the time in church premises. The third high position is that of those who responded that woman should cover always during worship. In fact, these three responses above indicate that head covering issues have a fertile for explosion at Sunnyside Church at one point or another.

The total percentage of the three respondents presented in the preceding section adds up to 47 (71%). So the majority of the participants would prefer a

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covering compared to 3 (11.9 %) of those who were not sure and those who believe head covering has no place in worship. This is a potential environment for conflict and division in the church. The sentiments may impede the progress of the gospel while people focus on their head covering position, instead of the reason for church existence.

Item three. “Women head covering should be: compulsory/Optional.” The information received indicated that 31 (29.45%) of the participants responded that head covering must be compulsory in the church. The whooping 51 (48.45%) of the church believe that it should be optional, while 14 (13.3%) did not express an opinion at all.

The data presented on this item portrays that the majority of the membership believe that head covering must be optional. However, though the majority deems it optional the significant percentage of those who believe it must be compulsory cannot be neglected. This may militate against the mission of the church and breed unnecessary discomforts in the church. The results justify a study on the subject. The low percentage of those who expressed no opinion also indicates that there is need for clarity on the topic of head covering.

Item four. “The issue of head covering is affecting the church” very much/not at all/much.” The portion of 23 (21.85%) of the participants indicated that head covering has no effect on the church at all. Although 20 (19%) believe that head covering affects the church very much, 35 (33.25%) of the participants indicated that head covering has a little effect on the church. However, still 15 (14.25%) of the participants indicated that head covering has much effect on the church.

The data presented above indicate that the high percentages are of those who believe that head covering affects the church a little. Head covering does have a

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significant effect on the church when the “much” and “very much” responses are considered. The percentage of those who view it as having no effect may be because they have not been privy to the discussions. They may not be aware of the action of the business meeting as it will be revealed later. The high number of participants who show that the issue has an effect on the church is too significant to neglect a study and designing of an intervention program.

Item five. “Non-Adventists view head covering in the church: favorably/unfavorably.” The highest number of participants, 56 (53.2%) pledged ignorance to the stance of other denominations on head covering. Whereas 29

(27.55%) of the participants responded that other denominations have a favorable view of head covering, 10 (9.5%) of the participants believe that it is viewed unfavorably. It is only 2 (1.9%) of the participants who remained neutral on this item.

The data reveal that the majority of the participants are not informed on the practices of other churches. This status of affairs may make it very difficult to reach out to them and make them comfortable in their worship environment. The lower percentage is that of those who believe that other denominations do not favor head covering. The reality is that it is very rare to find a church by Africans with a female church uniform without a head cover in Southern Africa. It may be important for the church to study the cultures of their surrounding denominations to know how to approach them while carrying out the outreach mission.

Item six. “When did Sunnyside take an action to enforce head covering in worship?” The responses of the participants were as follows; 26 (27.55%) of the responded that they do not know when the action was taken, while 31 (35 %) did not answer the question at all, 33 (10.45%) were not sure, 2 (2.85%) responded that the action has not yet been taken. 1 (0.95%) of the participants gave the following

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answers, in 2010, in 2007, I cannot remember, did they? Plus, minus 2012, none,

2014, 2013, never heard and never. 4 (1.9%) of the participants responded, not yet started, years ago. Those who responded by ‘since I came’ composed 7(6.75%) of the participants.

The data presented indicate that there may be a serious disconnection between the leadership of the church and the members. The majority of the participants expressed ignorance on the action by the business meeting to enforce female head covering on the pulpit. This may be a loophole that may turn people away when they come to church and find confusion.

A situation where some practices are forced on them without any explanation. This may also cause members to relax on church decorum. Indecent attire in the church may equally lead to some unsavory confrontations. The church may have to review its communication system to both old and new members.

Item seven. “What is your opinion on the action for women to cover at

Sunnyside? Impressive/oppressive/suppressive.” The participants who viewed the action as impressive accounted for 54 (51.3%) of the participants, while 10 (9.5%) regarded it as oppressive. 6 (5.7%) of the respondents viewed it as suppressive, closely related to 2 (1.9 %) who viewed it as indifferent. Each of the following responses represented 1 (0.95%) percent of the participants, neutral, to think of it, should be optional, voluntary, compulsory, not sure, it depends.

The data indicates that majority of the respondents are impressed by the action that has been taken by Sunnyside for women to cover when participating during divine service. In spite of the seemingly almost consensus on head covering, there is a significant number that believes head covering is oppressive and suppressive to women. The rest of the responses also differ significantly, though the percentage seem

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small they cannot be neglected since every soul is important in the kingdom of God.

The views expressed, necessitates a seminar with the church on the Bible and the topic of head covering to unite the members in their diversity.

Quantitative Findings Analysis Summary

There are at least seven points that summarize findings from the presented data and the analysis. The seven issues emanating from the presentation are stated at this stage without further analysis. The intervention strategy is presented after the summary and analysis of both the quantitative and the qualitative findings. The seven points of the quantitative presentation are:

First, the Sunnyside Church has more immigrates who compose and run the church. The population of the local indigenous people is almost negligible. There is need to understand worldviews and how they affect Bible interpretation.

Second, the findings reveal that there are more in the church that are in favor of head covering which may make others uncomfortable. This may be a reason to exit and find a more comfortable place of worship.

Third, the demographic information indicates that the metropolitan Sunnyside

Church needs to be appraised on the issue of culture in relation to other cultures and the mission of Christ.

Fourth, the majority of the members responded that head covering affects the church. It means that the head covering issue must be addressed before it blows out of proportion.

Fifth, the majority of members are not aware of the church decorum of other denominations. The level of ignorance may render the church of no profit to the community and thus failure to fulfill the church mission. The community around

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Sunnyside is the church’s catchment area for souls and they need to be aware of the practices around.

Sixth, the reasons why the church upholds certain practices are not clearly communicated as expressed by the response of the participants. One responded by asking the researcher if there is such an action. The lack of communication may lead to loss of forms that enhance mission. Non-communication affects also the tenets of faith if not clearly conveyed by the church leadership.

Seventh, although majority typically rules, the church has to be considerate when dealing with issues of symbolism and forms. Consideration will ensure that the action does not rub others the wrong way and lead them out of the church. The point that prompts a spirit of being considerate of others is well articulated by Paul when dealing with similar issues involving symbolism.

Qualitative Data Presentation and Interpretation

The researcher has already alluded to the fact that the instrument used for interviews with the church members had eight items. The second instrument was done for current and former pastor of Sunnyside Church. All the interviews were recorded using a voice recorder. However, it is the main points that were picked for the purpose of the research writing. A transcribed sample interview can be accessed in the appendices pages of this dissertation. The data will be presented item by item on the questionnaire instrument. However, some of the interviewees’ responses will be grouped together according to ethnicity. The interviews have been divided into six categories based on the grouping of the respondents.

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Category One Respondents

The interviews revealed that there are two main tribes (Shona and Ndebele) from Zimbabwe that are found in the Sunnyside Church. They are two distinct tribes even in some cultural respects. However, the researcher did not identify any major differences in their response to head covering. Their dominance is also evident among interviewee participants. Despite criteria for interviewees to be chosen by the leadership four of the interviewees were Zimbabweans.

Three of the respondents chose Sunnyside for a place of worship because it was the closest church to their residential places. One respondent was led by a relative to Sunnyside upon arrival in South Africa. Three of them resonated that head covering for married woman signified respect, based on their cultural upbringing. A married woman was expected to cover to respect her husband, the in-laws and the community.

One respondent agreed with the three that it was a norm for a married woman to cover.

In their culture anything that does not cover the hair completely if not a covering.

Therefore, small hats have no place culturally for them.

The four respondents all sighted 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 as the main scripture that mandates head covering for church worship. However, two, male and female further cited Numbers 5:18 as sign of shame for a woman who is not covered. In their view, absence of head covering may connote adultery. One female respondent quickly indicated that she was still confused as to whether the covering refers to hair and uncovering to shaved head. One male respondent was emphatic that if it is in the Bible it is inspired. It must be followed just like all other scriptural injunctions we cannot pick and choose. He further indicated that Paul points to a hierarchy, authority and submission not equality, in respect to head covering.

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All the four respondent did not know when the action was taken to enforce head covering for women, but all three agree that the action should stay. One respondent stated that there is no option because it is in the Bible, so it is imperative.

One female respondent supports the action because it is a dress issue and if woman do not dress properly their dress could distort the message. She said, it is the reason why

Anglicans and Roman Catholics have uniform. She suggested that uniform will be the best for Adventist to compliment unity. One respondent indicted that the action might have been prompted by the fact that the covering culture that was practiced before at

Sunnyside was dying away. She said there was a time in the past when the majority of women used to cover their heads at church.

All the four respondents had an experience of head covering in worship prior to joining Sunnyside Church. One well-travelled respondent shed light that he had been to countries such as Germany and Cuba apart from the home country of

Zimbabwe. The respondent indicated that in Germany and Cuba woman covered their heads at church though they did not cover publicly. The respondent said that it was in accordance with the biblical injunction that they did it.

Another respondent indicated that he was used to it from the Adventist church in Khwekhwe, Zimbabwe. Another respondent indicated that she experienced it at both a city church in Bulawayo and rural church in Zimbabwe. She indicated that in the city church it was kind of open. In the rural, it was non-negotiable such that the uncovered person would feel out of place. Another respondent indicated that in the church she grew, it was a norm for married woman to cover. She revealed that at her wedding the Dorcas Society mothers provided her a Dorcas Society uniform as the appropriate decorum for church hence she recommends it for Adventist women.

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Three respondents agreed that head covering signifies respect while the fourth one indicated that to him it is a matter of following the Bible with or without culture.

However, one added that an ecclesiological decision is necessary compared to the one who viewed it as important as a doctrine not policy. All the four respondents agreed that failure to adhere to head covering can affect one salvation. One emphasized that it will directly affect their salvation while others indicated that it can indirectly do so. In fact, one indicated that she puts head covering at par with the Ten Commandments.

She paraphrased the text to substantiate, ‘I am God and there is none like me I change not.’ This particular respondent used to go to another denomination where children were expected to cover their head from the age of five.

Two of the respondents indicated that they were aware of one of the former church companies organized into churches. Some still insisted on women cover on the pulpit. The other two respondents had no clue at all. All the respondents indicated that they were very much interested in a seminar or Bible study on the subject of head covering. However, one respondent indicated that the study should not be to change anything but to encourage those lagging behind to follow the Bible by covering.

All the respondents agreed that there is no need for a disciplinary statute for defaulter in head covering. The reason according to the respondents being that, deacons keep veils in the vestry. No one woman could be allowed through without a cover. So it is as simple as no cover no pulpit. They further provide a cloth to cover the legs if the skirt is deemed too short.

All the respondents knew at least one denomination other than the Seventh-day

Adventist that practiced the form of head covering. The list included Apostolic Faith

Mission, Zion Church, where they cover both heads and legs and Zion Christian church, where men’s clothes cannot be touched by women. The most astounding

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revelation to the researcher was when one of the respondents intimated that in her sister’s church, women cut their hair and they are covered always in church and in public.

