Is this a Trick Question?

A met a young woman the other night. She was a guest in our home and, while friends with my two youngest sons, I hadn't met her until the other night. She reminded me of myself at her age. Petite, energetic, opinionated and outspoken. I liked her right away.

As I had off-and-on communication with her (they (she, another friend and my two sons) were watching a movie and grabbing snacks throughout), I noticed she used one phrase very frequently. She would often say, "Well, I'm a Baptist, so I don't do that..." or, "Oh, we're Baptists, we believe this or that," or, "Oh, you know us Baptists!" So, I was intrigued by this word usage and I asked her a few questions.

The next time she referred to being a Baptist in my presence, I said, "Oh, I see you're Baptist. Does that mean you ascribe to all the things your Baptist church teaches?"

She said, "Huh? I mean, um, is this a trick question?"

I said, "Certainly not. It's an honest question. I know what independent Baptist churches teach and I'm curious to know if you agree with and live your life by what they teach."

She said, "Well, I know women are supposed to submit to their husbands."

Now, before you think there were other words exchanged before she went straight to the topic of submission, let me assure you there were not. This was first and foremost on her mind. Her role is to submit. That's her main takeaway from her Baptist church.

I probed further, "Well, you're not married so that doesn't apply to you in that way, but don't miss the fact that men are also told to submit to their wives."

She looked at me curiously, but said, "Well, yeah......"

Then I asked my next question. I said, "Are you familiar with what is called the great commission?"

She said, "Well, I can't recall it word for word....."

I said, "It says something like, 'Go into all the world and teach all nations, baptizing them....etc...basically a commandment to make disciples."

"Yeah!" she exclaimed, "That's it! Yeah."

I asked, "Who is Jesus talking to when he says that?"

She replied, "Ummm...hmmm...is this a trick question?"

"I promise, I'm not asking any trick questions."

"Ok, well, I think he's talking to his disciples."

"And," I said, "who are his disciples?"

"People who followed him at the time......and....us? Yes, us."

"So, he's talking to you?"

"Yes."

"Never forget that. He's talking to you. He's not talking to a husband who will then instruct or allow you to serve him. He's talking directly to you. I just wanted to plant that seed with you and make sure you follow Jesus, not a husband or church leader. He's talking to you."

"Yeah....." she said rather wistfully.

Statement analysis:

Had this delightful young woman answered me with anything other than submission, I likely  would not have gone down this path. Her first statement about her church was about submission in marriage. This speaks volumes to me. I suspect her church is out of balance because a young, single woman ought to be looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of her faith, and not what a future relationship with a human male might have to do with her relationship with Jesus or her church, or even with him, the human male. The fact that she thought, twice, that I was asking her trick questions could mean that she is being groomed to fit into a box that some man or male leadership created for her. I hope she smashes that box and never goes in there.

We are not doing our young people any favors by emphasizing a concept like submission which has been grossly misinterpreted and misapplied within the church. When we neglect to teach Jesus and emphasize a personal relationship with him, we are leading our young people astray, male and female.

I believe this is a conditioning or grooming tactic used by church leadership to ensure a woman knows her "place" and will follow their idea that submission should be a woman's focus. This is wrong. The Bible does not teach this. This is secular humanism wrapped in patriarchy, created to oppress and subdue women. Men and boys are groomed to think they are always the leaders and women and girls are groomed to think they are always subordinate. This is wrong. Absolutely wrong. It turns my stomach.

Do not be fooled, girls. You belong to Jesus and he is to be your priority. He's talking to you, not through someone else to you. Your focus should not be submission; your focus should be Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. Let no one teach you differently. Walk out if they try.

Galatians 1:8 & 9: "But though we or an angel from Heaven preach any other gospel to you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be cursed. As we said before, so say I again, if anyone preaches another gospel to you than that you have received, let him be cursed."

~Tricia

The Priscilla Principle

For a long time, I've been working on putting my system of Bible study into an organized format that is easy to share with others. I call my system The Priscilla Principle. Since I developed this system more than 30 years ago, I have not used another. I learned the basic principles of Bible study in a college class while under the teaching of a wonderful professor who had patience and wisdom in leading his students. Dr. Wayne Knife was always above and beyond expectation in his teaching methods and he strongly impacted my life with his simple, yet effective Bible study methods.

Another man who has been very influential in my Bible study life is Pastor Lowell Spencer, the man who led me to Christ. He preached the Gospel the very first time I heard it and I never got over it. He showed me how to look things up in the Bible and also gave me the greatest piece of advice I've ever received in my entire life - to never take anyone's word for what the Bible says, but to look it up for myself. I still practice that to this day.

If I had to name one thing that has prevented spiritual abuse in my life, this would be that thing. I don't care who is preaching, I look up what they are saying and test it to see if it is in line with the Bible. If not, I confront it. If I'm not in a position to confront it, I simply don't listen to them ever again. This has saved me from spiritual abuse. I have removed my children from under the teaching of various people for this reason. I simply do not tolerate false teaching and to determine false teaching, I must test every teacher/preacher every single time they teach/preach.

The Priscilla Principle is designed to help people do just that. Last week, I finally took the plunge and bought the domain name ThePriscillaPrinciple.com so that I could go forward with the project and take it to the next level. The website gives a brief look into The Priscilla Principle, explains why I chose that name and gives an example on how to make observations of Scripture. I will be adding more and more information to the website in short order.

Also, my book, The Priscilla Principle, will be published on Amazon in the coming months!

My system is not the usual method of:

Observation > Interpretation > Application

My system is:

READ  >  OBSERVE  >  INTERPRET  >  PRAY

This method eliminates the application process of Bible study altogether. Misapplication of Scripture has been the main cause of spiritual abuse in churches all over the world. The Holy Spirit applies His Word to our lives; He's more than capable. 

The main premise of The Priscilla Principle is:

if I am focused on my own behavior, 

or the behavior of others, 

I am not focused on Jesus Christ, 

therefore, my focus is not where it should be.

In Acts 17:10 & 11, the saints in the church at Berea were commended for searching the Scriptures daily to see if the things they were being taught were true. They were called "noble" for doing so! You can do the same. You can search the Scriptures to see if what you are being taught is true. 

Priscilla was a woman grounded in Scripture and not afraid to use it. She and her husband, Aquila, were used mightily in the life of a great preacher, Apollos, when they took him aside after hearing him preach an incomplete message. Priscilla did not tolerate false or incomplete teaching. She confronted it immediately and her confrontation produced wonderful results. Read Acts 18 for the full story. This principle is named after her!

~Tricia