Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 2
When Renee first heard 1 Corinthians 11 in 2004, she dismissed it because “nobody teaches that…we don’t do it”; where do you recognize the same instinct in yourself—treating church normal as a lens that decides what Scripture can’t mean?
Another way to ask: Renee first brushed off 1 Corinthians 11 because “no one teaches that” and “we don’t do it.” When do you do the same thing—letting what your church normally does decide what the Bible can’t mean?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Renee’s first response shows how easily “what my church does” can become the authority that filters Scripture; she treated the lack of teaching/practice as proof the text couldn’t mean what it plainly said.
- Her prayer partner showed her 1 Corinthians 11, and Renee responded, “What? I don’t see anything…What’s the big deal?”
- She explicitly reasoned, “Nobody teaches that. We don’t do it…Obviously, this isn’t happening. I’m sure it’s nothing.”
- She later calls this “proof that if the Holy Spirit isn’t in it, that man’s words cannot do anything,” admitting her heart was unmoved.
- The church environment reinforced dismissal: she stayed because leaders treated the other woman’s practice as “real strange.”
- She contrasts this with later Bible reading where “things aren’t lining up,” pushing her to “wrestle the scriptures and wrestle my flesh.”