The only time they uncover is when the priest touches their hair in prayer. She revealed that the reason they keep their hair cut is because they believe that hair is a suitable residence for demons. However, they may remove the head cover at home with family members only. The same respondent further revealed that one of her sisters is a member of another church called Mwanzha. In that church, they wear a head cover always and their clothes should always be plain. They should neither wear clothes of mixed colors nor mixed color fabrics. Black color is not allowed at all for church attire.

In view of the fact that the majority of the respondents came from Zimbabwe, the researcher decided to interview two former leaders of the Seventh-day Adventist church in Zimbabwe. The main question to them was to give a history of head covering in their country as leaders. This was to find out if it was ever an issue to them in Zimbabwe.

Category Two Respondents

First Respondent. The first respondent was a former president of Zimbabwe

Union. He indicated that the original culture of Africans, Zimbabwe in particular, had no head covering. In fact, they used animal skin to cover the important parts of the body without any head cover. He intimated that cloth/ fabric was introduced by the

Portuguese. Thereafter, people covered the waist and woman possibly the breasts, but no head covering. The head covering came with the Adventist missionaries who felt the African women’s hair was not well taken care of.

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The missionaries introduced a duke either from the French or Afrikaners for

Adventist women worshipers. It was introduced as a uniform dress to look neat.

However, there was no biblical base behind it, it was just for smartness. The non- biblical stance was affirmed by the fact that missionary women did not wear any covering. So for him, it is neither biblical nor cultural. If it is a culture today it is an imported one. According to him others later tried to find a biblical backing to enforce it. The significance then was for smartness and today, a woman can be encouraged to be neat and formal in church. Neatness is not defined by head covering. People can still be formal without a head cover. He ended by saying that women should be smart but mindful of queer hairstyles.

Second Respondent. The second respondent also served as a former president of Zimbabwe Union led the Union ten years after the first respondent. He also confirmed that head covering resurfaced during his tenure in a few churches. They carried out an oral research by interviewing the first black field president. He revealed that head covering was an imported culture. According to one pastor, surprisingly, in the mid-sixties women who came to church wearing a head cover were regarded as immoral.

This was because hats were associated with the city where immorality was the order of the day. Otherwise the village women attended church without any cover.

They kept their hair neat by using a soap called Matamba where they also extracted oil for their hair. The respondent emphasized that culture is truly dynamic. What was anathema for church then is viewed as proper decorum today and it is audaciously enforced.

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Findings and Analysis Summary

All the four lay members of Sunnyside originally from Zimbabwe trace the cradle of head covering to the culture they were born into. Culturally for them head covering is a form that signifies respect. On the other hand, the pastors’ view is that, it as an imported culture that came with the missionaries. It signified both smartness/neatness and immorality then. While the lay respondents believe that it has a biblically strong theological base, the pastor respondents do not trace it to the Bible.

The lay members do not accept anything other than a full cover for the hair while on the other hand the pastor respondents indicate and accept that culture is dynamic. The lay members view head covering as the only way of showing respect to

God. The pastor respondents believe that there are many ways of expressing respect instead of being stuck with one form of practice.

Category Three Respondents

There are only two respondents from the eleven South African tribes. Both of them were females from the Xhosa and the Venda tribe. The researcher had planned to have more but due to commitments many did not show up. However, the researcher took the liberty to interview two literature evangelists (Zulu and colored females) involved in missionary work on a daily basis. A Xhosa pastor and colored leader who lived among the Xhosas were interviewed to strengthen the research.

First Respondent. The first respondent from the Xhosa tribe indicated that she chose Sunnyside for a place of worship because of its vibrant worship style and many programs she could easily choose from in order to be involved. In her culture head covering is mainly for married women who do it for the in-laws. She indicated that it is not allowed for married women to meet in-laws without a head covering. However, it is subject to negotiation in case of a husband, though it is required. The significance

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of a head cover is mainly respect. There was no other occasion that necessitated head covering not even funeral or wedding as far as she could remember.

The respondent indicated that one text that came to mind when she thought of head covering is one that talks about a woman being shamed by shaving. It is somewhere in Corinthians but she quickly pointed out that she has shaved hair several times without feeling ashamed. There is no link for her between the Bible and cultural practices, the two should remain separate. However, she covers her head at church to avoid offending others. She was not privy to information why Sunnyside took an action to enforce head covering for female pulpit participants.

The respondent indicated that she had no experience of worshiping in any church where head covering was compulsory. However, she was quick to say that she grew in a white church where it was a non-issue at all. Her response to head covering effect on one salvation was that it may have an indirect effect if not properly handled.

She once visited only one church that traced its roots to Sunnyside but it was a non-issue. She agreed with the previous interviewees that there is no disciplinary measure in place for a defaulter because deacons are ever vigilant to stop anyone who has no head cover. However, she related an experience of a deacon who herself forgot and went on the pulpit uncovered. The looks of displeasure from fellow deacons and members were enough for her to know that she failed.

The respondent did not know any other denomination that practiced head covering. She kept reminiscing that she grew in a city and in a white church back home in East London. She shared an episode which convinced her that cultural practices are skin deep. A young black person came to church wearing pants. The elderly black women scolded her seriously for her indecent attire in church. What

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amazed her was that her white age mates wore pants, but it appeared that the black parents had no problem with them at all.

Second Respondent. The second respondent of the Venda tribe indicated that she came to Sunnyside because of her relatives. In her culture head covering was mainly for the elderly to hide their grey hair. The young and old would cover as kitchen etiquette to avoid hair falling into food while cooking. She indicated that head covering was a standard gear when visiting the graveyard as a form of respect for the dead. She also like the rest of the lay respondents pointed to 1Corinthians 11 as a passage that indicates that a married woman is expected to cover as a symbol of respect to the husband.

She had no idea why the church took the action to enforce head covering on the pulpit. The respondent intimated of an Adventist church where head covering, shawl on the shoulders and long sleeve dress for women was requirement. In her view, head covering signified order, respect and proper dress. The dress indicates that we are different from people who do not know God. The respondent believes head covering has an indirect effect on people’s salvation since it may drive them away from church.

The respondent indicated that she was anxiously waiting for a study on the subject and even requested the seminar dates.

She responded that she knew a few denominations that demanded head covering such as Calvary Church, Zionist Church, Zion Christian Church and the

Lutheran Church. In her view, the head cover in these churches is law and it is not open for negotiation at all. She added that a study on this issue will help respond intelligently to those who want to know why some Christians do not cover.

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Category Four Respondent

The white pastor respondent indicated that he pastored the church as a white church and through the transition period from white to black. The respondent is currently a ministerial secretary of Northern Conference in South Africa. The membership at his time was 150 in the books but over 200 people always pitched. As many other races came, the whites moved out. The swelling numbers were also due to the fact that the demography changed as many blacks came into the church. By the time he started as a pastor, there were about twenty whites who later left in the course of his tenure. After about 2,000 the church attendance just swelled beyond capacity of the church building.

The respondent indicated that he has no memory of head covering as an issue his four-year tenure as a pastor of the church from 1999 to 2003. He does not remember any lady wearing a hat in the church. They allowed ladies on the pulpit without any form of head cover. The respondent alluded to an elderly conservative white man who would not drop money in the bag during collection but dropped it on the ground. Such actions seemed to be pleas for female head covering, as he was an advocate for it, but the appeals fell on deaf ears. There was no support for the issues he raised and they died a natural death.

The respondent did not know of any of the churches that had a problem of head covering in his conference. The respondent hinted that as he moves around the conference in all churches there are ladies that cover but he has never dealt with it as an issue that affected the church. The pastor confessed that he was not aware of the action taken by Sunnyside Church, to enforce female head covering on the pulpit. The conference stance is that it was cultural and strongly recommended that a study is needed on the matter.

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Category Five Respondent

The fifth respondent is a colored leader. He shared an experience of a strange phenomenon at a Xhosa customary court. The court orderly chased women out of the court building just a few minutes after they entered. He watched as the women ran out to a big poplar tree. They plucked some fresh leaves and attached them to the crown of their heads. They then walked back into the court. Upon inquiry, he was informed that they had violated the court decorum by entering the courts without a head gear. They were allowed to use leaves for a cover. This shows that something had to be on the head as a sign of respect. The leaf had to be a fresh one not a dry one.

The Xhosa pastor indicated that head covering begins with respect. He indicated that for married woman it is a norm in the Xhosa culture to cover. Girls normally are not expected to cover but when they are preparing for marriage head cover becomes necessary. The respondent intimated that when young girls reach courtship they go through a stage called “Intonjana” that prepares them for marriage.

Once they marry, they dress in a peculiar dress that includes a black head covering.

The head cover was to cover the eye lashes until the first child is born, then the forehead could be exposed with only the head covered.

Similar to the other cultures of the day, respondents from Zimbabwe indicated that head covering signified respect for elders and in-laws as well as the husband. The head cover was not the only form of respect but the daughter-in-law was not allowed to pronounce the first letters of the father-in-law for respect sake. The respondent indicated that for elderly women it is a norm to wear a cover in public though they are free to uncover at home. However, when prayer is offered even in their private home they will quickly cover to participate in prayer.

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The pastor indicated that head covering is a form of respect but showing respect is not limited to head covering only. The practice of head covering is somehow carried into church worship from the cultural setting with the assumption that God equally has to be respected.

Category Six Respondents

The two women literature evangelist shared two brief testimonies in relation to head covering and mission. The two missionaries have decided to set appointments with pastors of other denominations to present the gospel. They normally meet them in their respective places of worship on Sundays.

First Respondent. The first respondent visited a church known as “Shembe” with a fellow literature evangelist. They both gained entry into the church but before they moved further from the entrance her companion was stopped. The deacons of the church informed her that she was not allowed in their church without a head cover.

The deacons immediately escorted her out of the church to wait for her companion outside. She had to wait outside until the respondent was done with her presentation in the church. The respondent observed that in that church, all women covered their heads including very small girls.

The respondent indicated that she adopted head covering from a youthful age.

She used to see the Zulu Dorcas society women in their full uniform with their heads covered. The respondent intimated that the sight was beautiful, signified humility and respect to God. The impact of beauty never left her till she decided to wear a head cover and has turned out to be a blessing to her missionary work. The respondent who is an indigenous South African Zulu indicated that most people in the community will take a woman wearing a head cover seriously, especially in the gospel proclamation.

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Second Respondent. The second respondent, a colored literature evangelist had no cultural practice of head covering in her community. However, she wears a head cover full time for the sake of mission. She learnt it the hard way when she and a companion visited a Methodist Church. The respondent’s companion wore a hat but she did not. Though she was allowed into the church, she was the only woman without a head cover. The respondent’s companion was given full attention as she presented the books. When her turn came she apologized for not wearing a hat but the ladies were not amused. One of the ladies from the congregation shot back that she should not have apologized but brought a head gear.

The respondent indicated that the audience listened to her but it did not carry the same weight as the companion’s presentation who was covered. These two responses show that dress code is very important for acceptance and making impact. It is incumbent upon the missionary to know the right decorum for different settings without necessarily making it a biblical matter. The emphasis is on dress code and decency in dress for people give the missionary due respect, to sell oneself before they sell their God in literature.

