Director of Discipleship Michael McDowell takes on what he calls the most complicated passage in 1 Corinthians—chapter 11:2–16—and refuses to let its complexity be an excuse to avoid it. Underneath the head coverings debate is a bigger question: how do men and women relate to one another as followers of Jesus? Michael works through Paul’s argument that God created men and women as distinct and interdependent by design—not accidentally, and not interchangeably. The gifts belong to the whole body; find yours, use them, and cheer everyone else on. The practical application lands on two things: modesty (less about specific clothing, more about not distracting others from mission) and interdependence (we genuinely need each other). Men drift toward isolation. Women lose depth of community. The church’s answer is to serve side by side—because we were reconciled not just to God, but to one another.
Founding Pastor Ken Werlein tells the story of Mephibosheth, the crippled grandson of King Saul (and son of Jonathan) who lived in hiding until...