Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanah
Your thoughts on an organization that would promote into ministry a Jamaican man with long dreadlocks?
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I have a couple of thoughts. It may very well be a cultural thing. It certainly isn’t my culture, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. I visited the Fiji islands and their culture dictated that men wore skirts. And they did. In the UPCI church that we visited.
Note: It did not make them appear feminine. They did not act feminine. I did not perceive them to be feminine in any way. They seemed to be manly men.
One thing I did notice. The men didn’t always wear skirts (what they referred to as sulus). But, the more formal the occasion, or the more prestigious the position (think banker, lawyer, and if memory serves me, even men in church which included the pastor) the expectation was that they would wear the sulu. It’s sort of like the expectation that the pastors and deacons in some of our churches will wear nice suits.
So, I think that the mere fact that he has dreads should not necessarily make him ineligible for ministry. In fact there are other , better measures I’m sure that would be better indicators of his worthiness.
On the other hand, I don’t think they should be a qualification for ministry.
Remember, the law dictated that the men not round the corners of the beard. I’m sure that would raise a similar issue (as the dreadlocks) in our churches today.
I really don’t think scripture seems to take a position either way. It may be like the Viet Nam era when beards were forbidden by the UPCI. It was seen as a sign of rebellion. It makes me wonder if the “worldly women” started wearing long skirts if the reaction would be UPCI would teach that church ladies should switch to mini skirts.
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