Qualitative Findings Analysis Summary

There are at least seven points that emanate from the presentation of the interviews data:

a) Six of the respondents from the local church and the literature evangelist intimated that their cultural upbringing environment influenced their world view on head covering. Culture plays a major role in the way people relate to a matter.

b) The six local church member interviewees viewed the Bible text to be of great importance and had to be followed as the inspired word. One even equated head covering to the Ten Commandments.

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c) The understanding of the two Zimbabwe pastors was completely different from the members in that they knew the history of head covering in their country.

They took it as an imported culture with no biblical reference. It signified smartness and immorality at the same time.

d) The literature evangelist’s worldview is that head covering open doors that will otherwise remain closed not necessarily that it’s a biblical issue. The cultural influence as expressed by one literature evangelist cannot be negated.

e) Both the Zimbabwe and indigenous respondents believe the issue needs to be addressed though the majority believes the action taken by Sunnyside is good. The former pastor respondent expressed a similar sentiment.

f) Almost all the respondents agree that respect is a timeless virtue symbolized by head covering. However, at least two respondents agreed that respect is not restricted to head covering.

g) At least four of respondents indicated that they do cover at times. They do it for the sake of others to avoid offence and maybe affect others’ salvation.

Summary of the Analysis of Qualitative and Quantitative Findings

There are a number of issues that came to light in this study that may have caused Sunnyside and possibly other churches to struggle with the matter of head covering. It is proper to appreciate the dedication of our members to the Bible.

Nevertheless, there is need to help them know how to interpret the Bible. The second issue that needs to be addressed is the place of culture in Christianity. Finally, fulfilling the mission entails selflessness. These are expanded in the next few paragraphs. The research decided to use triangulation in summarizing the analysis as suggested by Esterberg, “Triangulation is often used to mean bridging different kinds

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of evidence to bear on a problem. Thus if you have access to interview data, observational data, and historical documents, your analysis is likely to be much sounder than if you rely on only one source of evidence.”30 Therefore, a combination analysis is presented in the next section.

The data presented indicate that there is a challenge in the way members understand the Bible and interpret it in regard to the head covering mater. Therefore, there is need to appraise members on the structure of the Bible and guidelines on interpretation. Some of the views expressed by members correspond with some of the scholars in chapter three. One of the respondents relates head covering to hierarchy which renders it an imperative practice for all Christendom.

The culture element also sweeps across both the qualitative and quantitative data. The information indicates that it is important to educate members on the place of culture in church to avoid unnecessary clashes and divisions in the church of God. It is important for members to know how far they could go with the adoption of cultural practices into the church. It is evident also that respondent pastors have more information on the origin of the head covering while the members do not have. The gap needs to be bridged.

The aspect of missiological reason for head covering became prominent especially in the qualitative data. Most of the respondents from the local church alluded to the fact that they cover for the sake of others. At least two of the local church respondents indicated they need to understand where the Adventist church’s stand. They seek clarification to enable them to explain to those that they witness to outside the church. The Apostle Paul as a missionary wrote verses on being considerate of others as a missionary. The matter of symbolism and form features a

30Esterberg, Qualitative Methods in Social Research, 176.

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few times in both especially in the qualitative where head covering signified different things to deferent people corresponding to the varied meanings in the Old Testament.

In order to deal with the possible issues that arise out of the data presented the researcher has developed an intervention program that entails seminars to address the problem. The next section focuses on the design of an intervention strategy to bring a common ground on the issue of head covering. The researcher will draw from chapters two and three and also other extra materials relevant to the topic. The intervention will address three issues as summarized above.

Designing of the Intervention

The intervention strategy was designed based on the data received through the quantitative and the qualitative research methods. Subsequently the data collected was summarized and three main issues emerged that would help in addressing the issue of compulsory head covering for woman at Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventists Church in

South Africa.

The Intended Change

The purposed change is to help members move from the current practice of taking the Bible at face value only but also to do an in depth study of God’s word.

This however will be strategically done by addressing three main issues that emanated from the data interpretation and findings. The strategy resources will draw significantly from chapters two and three. A tripartite model intervention strategy by the researcher would be employed as follows:

 Demonstrate how the Bible is structured and how to interpret it. The qualitative

and quantitative data findings indicated that the majority of the participants

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regarded the matter to be a biblical issue rendering it imperative. Chapters two

and three will come in handy in addressing this challenge.

 Teach the place of culture in the mission of the church and how Christ relates

to culture and symbolism. The data findings indicated the majority of the

participants pointed to culture as the cradle of head covering. Again chapters

two and three will be heavily relied upon together with some extra materials

outside this paper.

 Emphasize mission. The concept of love for one another has been

demonstrated by using the writings of the apostle Paul and others where

applicable to refocus the church on a mission. The literature evangelist’s data

and other participants reveled that a majority of the churches wear a uniform

with a heard covering. This has a major bearing on how the church

communicates the message and reaches out to others who are potential

members.

 The intervention program will run as follows: introduce the issue at hand; give

the church a chance to research; allow the church to report their findings;

provide the cultural-biblical background of the issue; together develop a

guideline; together draw a conclusion on the desired practice and application.

The strategy material was created into power point presentation for seminars that took 12 hours on four Sabbath afternoon. There were instances where the researcher indulged the kindness of the church to present on Sabbath mornings.

Limitations

The busy schedule of the metropolitan church made it impossible for the researcher to do the implementation early enough as planned. However, the researcher had implemented and left to attend school and then came back to do the final

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evaluation. This was overcome by time extension. It was expensive but fulfilling. The closure of the first church project delayed the process of finishing the project in good time as planned. The researcher moved to another church. The researcher had a number of funerals that disturbed the flow of events as designed. The researcher negotiated with the church to allow for some seminars both morning and afternoon for makeup of lost time.

Conclusion

The data indicated that the Sunnyside Church participants were passionate about following the word of God. However, their zeal and passion need to be guided to provide an atmosphere of a considerate spirit for one another cross culturally in fulfillment of the mission. A detailed presentation of the tripartite intervention program is portrayed in chapter five which discusses the implementation phase.

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CHAPTER 5

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERVENTION DESIGNED

Implementation and intervention is the main focus of chapter five owing to the issues that have been raised in chapter four. It demonstrates how chapters two and three provide solutions to the matters arising in chapter four. It is mainly a report of the researcher’s implementation phase of the dissertation.

Introduction

This chapter tackles the issues that emanated in chapter four. It is a report of the implementation strategy that addressed the issues. The report has a section on the final evaluation carried out by the researcher including the research instrument used and the data analyzed. The data collected in chapter four was used to ascertain the problem statement in chapter one about compulsory female head covering in

Sunnyside Church. The data collected indicated that the members are zealous to follow God’s word with great diligence. However, church members viewed the issue of head covering differently as presented in chapter four.1

The divergent perceptions of the issue of head covering was a potential cause for division and impediment to mission as presented in chapter one. The findings presented show that there was need to study the topic with Sunnyside Church in order to bring a balanced view of the form of head covering. This chapter presents that steps that were followed in addressing the main issues of the findings. However, more

1Respondents, Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church, interview by the author, 7 November 2015.

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research needs to be done on a number of other issues that arose in the data presentation and analysis of chapter four of this dissertation. Some of the issues that were not dealt with in the intervention are presented as recommendations in chapter six of this study.

The researcher conducted seminars at the Sunnyside Church in relation to the topic of head covering. The seminar materials were developed based on the findings in chapter four in relation to the needs of the church. The intervention project stretched from October 2015 to the time of the final evaluation July 2016. Although the researcher did not evaluate after every seminar session because of the nature of the programs at Sunnyside Church, feedback through the members, elders and pastor were informative. The researcher was able to adapt his presentation in line with the feedback received where incorporating such feedback enriched the experiences of the seminars.

Implementation of the Intervention

The implementation of the designed intervention program was carried out through seminars. The seminars were presented to the entire church of Sunnyside.

Based on the baseline evaluation number of respondents and the church membership figures, the researcher expected at least eighty members to attend the seminars.

However, the head count of the attendees at each of the seminars was over hundred people. The numbers increased as participants informed others of the seminar on the topic of head covering. The only exception was on single Sabbath day when the women had a special program outside the church. There were forty males who attended with the exception of the researcher’s wife and daughters. Given the busy schedule of the church, the researcher still presented the seminar as planned but later reviewed the materials when the female participants returned. The members who were

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not from Sunnyside Church were allowed to attend. The nature of the subjects was not peculiar to the church under study alone.

Presentations by the researcher normally took two hours, sometimes a little over including time for reflections and questions from the attendees. The seminars were mostly conducted on Sabbath afternoon except for two Sabbaths where presentations were in the mornings also. It took the researcher five Sabbaths to complete the seminars with the Sunnyside Church. The seminars started with a clear explanation of why the researcher decided to work on this particular subject of head covering. The implementation had clear objectives for each seminar in every particular subject presented.

The General Objectives of the Seminars

The general objectives of the seminars were the following: First, at the end of the project the members would have understood the meaning of head covering then and how it applies to the church today. Second, they would understand how the Bible is structured and how to interpret it appropriately. Third, the Study would help them to understand the place of culture and how to relate to other cultures. Fourth, given their various backgrounds and conversion experiences they would always have some bias in their views.

Fifth, emphasize and clarify that Church mission is bigger than individual agendas in the church. Sixth, bring members to the understanding that head covering is a symbol that may mean different things to different people. Seventh, demonstrate to members that there were similar issues that Paul addressed in his time that were not worth dividing the church. Eighth, illustrate to the members that they can always have unity in the diverse of cultures as long as their focus is on mission.

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Ninth, show from the Bible and tenets of the church that head covering, which has militated against the church on several occasions, is not doctrinal matter. Tenth, work with members to appreciate that head covering could be decorum that enhances evangelism when the culture of the target people is well understood.

Apart from the general objectives there were specific objectives linked to the general ones. The specific objectives were the focus of this dissertation though references were made to the general ones for clarity sake. The respondents in the data presented in chapter four indicated that they would prefer an intentional study on issue to bring clarity.

The response also highlighted three main issues that the church was grappling with were, imperative stance based on the Bible, culture to show respect and the effect of the issue on mission and salvation of others. This chapter is an attempt to address these issues in order to bring a balanced view on the topic of head covering.

Seminar Presentation

This section exhibits five seminar presentations. The seminars were all presented at Sunnyside Church in South Africa.

First Presentation Introduction

Great Commission. The researcher introductory focus was on the Great

Commission for the church realizes that there is no diversion from the mission, core business of the church. The main text considered was Mathew 28:16-20. The researcher emphasized the fact that Christ sent His followers to the entire world occupied by tribes, kingdoms and nations with different backgrounds. The researcher demonstrated that Christ is not a respecter of people, for He wants all people in His

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kingdom and would like each member to be involved in bringing a soul into the church regardless of tribe or nationality.

The researcher made it clear that, as the church becomes multinational there will be situations where there are differences of opinions on certain issues in the church. However, whatever issues, the church must not be allowed to divide. God is glorified when members worship together united in their diversity. It is a revelation of the binding power of the Holy Spirit who brings harmony among God’s people. The researcher made it clear that there are issues that may work against fulfilling the mission of God, such as head covering conflicts. The researcher went on to advance the reasons why the research was carried out, and this is covered in the next section.

