Hello all…!
I hope that the title of this thread didn’t startle you.
My wife and I recently moved to the Northern California/San Francisco Bay area. We are still in the process of finding a congregation with which to fellowship and foster encouragement. Since we didn’t have anything to do last night, we decided to attend a Bible study at a Spanish congregation in Menlo Park.
The large congregation meets in a finely ornate building (complete with banners, streamers and pillars housing fake flames, no less). We actually went without really knowing what kind of doctrinal views that the Church adheres to. Almost immediately, we noticed that the women all wore coverings upon their heads (not really hats or scarves, but pretty little see-through lace things that resembled the “kippahs” [yarmulkes] that many Jewish males wear). While I don’t embrace that particular doctrinal view, I feel comfortable around those who do. And while I disagree with the interpretation of the passage of Scripture from whence that custom was derived, I do understand the argument for the position.
The Bible study was packed, but it was reminded me of a Sunday morning meeting more than a typical Bible study. There was a very orderly sequence to the meeting, containing the typical opening prayer, salutation, praise and worship, stand for the opening Bible verse, and sermon. All of the people were dressed in their “Sunday best” (nice suits, fine dresses, etc… -- which made me feel a little uncomfortable in jeans and a sweater). We opted to attend the smaller English “Bible study” following the praise and worship. There, the smaller group of mostly younger adults listened to a prepared message about the importance of tithing and the need for the Ten Commandments. The leader of the study seemed quite sincere, and the small group was quite respectful.
Following the Bible study, the leader and another woman approached my wife and me. They noticed that we were new and wanted to extend a welcoming hand to us. We told them that we found their address on the Internet, but that the Church’s website (it didn’t include any info except for the name and address). As they went through the list of meetings/ministries, I was struck by a remark of the Bible study leader. He offered to give me a call and explain the doctrines of the Church if I was interested in attending. After the meeting, my wife and I admitted that we enjoyed the fellowship with other believers, even if they held to different doctrinal customs than what we are used to.
This morning, I tried to find out what sort of doctrinal views to which the congregation adheres. From the meeting, I was fairly certain that they would consider themselves Pentecostal or apostolic. Sure enough, I discovered that this particular congregation was an apostolic congregation that adheres to the Oneness (no Trinity) position (actually evident in subtle ways throughout the meeting).
As I was researching the Church’s doctrines, I noticed some peculiar practices (in addition to the Oneness and head covering views). For instance, the women can hold no position in the Church (not even a Sunday School teacher for children). Tithing is a requirement for membership. Women must wear dresses at all times and men are forbidden to wear shorts. Women are forbidden to wear any makeup or jewelry and must always wear their hair long. Men must always wear their hair short and trimmed. “Worldly” music is strictly forbidden, although the congregation seems to embrace worldly sounding Christian music.
I am familiar with most of these customs and the “modesty” passages that they maintain does reinforce them. However, I was struck with one particular custom: Men are forbidden to wear facial hair. This means no sideburns, no mustaches, no beard and no goatees. I did notice that none of the women wore makeup and that the men were all closely shaven. I noticed that some of the people who greeted me actually looked at my small, trim goatee. I also know several Mennonites in Tennessee who adhere to a “clean shaven” rule (well, at least for unmarried men). However, I don’t know if I have ever heard of a Scriptural justification for such a practice.
I first grew my goatee after I sliced my chin on a live sand dollar after stumbling along on a beach in Puerto Rico. It left an ugly scar for a while (which people noticed), so I just hid it with a short goatee. After the scar went away, so did the goatee. But after cutting my chin while shaving one too many times, I decided to bring it back. It is just one less difficult place to shave each morning (well, every second or third morning in my case). I was going to shave it for my wedding, but my wife asked me to keep it. I had worn the goatee almost the entire time that I knew my wife, and she thought that it would be fitting for the wedding photos.
Of course, I am not apologetic for my short little goatee. In fact, I don’t really care about it one way or the other. I was simply wondering about the justification of such a doctrinal custom. Does anyone know upon which verses that such believers base their belief? We probably will not return to that congregation (since we both embrace the concept of a “Trinity”), so I don’t know that I will have the opportunity to ask anyone there. Thanks for any help that you might offer!
:-)
