So where do we start with a covenant law code for Kiln of the Soul parish?
Rather than wade through a bunch of particulars, let me pull some things together into more fundamental principles. Given our prevailing American culture, one of the first things I think we should assert is that wants us to avoid any hint of ambiguity about gender identity. This has always been a really big deal in divine revelation.
Somewhere in the balance between rejecting the fallen world and still communicating something they’ll understand, we should avoid anything that raises doubt about the sexual identity of our members. Rather assertively, women should be feminine and men should be masculine.
Instead of detailed rules, we should propose preferences. We prefer women to have long hair and wear distinctive clothing that makes it obvious this is a female. Women should in no way attempt to emulate men for any reason. Their actions and general behavior should be feminine. They don’t compete with guys doing manly things.
I’m not so worried about actual occupations, but roles in the social fabric. Yes, it would be nice if the Lord prospered our community to the point we could have stay-at-home mothers and a traditional division of labor, but I seriously doubt that’s even possible, given the coming tribulation. To be honest, I’m retired and do a lot of housekeeping, while my wife works outside the home, too young to retire yet. But no one doubts who wears the pants in the family.
Another preference is beards for men. The question of a man’s hair isn’t quite the issue some old timers might imagine. When Paul ranted about it, the issue was clearly not the hair itself, but what long hair on a man said about him in that society. The major issue was gay prostitution. Just how long is “long”? Personal style is one thing, but no one should doubt a man is a man.
On a related note, there should be no questions what the Bible says about human sexuality, and we’ve covered this repeatedly here. Again, it’s not about rules but a stated preference for one man, one woman, together for life, trying to make babies. That’s the ideal, but reality tends to intrude with a lot of messy details. Our point here should be that you recognize what you lose in covenant covering when you deviate from that standard. I’m sure whoever is the elder at hand can figure out whether any particular arrangement is a threat to leaves too many door open for Satan. Every elder should have some grasp of the limits of what they can cover in their domain.
Which brings us back to the whole point: The existence of a covenant demands a community. Most of the nitty-gritty rules depend on the community context. The bigger the community, the greater the formality required. That goes for gatherings and says something about how the community must operate in order to stay on track in general. And do I need to say it? Men must be in charge, but don’t waste a woman’s talents.
At some point it becomes necessary to split off some of the community when it gets too big for one elder to manage. Didn’t Abraham and Lot part company? Didn’t Jethro warn Moses to identify elders for groups down to about 50 each? Things got too big for just one guy to handle, and subdivision was necessary. Further, whoever becomes elder of the new group needs to come from the group. Elders are organic to the family they lead. Priests can be outsiders appointed to serve, but elders must be family. And you can still have senior elders guiding others as part of a much larger community.
But again, those aren’t rules. Those are preferences. Sometimes the situation calls for a very strong and charismatic leader over a much larger community. You’ll know when it happens. I learned long ago to put confidence in the Elect to manifest themselves by making good decisions in the Spirit. I’m one of those who is quick to delegate, because I love watching people blossom.
I’m always looking for people to take charge, encouraging them to stir up the gifts God has given them.