Reasons for Choice of Study

Church encounter. In an endeavor to demonstrate to the church the importance of this subject to the mission of the church, the researcher related a few episodes. This was worth repeating because in the baseline evaluation some respondents indicated that head covering had no effect on the church. The researcher narrated a church vestry encounter in a church in Botswana. In this particular instance a lady departmental was scheduled to preach on that Sabbath and the researcher was the translator. The district pastor walked in just when the platform party was about to ascend the pulpit from the vestry. The elderly pastor immediately told the lady preacher that she could not preach without a head covering. The service was delayed as the pastor and the lady preacher director berated one another. Ultimately, the lady preacher from the higher organization grudgingly covered her head and went on to preach with a dampened spirit.

Upbringing experience. The researcher also shared with the church the practice what obtained in his childhood church. When the researcher was growing up

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there were no men in that particular church. The leadership of the church was composed of women including the head elder. Any lady who came to church did not need to be reminded that they had to cover their head. All women in worship always covered their heads whether on the pulpit as participant or just as worshipers. This was common practice at various occasions such a funerals and weddings. The only difference with wedding was that it was only for married woman and they had put a shawl on their shoulders in addition to a head cover.

Acquaintances experiences. The researcher told the church that in 2007, he received a letter from the then church elder inquiring on the researcher’s stance on head covering. The researcher never responded to the query and this bothered him.

Additionally, in 2014, while the researcher was fine tuning the proposal after its approval, a Kenyan friend intimated that no female was allowed to take Holy

Communion unless they wore a head cover. The friend further explained that if the deacons discovered that one wore a head cover over plaited hair they would be refused the ordinance.

In 2015, during a research conference conducted at Adventist University of

Africa campus, one of the speakers alluded to head covering in their presentation.

During the question and answer time, a conference youth director from Botswana asked particularly on whether head covering is a biblical issue. The presenter responded by asking the director what he thought. In the interest of time, the presenter indicated that it is a topic that needs careful study.

Closure of a church. The researcher conducted an evangelistic campaign that ended with a baptism in 2011 in church in South Africa. A month post baptism, the researcher was requested to do a Bible study on the perturbing issue of head covering in that particular church. They explained that head covering was causing some form

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of cold war among members. The researcher with a feeling of incompetence referred them to the conference. The report that later reached the researcher was that the study only served to deepen their problem and pronounce their divisions on the issue.

Unfortunately, the church was closed by court order in 2014 after failing to resolve among other issues head covering.

Removal from membership. A head covering group arose in Madagascar in the Indian Ocean Union. The group that grew to forty vehemently promoted and practiced female head covering in the churches as a Bible injunction. The conference church leadership and the pastorate tried to work and counsel with them but to no avail. Finally, they were removed from membership. The researcher added that those removed from membership qualified to be a fully-fledged church. The issue sabotaged the church’s progress in the mission of expanding the kingdom of God.

Summary

All the related episodes were to give the members an idea of the importance of the research study. The researcher linked this to the Sunnyside Church action of requiring women to cover their heads when they participate on the pulpit. As it was reflected on the baseline evolution, some of the members’ faces expressed shock and dismay but the elders confirmed that they had such an action on record. The researcher explained that he believed that the study will not end negatively. After these the leaders shared the questions to consider as the researcher continued the journey with the church.

Questions Considered

After setting the stage for further discussion the researcher informed the church of the following questions to consider in addressing the matter and attending

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the seminar. Is there any salvific value in head covering itself? This was deliberately brought to the fore in order to help members put on their thinking gear. The second question was, is it cultural imperative or a biblical imperative? This was also asked because the baseline responses in chapter four revealed that the members were torn between culture and the Bible.

How does this matter affect the mission of the church? In other words, does it pause any missiological setbacks? What arguments are there to help the church continue the practice of head covering or nullify it? What are the symbolic meanings of head covering? Finally, how will church arrive at balanced decision or conclusion on the issue without creating unnecessary enmity? This questions were very helpful in coming up with steps to follow in the intervention program as alluded to in chapter four but detailed in the next section.

Intervention Steps Followed

The purpose of following the outlined steps was to ensure that the church seminar attendees were not passive but active participants. The first step was to introduce the issue at hand. This step has already been detailed above under the sub heads of seminar introduction. The next was sharing the quantitative results of the baseline evaluation findings with the church. This was to help members understand their demography and diverse views.

In order to usher the third step, the researcher read through 1 Corinthians 11:2-

16 with the church in different Bible versions. The members were then urged by the researcher to go and do their own study and give a report of their findings at the next seminar session. The next crucial step was for the researcher to provide biblical, cultural and missiological background on the issue of head covering. The tripartite intervention solution emanates out of this step. Together develop a guideline on the

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issue. Draw a conclusion on the desired practice and application. The next section is a chronology of the steps.

Sharing the Quantitative Baseline Evaluation Results

The baseline evaluation results presented in chapter four were shared with the church. The researcher did this to help the church understand their demography and the various positions they hold on the issue of head covering. The participant’s comments on the results indicated that they were not aware of some of the facts revealed by the evaluation. In fact, prior to the base line evaluation the head elder then had indicated that about 90% of the membership of the church was indigenous people.

However, the baseline evaluation revealed that the majority were immigrant members who were also holding key positions in the church. The participants expressed their surprise at the varied reasons for head covering as presented in chapter four. It was at this point where some members resonated with some of the responses that pledged ignorance to the action that was taken by the church some years back.

Initial Study of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16

At this stage, the researcher requested all the participants to read aloud the entire passage on head covering. One individual would read through using the public address system. As the person read the people would say amen at the points that they agreed with and were quiet at those that seemed unclear. By the end of the reading, there were hands in the air seeking answers to question they had regarding some issues from the passage, despite the fact that the study steps were outlined. The researcher limited the hands to five and reminded the participants that they had to go and study to bring their finding at the next session. Although some were itching to

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share their position the researcher persuaded them to be present at the next meeting where they will be allowed to report their findings.

Participants’ Findings and Reflections

In the next seminar, time was given to those that turned up to report their findings. The first participant pointed out that he discovered that that head covering in

Corinth was important because of Aphrodite temple prostitutes who cut their hair in line with their profession. His conclusion was that women today do not need to cover at all. Some shot back at him, emphasizing that it is in the Bible and has to be followed. Some participants understood it to be referring to married women to which others responded that in that case, then, renders it cultural because many cultures do the same today. After a verse by verse guided discussion, the researcher brought the discussion to an end. To the researcher surprise, none of the participants had thought of tracking and tracing the issue to the Old Testament except associating it with headship and braiding of the hair. This led to the most important step of the intervention where the researcher introduced the tripartite intervention model. The model is discussed in the next section.

Tripartite Intervention Model

The tripartite model was developed by the researcher based on the findings in chapter four. The three key areas addressed according to the researcher’s analysis, to achieve a balanced view on head covering are Bible interpretation and its structure, cultural nuances and ideal mission approach. The three are discussed in detail in the next sections to achieve the overall objective of bringing about a balanced view on the issue of head covering as they were presented in the church.

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Second Presentation Seminar

This section opens with the presentation of the Bible interpretation with its components. It also presents the questions and comments of the participants as they interacted with the researcher.

Bible interpretation and structure. First and foremost, the researcher shared the guidelines on Bible interpretation as presented in chapter three; beginning with the fact that one should believe that the Bible is the word of God. Though there were ten guidelines presented in chapter three, the researcher decided to take four in the interest of time and the length of the dissertation. The first one was prayer since the

Bible was written though the inspiration of the Holy Spirit a Bible student must pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The researcher found the Ellen G. White counsel on approaching any biblical issue insightful and used them to clarify how to approach the Bible. These will be stated in brief as follows, invite the holy spirit to guide in the study,2 be willing to obey the truth,3 be open minded,4 guard against extreme interpretations,5 work together with people of experience,6 use common sense.7 The intentional mention of Ellen White made an impact on members. The researcher then made a transition to other scholars on Bible interpretation. It was at this point that the researcher paused to pray again. The next section will begin with the proof text method.

2Ellen G. White, Education, (Boise, ID: Pacific, 1903), 189.

3Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church (Boise, ID: Pacific, 1855), 5:705.

4Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Boise, ID: Review and Herald, 1900), 112.

5Ellen G. White, Counsels on Health (Nampa, ID: Pacific, 1923), 438.

6White, Testimonies, 5:291, 293.

7Ellen G. White, Counsels to Parents, Teachers, and Students Regarding Christian Education, (Nampa, ID: Pacific, 1913), 257.

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Proof text method. The researcher indicated that Samuel Koranteng-Pipim discourages this method because it can lead student to a wrong and detrimental conclusion. It is a method of study where a Bible student uses the Bible to support their opinion instead of following what the Bible means. The researcher narrated the story used by Pipim to illustrate the point. A Bible student had a problem and he wanted God to talk to him, he believed the only way God could speak to him was through the Bible. So he took the Bible and after prayer while his eyes closed he opened the Bible and moved a finger through the Bible and where it stopped that was a solution from God to his problem.8

When he opened his eyes the finger was on Matthew 27:5 the last phrase reads

“Then he went out and hanged himself.” The man reasoned that it was not a good text so he repeated it and the second time the finger landed on Luke 10:37 which the last part reads “Then said Jesus unto him, go and do likewise.” Once again the man disliked the verse but still repeated the practice and the last verse was John 13:27,

“Then Jesus said unto him, that thou doest, do it quickly.” The story brought the point home because the church burst in to laughter. Immediately after this the researcher presented the three chosen guidelines as presented in chapter three by Muller. The three are, the historical context, the literary context, and the application of the context as presented in chapter three.

Historical context. As presented in chapter three the researcher used the questions asked by Muller to clarify what historical context is all about. The questions are “To whom was the book originally addressed? What was the author’s purpose? At which time and in which geographical location did events described happen? What

8Koranteng-Pipim, Receiving the Word: How New Approaches to the Bible Impact Our Biblical Faith and Lifestyle (Berrien Springs, MI: Berean Books, 1996), 29.

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was the political, economic, and social situation at the time? What do we know about the religious background and situation? What customs were prevailing?” All these questions have been addressed in the deliberations above. The history, customs and religious background has been discussed.

The researched information was used to take the participants back to Corinth and and presented on the history of Corinth as presented in chapter three. The researcher further explained to the participants that Corinth was a metropolitan city that was given to immorality that rocked the dignity of the city. The researcher explained that Corinth was a sea port city that was destroyed before and later rebuilt by the Romans. The researcher further intimated that there were people from various nationalities that included mainly Greeks, Romans and Jews. As recorded in chapter two the city was geographically in Greece but under Roman administration.

The literary context. The literary context deals with verses paragraphs chapters and even books that come before and after the text. In this case the researcher studied with the participants, the use and meaning of head covering in both the Old and the New Testaments. The researcher depended heavily on chapter two where the biblical study of head covering was done. The researcher explained that head covering was used a lot in various occasion for different purposes with divergent meanings. He further demonstrated that it was used in the military for protection, royalty to denote status, culturally to mean both respect and availability for prostitution.

