Should Women Cover Their Heads in Church?
Should Women Cover Their Heads in Church?
Overview
If you've ever read 1 Corinthians 11, you've probably stopped and asked, "Wait, what?" Paul says a man shouldn't cover his head when he prays in worship, but a woman should. So should women cover their heads in church today? Brad Kirby and Andre Samson walk through what Paul was actually addressing. It wasn't fashion. It was worship, and honoring the way God made men and women. They show why the passage teaches difference without inferiority, lay out the two main ways Christians apply it, and share where CityBridge lands. Then they bring it home with a bigger question: what does the way you show up to worship say about God?
Three Takeaways
Paul isn't giving fashion advice.
In Corinth, a covered or uncovered head said something public about modesty, marriage, and being a man or a woman. Paul cared about worship and about honoring how God made men and women, not about snapbacks or scarves. He points past local custom all the way back to creation.
Different doesn't mean inferior.
Paul is clear that in the Lord, woman isn't independent of man, nor man of woman. Woman came from man in creation, and every man since has been born of a woman. Men and women are distinctly different, yet they depend on each other and are equally accountable to God.
The symbol can change. The principle stays.
Some Christians read this as a command for head coverings in every church, for all time. Others, including CityBridge, see a first-century symbol pointing to a lasting principle: honor God's design in whatever way fits your culture. That means we don't toss the passage out, and we don't bind every Christian woman's conscience to a first-century custom either.
Scripture in This Episode
1 Corinthians 11:4-5
Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head, but every wife who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, since it is the same as if her head were shaven.
1 Corinthians 11:7-9
For a man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God, but woman is the glory of man. For man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man.
1 Corinthians 11:11-12
Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man nor man of woman; for as woman was made from man, so man is now born of woman. And all things are from God.
Talk About It
What was your first reaction the first time you read 1 Corinthians 11? What questions did it raise for you?
Men and women are different, yet they depend on each other. Where have you seen that play out well in your church, home, or friendships?
Which of Brad's closing questions challenges you most about how you show up to worship, and why?
Your Next Step
Before you walk into church this Sunday, pick one of Brad's questions and ask it honestly: does the way I show up draw attention to me, or does it glorify God? Then read all of 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 with a friend and talk about what you see.
Take it with you
Download the printable one-pager below.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.*