The researcher highlighted that there was no mandate from God regarding head covering for women. If anything the injunction that was given was for men as in the case of Aaron, the High Priest and his children who served in the temple. As indicated above this was to broaden the participants’ horizon when they approach a biblical topic. Some of the participants wondered how a man can wear a head cover in

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the presence of ‘shekinah light’ in the temple. The participants were appraised on the use of head covering for mourning. The study shed light on the fact that head covering symbolized different things at different times. Once the historical context and the literary context were explained the researcher introduced the third guideline, applying the text.

Application of the text. Mueller states that on the historical context and the literary context will lead the Bible student to ask, what does God want to communicate to me? How can I apply this text in my context today? The cardinal question is, Is this part of Scripture permanent or does it only contain a permanent principle?9 The researcher explained that the Bible is the inspired word of God but the participant has to understand that not everything is a timeless doctrine. The research referred again to Mueller that the Bible has narratives such as the story of Judas who hanged himself. It does not mean that suicide is approved of the Bible. This was said against the backdrop that others said head covering has to be done because it’s in the inspired word. The researcher explained there are parables in the Bible which may not be true in themselves but portray truth.

There are also wisdom passages that maybe full of proverbs that help clarify the eternal truths. Further explanation was given that there are prophetic passages like the book of Daniel and Revelation. God used them and at times instructed His prophets to do things that would be disgusting. Ezekiel is a case in point who was told not to mourn the death of his wife. If everything in the Bible was to be taken literal, then all men would have to obey God’s instruction not to cry at the demise of their spouses. Notorn Sterrett suggest principles on interpretation should be used always when reading Scripture. “Use the principles of interpretation. Apply them as you

9Reference found in Chapter three of the dissertation, 31-33.

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continue studying the passage”10 The story reference drove the point home as the participants nodded in agreement. The researcher showed that there are doctrinal passages that are timeless such as the passage on the coming of Jesus in Matthew 24 as explained in chapter three. It is as true then, when Jesus spoke to the disciples as it is true now to those who are believers today. The highly technical guidelines were summarized into three simple rules for easy application by members.

Reading everything in the Bible on particular topic before coming to a conclusion was presented as rule number one. This was demonstrated by bringing out texts that discuss head covering in both the Old and the New Testament in this research. Being considerate of time, place and circumstances of the giving of the message was presented as rule number two. Chapter three was used to illustrate the point. Reference was made to the fact that the Bible indicates and scholars concur that

Paul wrote the book of 1 Corinthians as a response to the report that he received. It was not a direct revelation from God on what the Corinthian Church had to do.

The final rule was to look for a principle behind a specific message and ask how the principle might apply today. It has been established through this research in chapters two three and four that head covering symbolizes modesty, respect, submission. The principle of modesty, respect, submission is timeless but the application or symbolism may differ today. The most important aspect is the principle and how it is responded to will differ from one place to another. The participants seemed to follow closely and appreciated the presentation. The next section will be on the cultural aspect as the findings indicated many believed the issue to be cultural.

However, a brief response from participants is presented.

10T. Norton Sterret, How to Understand Your Bible (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1974), 45.

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Participants’ Questions and Comments. In mentioning symbolisms, the researcher mentioned that one of the symbolisms as discussed in chapter three was circumcision. The researcher alluded to a story of some churches that require the circumcision status of preacher before ascending their pulpit.

A participant responded that it is nothing strange because in his home church it had been a practice for a long time. This helped the researcher to expand more on the issue of symbolism and meaning as it relates to head covering, baptism and circumcision as detailed in chapter three.

Third Presentation

Culture. The researcher presented on culture to show the participants that culture has a bearing on the way a Bible student approaches that Bible. The information in chapter three by Bruce Bauer11 and class notes by Kelvin Onongha were the main resources in this presentation. The researcher referred the participants back to Matthew 28:16-20. The fact that Jesus sends the church to all nations, kindred, and people, automatically means that there will be many cultures in the church and there is need to know how to handle them. After explaining what culture is, the researcher presented the two cultural perspectives, namely mono cultural and cross-cultural detailing the perspectives of each. The participants chose cross-cultural to be the best perspective.

The researcher further presented the five aspects of the gospel and culture by

Richard Niebuhr, namely, Christ against culture, Christ and culture, Christ above culture, Christ and culture in Paradox, Christ the transformer of culture.12 The

11Bruce, AUA Research Conference, 2015.

12Kelvin Onongha, class notes for MSSN 731 Mission Class, Adventist University of Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, August 2015.

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research explained each of the five perspectives. The place of culture was discussed under the subheads of the gospel versus culture and the Gospel to culture. The researcher explained worldview and its effects on Bible student’s interpretation of scripture. The researcher traced back the origin of culture to the tower of babel. This presentation also covered the issue of symbols/forms and meaning, recognizing negotiable and non-negotiable issues in the Bible. The two brought excitement as the majority of the participants wanted to know how to know the imperatives and the non- imperatives. The researcher created time to share a few of the meaning of head covering in various cultures as revealed by the qualitative findings of chapter four.

The researcher allowed people to talk of the cultures that were not covered in the baseline interviews. This enriched the researcher’s knowledge because participants affirmed some cultural practices as intimated by the interviewee.

The researcher introduced a new term to the participants called contextualization. This was to help the participant realize that the mission of the church transcends all cultures and worldviews. This leads to the next section presented on mission just after brief presentation of comments and questions.

Participants’ Questions and Comments. After the researcher indicated that there may be some cultural practices in the Bible that are not necessarily imperative, he displayed a list of items adopted from the mission class in 2015 showing essentials and negotiable. A participant asked a question as to how one determines which items are timeless imperatives or negotiable in the Bible. The question gave the researcher an opportunity to trace his steps to Bible interpretation components. The participant was satisfied with further clarity that explained how to identify and distinguish them.

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Fourth Presentation

Mission. Mission is key to the existence of any organization and what it does.

The discussions on head covering normally end with just scholarly opinions.

However, the research tried to bring the two scholarly views together of imperative and non-imperative or cultural and biblical. The researcher indicated to the church that the apostle Paul wrote this passage as a missionary who had established the church in Corinth. The church was going through a difficult time.

The evidence was presented as reflected in chapter two and three showing the postulated reasons why the Corinthian church had a problem of head covering. Some scholars allude to the fact that as the church grow and multi nationals joined the church the problem emerged. Some posit that the feminist movement had a hand in the disturbance. Some posit that there were women who believed that they were free from wearing a symbol of submission because of the new freedom in Jesus Christ as reflected in Galatians 3:28. Others posit that Paul realized the values upheld by the community, so to avoid the appearance of evil in the eyes of the community he enforced it. This was to attract the community by stressing societal values that were congruent with the Gospel.

The researcher demonstrated that Christ and Paul put mission above everything emphasizing the importance of human relationships. This was done by reading through the words of Jesus in John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” It was made clear that when a believer becomes a disciple of Christ the must of necessity foster unity as a follower of Christ.

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The second text on which the research put emphasis was, 1 Corinthians 10:24,

31-33. “Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of

God. Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well- being.” The researcher put emphasis on the fact that the mission of the church is much bigger than selfish desires. The will and glory of God should be given supreme place in believer’s life. A believer’s objective is to be profitable to others as they bring them to Christ. Paul’s emphasis on the healthy relationships was underlined by the researcher.

The third text was 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV):

For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more, and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law, to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law, to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

This text was used in response to the baseline variable responses where some respondents indicated that head covering should be compulsory and others prefer it to be optional while still others did not know. The researcher showed that though there are things that are not wrong in themselves, they may connote otherwise to other people. It is better to do certain things for the sake of mission. The researcher expanded on the concepts of contextualization and enculturation.

Participants’ comments and questions. One young lady in her twenties commented that her mother wondered what type of church she attended that had no head cover as part of decorum. That very afternoon she indicated that she is

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appreciated by her non-Adventist mother for wearing a cover to church and now it has opened doors for Bible studies with the parent which was difficult at first. This comment then ushered the example of literature evangelist shared in chapter four.

The perfect example that was used by the researcher was that of the literature evangelist shared in chapter four. The literature evangelists who enculturated the gospel enjoyed fellowship with the Sunday churches, while others had it rough. The researcher demonstrated that head covering has magical power as a symbol but was used for various reasons. A missionary who wants to reach those who believe in head covering as a form of respect to God may have to adapt to the custom at one time or another.

The wearing of a head cover is not necessarily made universal for all

Christians. It is a welcome practice in a context where it serves to enhance mission whether in the church or outside. In the context of Sunnyside where the research is taking place there is an active action of compulsory head covering. Caution was given on making a form an end in itself and forgetting the meaning. In fact, the ideal decision on head covering is to adopt the locality practice deemed virtuous in the community rather than impose a foreign practice on locals. It may have adverse effect on the advancement of the Gospel in the local context. However, the cultural practices are not the determinants of what happens in the church.

Positive and Negative effects of Head Covering

In an endeavor to clarify and bring a balance the researcher used the words of

Jesus: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone”

(Matt 23:23). This illustrated that at times believers can be bogged down with

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practices, forms and symbolisms and forget the meaning of the forms which also can be expressed in many other different ways. The researcher also used Psalm 137 where the Israelites refused to sing in foreign land because they were far from the symbol of

God’s protection and presence. They failed to do mission because they regarded a form as some kind of magic to reach the ideal.

The researcher deemed it important to bring a balance by also highlighting the danger of discarding forms. Complete rejection of forms may also breed familiarity and breed a spirit of disrespect, irreverence and indecent decorum. The two examples given were the story a Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10:1-3 (NIV):

Then Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, put incense on it, and offered profane fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them. So fire went out from the LORD and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. And Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke, saying: By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified.

The second example is that of Uzzah when he tried to stay the arch when the cart stumbled in 2 Samuel 6:6-7. “And when they came to Nachon’s threshing floor,

Uzzah put out his hand to the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen stumbled.”

Then the anger of the LORD was aroused against Uzzah, and God struck him there for his error; and he died there by the ark of God.” In fact, in this case the whole process of moving the ark was flawed because it was supposed to be carried by the Levites.

The church together with the researcher reached a conclusion that there is no timeless biblical injunction for all women to cover in church. Culture and worldview have an impact in the way people perceive certain forms and interpret the Bible. Thus

Christians need to study the Bible carefully and let not the interpretation be coloured by cultural nuances.13 However, for the sake of missions and unity contextualization,

13Hiebert, Shaw, and Tienou, Folklore Religion, 24.

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enculturation and proper decorum may dictate in certain instances for women to wear a head covering in order to show reverence and respect in certain cultures.

The final answer reached by the study is that Biblically, there is not injunction for head covering but a principle can be drawn from the passage that is timeless.

Missiologically, the form of head covering is an entering wedge to reach those who still associate it with respect and reverence. Therefore, the answer to the issue of head covering at Sunnyside is both. A number of respondents indicated that it is a matter of decency in attire and proper decorum which is proper.

In fact, the primary data from Sunnyside indicate that it is also an issue of dress. It is not only head covering but long dress as well and they could be coupled together with one biblical backing. Reference was made that the circumcised and uncircumcised worshiped together. The researcher referred the church to the 28 fundamental beliefs of the church that there is no head covering tenet. The church regards head covering as part of dress as implied in belief number 22

“We are called to be a godly people who think, feel, and act in harmony with biblical principles in all aspects of personal and social life. …. This means that our amusement and entertainment should meet the highest standards of Christian taste and beauty. While recognizing cultural differences, our dress is to be simple, modest, and neat, befitting those whose true beauty does not consist of outward adornment but in the imperishable ornament of a gentle and quiet spirit”14

Researcher’s Observations

Apparently, from the onset, the church seemed not to be very enthusiastic about the study. Although cooperative, the leadership appeared to be suspicious. It appeared to perceive that there were some hidden intentions to make a ruling for, or against, head covering. However, the suspicions and fears subsided when the church members

14Ministerial Association, Seventh-day Adventists Believe, 311.

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discovered that the study was intended for establishing the stance of the Bible, Ellen

G. White, and other authors. Thus, they patronized the presentations in large numbers.

Concise Narrative of quantitative evaluation

This section is narrative of how the final evaluation was carried out. As it was mentioned earlier in chapter four, the evaluation was carried out by administering a questionnaire to all the participants. The findings of the evaluation are presented in comparison to the baseline evaluation where possible and necessary. The post intervention discussions with the participants are also presented.

The tables below present the final demographical data of the Sunnyside

Seventh-day Adventist Church. They were included in the summary because they emanated from the final evaluation after church project was completed. This was done to show the variation between the baseline evaluation and the final one to enhance summary and explanations.

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Table 3. Demographic Analysis Final Evaluation The Demographic Analysis of Sunnyside Seventh-day Adventist Church Number of Years and Corresponding Number of People 0-5 6-10 11-20 21 plus Year as SDA Church Member 13 12 18 42

Gender Male Female None ID 55 58 10

Age Range 19-25 26-35 36-66 67 plus 15 75 46 0 Table 3. Continues Ethnicity Number Xhosa 9 Sotho 1 Zimbabwe 72 Malawi 4 Tswana 3 English 1 Kenya 2 Pedi 7 Zulu 4 Nigeria 1 Zambia 6 Venda 6 None ID 7 Mozambique 1 Tanzania 1 Swati 2 Tsonga 1

In the final evaluation the researcher distributed the questionnaire to all the participants in attendance at the church. After a brief introduction of the exercise the researcher gave away the survey instrument assisted by some participants. Out of the

150 questionnaires distributed 130 were turned in. Since the researcher brought enough pens, the willing participants completed the forms and the researcher collected them immediately.

Comparative Demographic Evaluation Presentation and Analysis

This section will compare the data of the baseline evaluation with that of the final evaluation. It will mainly be the interpretation of the table of final evaluation above to the baseline table presented in chapter four.

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Demographic Data Analysis

The number of male participants in the initial survey was 37 and it rose to 55 in the final evaluation. Females who participated in the baseline survey numbered 49 compared to the final evaluation with 58 participants. The number of participants who did not reveal their gender slightly increased from nine in the initial survey to ten in the final survey. While twelve ethnicities participated in the base line survey, the final evaluation yielded sixteen ethnicities. The ethnicities increased by both immigrant nationalities and the indigenous tribes.

The number of Zimbabwe nationals shot to 72 in the final survey compared to the baseline survey of 46. The number of Xhosas dropped to nine in the final survey from 11 in the baseline survey. Malawi nationals increased to four from one. The

Tswana also increased by three from one. The Venda increased from three to six. The number of participants who did not indicate their ethnicity dropped to seven from twenty. There were new additions in the final survey of Nigeria, Tanzania, Tsonga,

Swati, and Mozambique.

The increase in the number of participants in the final evaluation compared to the initial survey is very significant. The attendance demonstrated that the subject is a concern to the church, especially that the presentations were done in the afternoon where normally the turn up is low. Although there is some slight increase in the number of indigenous tribes, the number of Zimbabwe participants is still significantly high. The increase in the number of nationalities in the final evaluation show that Sunnyside qualifies to be a multi-national metropolitan church, hosting multiple cultures and worldviews hence the presentation above on mono culture and cross culture.

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Table 4. Evaluation Analysis Final Evaluation Analysis BR CR O Woman in Sunnyside cover the heads for: 72 42 26

IDNM DTG IIW O N Woman should cover their heads: 54 47 14 9 1 C O N O Woman’s head covering should be: 43 75 11

M AL NAA N The issue of head covering is affecting the church: 62 37 22 3

F U IDK N Non Adventists view head covering in the church: 70 8 41 5

2007 2010 2013 2014 other When did Sunnyside take the action to enforce head 1 1 1 1 87 covering at worship? I O OR N I feel the action for women to cover at Sunnyside is: 90 14 10 13 Yes No Neutral Spoiled Do you think head covering was adequately addressed by presenter? 107 11 3 8 Yes No Neutral Does culture play a role in understanding the Bible? 107 10 3 Yes No Neutral Spoiled Do you think head cover should be for where needed for mission? 120 0 2

Other Questionnaire Items Evaluation Analysis

The researcher repeated the same statement that was in the baseline survey

“Women in Sunnyside cover their heads for: Biblical Reason/Cultural Reason/other reason. 72 respondents ascribed it to the Bible while 42 related it to culture. 26 respondents were classified as others and their various reasons were as follows, for formality 2, for the pulpit service one, for respect and reverence fifteen, required by

God two, and to reach out to others six. One unique feature in the final analysis is that at least 51 people wrote a comment in addition to ticking the answer of their choice.

The comments ranged from missionary reasons, presentable, dignity, humility, not to offend, etc. The responses indicate that the respondents paid attention to the presentations.

A highest number of 75 of the respondents indicated that head covering should be optional compared to 43 respondents for head covering to be compulsory. The

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weight of evidence indicates that the respondents understood that head covering is not biblical injunction. It was also noticed that those who responded that it is wrong for women not to wear a head cover, also believe it must be compulsory. It could be that those who deem it to be compulsory may also believe that it is the only way to show respect and honor to God. On the contrary Mary demonstrated her appreciation by anointing Christ with an expensive perfume and wiping His feet with her hair. The researcher appreciated that, the majority of the respondents think it is optional which showed some level of balanced thinking. It is not easy for a community to unlearn what they learnt from childhood or grew into in a space of few days considering that changing worldviews takes time.

The majority of the participants, 70 indicated that other denominations view head covering favorably while 41 did not know at all, compared to eight who responded that it’s unfavorable with them. This also shows that the seminar appraised the participants to be conscious of what happens around them as missionaries. In the baseline evaluation, the majority did not know. However, the whopping 90 participants believe that the decorum of head covering in Sunnyside Church is impressive as decorum for worship on the pulpit.

The last three questions were specifically to check if the participants understood the concepts as presented by the researcher in relation to the Bible, culture and mission. The preceding question sought to know if the researcher adequately addressed the issue of head covering during the intervention seminars, 107 responded yes while eleven disagreed by choosing no. Only three were neutral. This number confirms the researcher’s observation that there was an average of 100 participants in the seminars throughout the intervention program seminars. The researcher believes he has to some extent achieved his objective of making himself clear on the issue. In

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order to find out if the objective of bringing a balance perspective is achieved, the researcher used the following two questions.

Does culture play a role in people’s understanding and application of the

Bible? An overwhelming number of 107 chose yes, which indicated that culture does have a role, while ten indicated that culture does not affect Bible understanding at all.

This is satisfying to the researcher to learn that the majority of the participants will in one way or another be able to apply Bible interpretation rules and step out of their culture to understand and apply the Bible appropriately.

The last question sought to know if the participants understood the concepts of enculturation and contextualization. Do you think a head cover is to be worn to reach out to those who regard it as a symbol of respect? The highest figure 120 participants, in the history of this research responded with a “yes’ to this probing question, and for the first time none of the participants chose a ‘no.’ Only two were neutral. The response signals that to some extent the missionary participant is aware that common ground is important to fulfill the mission in and outside the church. The researcher believes that this will alleviate confrontation and cultural clashes both in the church and outside. The discovery also suggests that any church worker must be exposed to missionary concepts of enculturation and contextualization if they work in different societies.

Substructured Evaluation Analysis

This section covers interaction between the researcher and some of the participants at the final end of the intervention seminar presentations. The local church pastor approached the researcher and expressed his appreciation and requested the researcher if he could do the same in the remainder of his churches. The pastor said more of such presentations are needed to help members avoid making mountains

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out of anthills at the expense of mission. The head elder who avoided being interviewed at the baseline interview stage come to express his appreciation and the conclusion of the whole subject. The researcher recorded his voice for future reference. A participant who had earlier during the seminar commented that head covering is a biblical injunction because angels cover before God (Isa 6:1-2). He came to the researcher and said only one sentence, “You have changed my worldview.”

Copies of e-mails from the church intervention participants are in the appendices section of this dissertation as a proof of how the intervention impacted the participants. One is sampled from those who requested the presentations or seminar materials to use it to help other churches. The second one comes from a concerned young person. She requested the researcher to join forces with her to do a research on divorce rates in the church. One young lady, who initially could not wait for the conclusion of the matter, approached the researcher and simply said “I like the way you brought balance into the whole issue of head covering.” These are a few of the many comments which were voiced by the participants—an indication of the success of the intervention.

Summary

The research on head covering in the church has been an eye-opener to the researcher. There appears to be some notable issues in the church which need to be seriously addressed but are shelved. One of such is head covering. The participants were very enthusiastic in supplying the data as they responded to the questionnaires.

The data was put in different categories and analyzed. On the one hand, the exercise indicated that the majority of the church members seemed to be sincere in their beliefs and practices. On the other hand, the final survey analysis and the post-intervention comments and e-mails signposted that the intervention program was a success. The

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final analysis indicated that head covering, even at Sunnyside SDA Church, was a negotiable.

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CHAPTER 6

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS

This chapter provides a total overview of the entire dissertation. It is a summary and conclusion of each and every chapter of the dissertation.

Introduction

This chapter is a summation of the entire dissertation highlighting what has been covered and achieved in each and every chapter of the preceding chapters. It also gives the final conclusion hinging on the summaries arrived at, in the earlier chapters.

The closing section of this chapter has the recommendations for further study or implementation of the areas that could not be covered in this dissertation on head covering.

Summary

Chapter one of this dissertation sets the pace for the succeeding chapters in that it gives a succinct background of the ministry context and the problem statement.

The purpose and the justification of the study are covered in this introductory chapter that hints on the overall objective of the dissertation. It closes by giving a road map of the study which gives the reader an idea of what to expect in the dissertation. Chapter one basically was the road map of all the chapters contained in this dissertation.

It began with a highlight of the ministry context. The statement of the problem and the purpose as well as the justification of this study are specified in chapter one.

Chapter one identified that there is a problem of head covering in Sunnyside Church

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that interferes with the mission of the church and compromise unity in worship. The overall objective of the dissertation was to bring balanced view of head covering in an endeavor to alleviate unnecessary division and possible fights in the church.

Chapter two which is the theological foundation on head covering was mainly tracking and tracing the use of the form of head covering in both the Old and the New

Testament. The research indicated that head covering symbol meant different things to different people. Two cases came to light in the book of Genesis where two females used head covering for two divergent purposes. Rebecca covered herself with a veil when she saw her husband as a cultural moral act. This meant respect and submission to her husband to be.

In like manner the Bible presents the case of Tamar who equally covered herself with a veil but for an immoral cultural act. Tamar enticed her father-in-law to commit sexual immorality with her. The biblical passages revealed that head covering in the Old Testament was also used by both men and women. In fact, God gave a clear instruction to Moses regarding the priestly attire for Aaron and his sons included a turban and caps. Head covering was common among those who mourned like David and his men.

Head covering was also a common feature among royalty as a sign of status and soldiers for protection against the enemy’s darts. It was also evident in the book of Isaiah that head covering was used by false prophets for magical arts to entice the children of Israel away for the worship of God. The true prophets of God like Ezekiel and Zechariah were portrayed as prophets who had used head covering. The Old

Testament also mentions head covering as though it was a common feature for married woman. In the case of a woman suspected of adultery by the husband, her

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hair was to be uncovered. The Old Testament therefore does not give one specific meaning of the symbol of head covering.

The New Testament main text on head covering is found in 1 Corinthians

11:2-16. As mentioned in chapter two it has caused an endless debate on the issue of head covering. Scholars are divided on the meaning and application of the text.

However, a brief word study of the passage was carried out by the researcher. The

New Testament also records figurative use of head covering in reference to the whole amour of God that includes a head cover to protect from the darts of the evil one.

Chapter two draws heavily from the Bible and Ellen G. White Writing to establish a theological framework.

Chapter three is an interaction between various scholars on the issue of head covering. The scholars mainly fall into two categories. The history of Corinth was also traced in this chapter. One group takes head covering as an imperative injunction that originates with God Himself for all females across Christendom. Others regard it as a localized cultural matter that Paul had to deal with for a particular situation. This stance therefore regards it as a non-imperative issue but timeless principles can be drawn from the practice for today’s Christians. The head covering practices of the three main societies that occupied Corinth were briefly discussed in the same chapter.

Chapter four starts with that macro and the micro ministry context giving a concise description of the country and the province of South Africa. The micro context concentrates on the church administering structures in brief and a detailed description of the local church under study. This details the method that had been chosen for this research and why.

The type of research used in this study is a mixed method research that combines both qualitative and quantitative. The nature of the topic necessitated the

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collection of data from both the church population and the sample group. The researcher developed and designed evaluation instruments for the study. The baseline evaluation was done using two of the instruments. The quantitative instrument was administered indiscriminately to the church population by the researcher through the assistance of the deacons.

The instrument contained seven closed ended questions with a demographic section. The second qualitative instrument used for the evaluation had eleven open ended interview questions. The researcher interviewed ten people and recorded all the interviews using a voice recorder. The data from the two methods was collated and analyzed through the triangulation method. It revealed affirmed a need for an intervention program. The data revealed that some members that believed that head covering was cultural while other indicated that it is biblical.

The data further revealed that the majority of the members were not aware of how other churches view head covering. One glaring revelation was that the

Sunnyside Church has more immigrant members than the indigenous people. The research observed that the majority of those in leadership are from the dominant nationality. The data further revealed that Sunnyside is a young vibrant church age wise. The main issues that emerged from the data that could negatively affect the church in future if not addressed, were Bible interpretation, culture, and mission with a few components. One important factor that came out in the data analysis is that,

Sunnyside is multinational church.

The researcher decided to use the seminar method on four Sabbaths in order to accommodate all the members of the church interested to attend. The intervention program was implemented and evaluated. The research once again used a questionnaire to gather the final evaluation data. The questionnaire required

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demographic information and answers ten closed ended questions. The instrument sample can be found in the appendices section. However, the researcher also observed and listened to feedback from both the leadership and the members of the church.

The final evaluation data analysis revealed that interest grew as the seminar continued. In the initial evaluation 150 instruments were distributed for evaluation only 96 were received back. In the final evaluation 150 instruments were handed out and 130 were collected at the end. The number of ethnicities who participated in the baseline evaluation increased from 12 to 16 in the final evaluation. The age bracket that had more participants in both baseline and final evaluation was between 25 and

35 years of age. They were 56 in the baseline evaluation while the number increased to 75 in the final evaluation. Teaching this age group proper Bible interpretation principles and mission concepts was a great investment because it is a predominantly young church.

The analysis further indicated that the number of Zimbabwe nationals increased from 46 in the initial evaluation to 72 in the final evaluation. This indicated that there is need to find out why the indigenous people are ranking low numerically.

The final evaluation also showed that 107 of the respondents indicated that the researcher addressed head covering adequately in comparison to 11 who answered no.

The final evolution demonstrated that 107 of the post intervention evaluation indicated that they agree that culture has a bearing on the understanding and interpretation on the Bible compared to 10 who answered no.

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Conclusion

This dissertation was an attempt to address the challenge of female head covering in the Sunnyside SDA Church in South Africa. The church business meeting took an action to enforce female head covering in their church—specifically for women who ascended to the pulpit. In this regard, there was need to bring a balanced view of the head covering symbol through implementing an intervention instrument which the researcher used. The research data collected and analyzed led to the conclusion in this section.

The biblical passages presented on head covering in the Old Testament do not at any point indicate that head covering was imperative for divine worship. In fact, the

Old Testament presented a requirement for male covering in the case of the priests.

Aaron had to wear a turban in the Sanctuary while his sons or other priests used caps to cover their heads. The biblical evidence also indicated that males like David wore coverings in times of mourning and sorrow; though not always.

This practice for males was common in the near ancient east such that even prophets would wear a cover over their heads in time of morning. This was not a divine injunction or tantamount to sin because when Prophet Ezekiel lost his wife,

God instructed him to uncover his head. Unfortunately, false prophets also used head covering for sinister motives to lead people away from God. Therefore, the researcher concludes from the biblical data presented that head covering was not mandatory, even for males, with the exception of priestly attire for Aaron and sons. It was cultural practice.

The biblical examples given with regard to women also indicated that there was no categorical directive for women for cover in the Scriptures when in worship.

Rebecca covered to show respect to her husband to be; rendering the case cultural.

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Tamar covered to trick her father-in-law into mischief. Tamar did so because the

Canaanite cultural practice at the time had prostitutes covering their heads and faces.

In the passage in question in the New Testament, the instruction of the Apostle Paul is directed to only one regional church. There is no evidence that all Christian churches in the apostolic time had to cover.

The Apostle Peter wrote advised: “Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel (1 Peter 3:3).”

This text indicates that head covering was not a norm. It indicates that there was room for uncovered hair among female worshipers. Thus, the researcher submits that head covering was not a biblical law but a practice among different cultures in line with their understanding in portraying honor and respect. The New Testament story of

Mary who wiped Jesus’ feet with her hair is a classic example that renders head covering a negotiable.

The qualitative research also indicated that head covering was not handed down together with the Bible as an injunction. The interviewees advanced various reasons for head covering. These included a cultural way of showing respect or reverence, marking a certain stage in life, decorum, and covering untidy hair. Some collected data indicated that head covering used to be regarded with disdain in worship in remote area churches. It was associated with the night women of the cities.

Amusingly, head covering is more conspicuous in the village churches than in the town churches. This is another indication of the dynamism of culture. Both the baseline and final evaluations indicated that the church under study had more members from one country who also occupy leadership roles. As presented in this research, everyone approaches the Bible with a baggage; and the cultural inclination was more influential than biblical research.

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Based on the research and data collected, the researcher submits that the head covering issue in the Bible is a negotiable and not an imperative. In the text discussed, the Apostle Paul was responding to different issues in the Corinthian Church which needed specific responses. It seems that the principle is timeless, but the practice maybe time and region bound. The church attire among African churches has also influenced the Dorcas uniform in the Adventist Church as alluded to in the research.

The researcher concludes that head covering is not imperative for all women in

Christianity; although there are instances where it is necessary for missiological reasons. The fact that the majority of African churches wear head covers as a way of showing honor and respect compels Adventist women to become all things to all men in order to win some as shown in the interviews with the Literature Evangelists.

Finally, worshipers must accept that unity does not mean uniformity. Since the

Bible does not give any injunction on head covering, neither does it condemn it, female worshipers should be free to worship God in the most comfortable manner— whether covered with some head cover or only with a hair covering. However, a missionary must be sensitive to the different cultural practices in order to reach others for Christ. The Apostle Paul himself practiced the same, hence: “I have become all things to all men that I may save some.” This should be done with the understanding that God loves all people in different cultures, but that the Bible is above culture.

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Recommendations

The researcher recommends:

 That the Northern Conference conduct a study to establish the reasons why

there are few indigenous people at Sunnyside Church. This could be a

phenomenon in the entire country.

 That the Conference conduct a seminar on the issue of head covering for all

the pastors and elders in the conference.

 That the division and unions review cross cultural works of the church on

matters of contextualization and enculturation concepts.

 That the Conference do a study on plaiting of hair, braiding, and hair, as a

covering.

 That the Conference ensure that pastors are equipped to address non-doctrinal

issues that affect the mission of the church.

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APPENDICES

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APPENDIX A

LAITY SAMPLE INTERVIEW QUESTIONS

1. Why did you choose Sunnyside as your place of worship?

2. What is the significance of head covering in your culture? What occasions necessitates head

covering in your culture?

3. What Bible texts come to mind when you think of head covering in the church? How do you

understand them?

4. What events led to the decision to require women to cover in Sunnyside? What informed it?

5. Where else did you fellowship, where women were required to cover their heads in worship

always. When was that?

6. In your view what is the significance of head covering in church worship?

7. How can head covering or lack of it affect one’s salvation?

8. What is the practice of head covering in the companies that Sunnyside nurtured into

organized churches?

9. How would you respond to an invitation to attend a bible study on head covering?

10. What standard disciplinary actions has the church established for the violators of the head

cover practice at Sunnyside?

11. What are the reasons for head cover in Sunday keeping denominations (if you know any) that

uphold the practice?

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APPENDIX B

LETTER OF APPROVAL TO CONDUCT THE RESEARCH

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APPENDIX C

MAP OF SOUTH AFRICA

______https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africa#/media/File:South_Africa_- _Location_Map_(2013)_-_ZAF_-_UNOCHA.svg

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APPENDIX D

HEAD COVERING ACTION AFFIRMATION LETTER

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APPENDIX E

SAMPLE VERBATIM

Interview

I am well and you pastor. I am Blessed thank you. Sorry I am calling using a different number. No problem. I forgot my phone somewhere. Oh shame. Alright, you had time to look at the questions. Yes, I have had time to look at them. Alright, I really appreciate that you could avail yourself to help me and assist me finish my studies with Adventist University of

Africa. Its my pleasure pastor. Yes. So I think we can go straight into the first questions.

Probably before we go there, I should alert you to the fact that I am recording our conversation because I need to transcribe it at a later stage. No problem.

Alright, ok, would you start by telling me your name and when you started worshipping at Sunnyside. My name is “participant” I have been worshiping at Sunnyside since 2013. Since 2013, why did you choose Sunnyside as you place of worship, I chose it because well, the reason I chose it is because it’s a vibrant place of worship and there were so many problems that I could get involved in. ok, those were the two reasons why. Alright okay. And given choice today would you still go for Sunnyside. Ammm todayyyy hhmmm ammm laughter and giggles I think because I am growing up and getting tired of being so vibrant, I think I will chose a quieter place. Okay laughing. I am glad you see Sunnyside as vibrant church. Yes, it its really a vibrant church and really buzzing activity.

Now let’s go our second question. What is the significance of head covering I your own your own culture? Ok for us I am Xhosa, you are person I have been looking for, alright go ahead laugh together, ok go ahead. Laughter together. Woman cover their heads when

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they get married. And each time when they go to see their in-laws the they have to cover their heads. Going to see the in-laws? Yes, like if the in-laws visit you in your house you have to be covered, and if you go to see the in-laws you are suppose to have you’re her covered. So it’s a practice for married woman. A practice for married woman, and what is the significance, is it respect is or submission or what is it. I think it has to do with respect.

Okay. So in other words if its just a husband at home she can uncover it’s a problem.

She can uncover as long as there is an agreement about this uncovering thing. And also even if the in-laws decide that she does not have to cover, then she does not have to cover her head. Oh then can reach that agreement. They can reach that agreement. Ok that wonderful. Ok what other… ok now given the fact that they can reach that agreement either with the husband or the in-laws. What other occasions other than at home and in-laws necessitates head covering in your culture. There is not anything that necessitates it in our culture. Like wedding funerals, you just go anyhow it does not matter? Funerals I think they

… I am trying to think now, Laughs, because the reason I laugh is because I am trying to remember if when I went to a funeral if people covered their head, so not necessarily. Alright, but you still have few here and there who do that.

Alright, now as we discover this matter of head covering are there any texts that come to mind. The first one that come to mind is that one that says that a woman, if a woman shaves her head umm… that one laughs, she feel ashamed, that one is the first one that came to mind, and also that one that says that a woman’s covering is her hair, yeah, year those are the two that came to mind. In fact, it is the same chapter interestingly where those two are coming from. Is it? Yeah. And that the hair is a covering and they shame themselves when they uncover their head. Ok so those are the only two that basically come to mind now. Do you think then there is a relationship somewhat between the cultural practice and this cultural

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practice seems to augmented by the Bible. For me I really never made a link between the cultural practice and the bible really.

Ok alright, ok how do you understand the two texts that you have just mentioned. For maybe I must say I do not even understand them, are they really talking about covering the head. I don’t even know laughingly. And for me because it says that when woman is bold then they feel ashamed, they must as well cover their heads or something. And I know for me

I have cut my hair a number of times and I have been bold and I have not felt ashamed. But I go to church with my head covered for everybody else. Ok alright, so you do cover you’re your hair when you go to church. No I do not normally but if my hair is very short then I will cover my head just for the sake of the other brethren. The weaker brethren. Laughs together or the stronger ones you never know. Or stronger ones you never know (her). Ok let’s go to number four then.

What events lead to the decision to require woman to cover, I assume you are aware, that woman cover when they go on the podium. Yes, I am aware, during divine service, yeas

I am aware but I do not know what happened, that made everybody come to this conclusion that woman need to cover their head. I think I came after the decision has been made. Ok do you cover if you happen to there on the pulpit. If I am there I will cover because they require it of me. Ok do you know the reason when they required of it, I thought it was just a policy that the church had decided on and I am just abiding by the policy. Of the church, you are not even aware what informed it. No I am not aware. Alright thank you. Ok then lets move on to number five.

Where else did you fellowship before where women were required to cover their heads in worship. Either always or sometimes. Did you ever worship anywhere other than

Sunnyside before, maybe when you were growing up? I have worshipped in other places

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but I don’t actually remember being required to cover the head. 0kay. But let me put a disclaimer at home I grew up in a white church, so they do all sorts of things there. Laughs.

And home is in Cape Town. It’s in east London. Oh in east London ok. Yes. And when was this. I started go to this church in twenty zero one that’s when I started going there. Ok as young person. And before then I cannot remember the ladies going up with their head covered at my old church. But maybe I was kind of too young to remember all. Or maybe to young to take note of it then. Probably yeah …. Now let’s move on to number six.

In your view what is the significance of head covering in church worship? I think it is significant because seemingly it affects everybody, I will say seemingly, because some people do get offended once they see your head uncovered while you are on the pulpit and it disturbs their worship. But for me really it is not significant. Whether covered or uncovered.

For me aah yeah.. aright thank you so much. Let’s move on to the next question.

How can head covering or lack of it affect one’s salvation. Do you think there is any link between head covering and salvation? In other words do you rate head covering with the same standard as the Ten Commandments. Aaaaam, pastor that’s a tough question. It’s a tough question because the ten commandments have everything to to with how we relate to

God and with other people as well, and since hey relate to how we deal with other people, if you are doing something that offends somebody else then I think it really does affect one’s salvation then. Thank you very much well we will have to talk more when we do the bible study anyway. Alright, I do not want to quiz you too much now, laughs and let’s move on to our next question but I really appreciate your responses.

I mean they broaden my thinking also. What is the practice of companies that

Sunnyside nurtured into churches, do you know of any church that came out of Sunnyside that does it the way Sunnyside do it? Does it? My memory is so bad pastor, I used to go to

Berea and the time I was there I can’t remember them policing it as much as Sunnyside does.

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But at the same time, I cannot remember any female preachers at that church. But I do not think it was really such a big issue. And at Sunnyside do you ever have woman preachers.

Sorry at Sunnyside do you ever allow woman to preach on the pulpit. Yes, we do, and they have to be covered.

I actually remember it was music day and one of the officers had forgotten to cover her head and she one of the deaconesses and it was such a huge issue that she did not cover here head and she is even deaconess she should have known better these things and what not.

And they actually wanted to tell here on the pulpit that your head is actually not covered. So what happened, she just stayed there until the end uncovered. Well she just stayed there because it was too late. Yah, it was too late, do you think that was destructive to a number of people. I think it was destructive, because I remember I was standing in the foyer there and one of the deaconesses was in foyer with me and she was so upset about the fact that she is an assistant deaconess and she does not have her head covered and what not and I think the deaconess though that the officer was being defiant somehow.

Its church policy, but she had just forgotten about it and she was actually embarrassed that she had gone up there without it her head covered. Did you talk to her after the service?

Yes, I did. And actually we were laughing about it. Ok I appreciate your boldness that you went to ask. Well I did not ask, I was just chatting about it. But you know… what happened.

But the church never took any disciplinary action against that person. No it had nothing to do with .. we were just talking. What standard has the church established to discipline violators of this church practice at Sunnyside. Well do not know if they have any punitive measures, that they have in place but I think the people do like if you do violate the policy you do get like a stern word after the event or actually during your, the looks also are enough to tell you that you are out of order. Exactly. Ok alright and then lets move on to the last one.

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What the reasons for any Sunday keeping church if you know of any that upholds the practice, why do you think they cover if you know any church, do you know any in the first place. No I do not really know any. Oh okay, you really grew up in white church I can tell.

Burst in laughter. Not really that why I think my wives will not be the same like for many other people. That’s why I wanted you to be in this very thing so that I look at it from you know, holistically, we look at everything. We have different views in the church. And the whole idea of this research is to see that there is unity in the church with so many views. And also that culture has an impact in the way we understand the Bible. Yes. Is there anything that I have not covered with regard to the issue, with regard to head covering.

I just wanted to say pastor that culture has such a huge impact that even the white church that I used to go I grow up in I remember one day we had a young black lady that came into church wearing pants and most of the black women were so offended by this whole thing. Even though the practice at that church was that women could come in pants, you know white ladies, but the fact that it was a black lad was an in issue to come in a pair of pants. It was such a big issue. So we can say there can be unity in diversity then. Yes I think so. I mean we are diverse from the cultures that we come from, I mean what children will come with pants but it’s not an issue to a black person. But once a black person walks into the same church. Because culturally they were not raised that way.

How can you do this in the presence of the Lord. For others it seems we are worshiping to different Gods, I think it is the impact of culture as you have rightly underlined. No Thank you so much for you time. I really appreciate. Thank you, in fact when

I saw you name I was afraid that I am picking another Zimbabwean. Burst in laughter ooh pastor, but the surname comforted me. So you are a student at AUP. Yes, I am a student and I also work there as well. Oh okay. oh that great okay. What department. I am in the department of historical and heritage studies. okay this wonderful. Okay no wonder you are

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saying that now that you are growing old and the vibe is too much at Sunnyside, but they will keep you young. yeah it does keep me young laughs. No thank you and have a lovely evening. Thank you too pastor. God bless, Byeeee. Alright byee.

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APPENDIX F

SAMPLE E-MAILS

Begin forwarded message:

From: Participant

Subject: Missiology

Date: July 18, 2016 at 1:00:22 PM GMT+2

To:

Reply-To: Elisha Vitsitsi

Dear Pastor Moesi,

How are you? I am good. My writing you this email is to request if you can share me your PowerPoint you presented to Sunny-side SDA Church last Sabbath. I am brother at this congregation and from Malawi. I am currently at University of Pretoria. I asked the Church Clerk to give me your email. If this is in order I would appreciate very much.

Thank you,

Participant

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From: Participant

Subject: Please explain to me the verse in 1 Corinthians 16.

Date: July 19, 2016 at 7:26:07 PM GMT+2

To: [email protected], [email protected]

Greetings Pastor,

I'm a regular visitor in Sunnyside SDA Church, awaiting baptism.

Would you please explain to me the verse in 1 Corinthians 16:22.

Thank You!

Sent from my iPhone

Subject: Presentation about head covering by woman

Date: July 16, 2016 at 6:49:52 PM GMT+2

To: [email protected]

Good evening

Pastor my name is Blessing, met you at Sunnyside Church today. I am sending this email to kindly remind you to send me the presentation about woman covering their heads.This is my email. I will be more than glad if you can send it.

Kind regards

Participant

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APPENDIX G

SAMPLE POWERPOINT PRESENTATION

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CURRICULUM VITAE

Name: Mosimanegape Super Moesi

Background: I was born and raised in Tonota, Botswana on 17 August 1971. I am the last born child and blessed with two brothers and three sisters. I was baptized into the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Francistown, Botswana on 8 June 1986. A God-fearing and kind mother, with the help of my siblings, raised me after my father died when I was three years of age.

Family: I married Boipelo Moesi at Serowe, Botswana where she hails from, on 10 December, 1999. We have two precious daughters, Lefika Mighty Moesi, born on 21 September 2002 and Lefilwe Jarona Moesi, born on 21 February 2004.

Education: 1988- 1991 Cambridge Certificate Phikwe Private School (Phikwe, Botswana) 1991-1995 Electrician Certificate Phikwe Technical College (Phikwe Botswana) 1998-2001 Solusi University, BA in Theology (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe) 2006- 2009 Adventist University of Africa, MA in Leadership (Rongai, Kenya)

2013 – 2017 DMin. Student (leadership Emphasis) Adventist University of Africa (Ongata Rongai, Kenya)

Gospel Ministry Ordination: 2005 Ordained by Botswana Union Mission (BUM) and currently hold credentials from the Southern Africa Indian Ocean Division of Seventh-day Adventists (SID).

Work Experience: 2006-present Publishing Director of SID Pretoria, South Africa 2001-2004 Publishing Director of BUM Gaborone, Botswana 2004-2005 Youth Director of North Botswana Conference (NBC) Francistown, Botswana 1997-1998 Local Church Pastor of Intern Pastor in (NBC) Letlhakane, Botswana 1989-1990 Literature Evangelist in Selibe Phikwe, Botswana

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