Christian denominationalism is easily dismissed as anything but Christian. True, Christians should be unified, not at each others’ throats. Yet, in a fallen world where sinners abound, denominationalism may be the best way of preventing more significant division within the universal body of Christ.
Tag: women
Like R. Albert Mohler, Jr., I’m not a moderate, or an egalitarian, or an Independent Fundamentalist Baptist.
I’m a conservative, complementarian, Southern Baptist.
I agree with the Bible when it says, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet” in 1 Timothy 2:12.
I agree with the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 when it says, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
I agree with Dr. Mohler when he says, “So what did ‘pastor’ mean here? It basically means the same thing as ‘elder.'”
That last claim is significant. The BFM2000 posits only two offices in the church, “Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons,” such that Southern Baptists view pastors, elders, and overseers (bishops) as different descriptors for the one office of pastor, distinct from the only other office of deacon.
Senior Pastors, Associate Pastors, Youth Pastors, Children’s Pastors, and the like aren’t separate offices from the office of pastor. The Bible doesn’t recognize such a distinction, the BFM2000 doesn’t recognize such a distinction, and Dr. Mohler doesn’t recognize such a distinction. I don’t either.
That’s why a tweet from Denny Burk that does appear to recognize such a distinction caught my attention:
A survey says that a majority of Southern Baptists and evangelicals favor women pastors. @AlbertMohler says "not so fast" as far as Southern Baptists are concerned.
The SBC has about 40,000 churches and zero female senior pastors. Read or listen here: https://t.co/AjRG2gs0VH
— Denny Burk (@DennyBurk) August 14, 2020
Dr. Burk qualifies his claim with “senior.” Burk leaves open the possibility women are serving as “pastors” in the Southern Baptist Convention, they just aren’t senior pastors. But the Bible and BFM2000 know of no such distinction.
And Burk is wrong anyway.
On this episode of the new CR:V Podcast contributor Nate Schlomann sits down with Jeff Wright to talk about the presence of women pastors in SBC churches.
Reminder: Article V of The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 reads, in part:
“[The church’s] scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture” (relevant point emphasized).
Find it on Apple Podcasts or by clicking here.
Categories
Female ‘Pastors’ and Gay ‘Marriage’
The office of pastor is limited to men. Some people disagree. Those who do sometimes complain that we are more focused on pastors being men than we are on pastors being qualified. But this argument appears to commit some form of the fallacy of false equivalence. The Scriptural definition of pastors is distinct from the discussion of whether or not particular men are qualified for the office of pastor.
Egalitarians base their argument for indifference with respect to gender in society, the home, and the pulpit on the idea that men and women are created equally. This post series has argued that when it comes to creation order and its implication for ‘gender roles’ in the church, Southern Baptists do not all differ from the world or from egalitarians. Recent rhetoric regarding women teaching, and even preaching, to men in the SBC, is of some concern. It seems like everywhere we turn, we find ourselves covered up in egalitarian patterns of thought.
In this article, Tom Nettles responds to a post wherein, “Oklahoma Baptist Pastor Wade Burleson has attacked (again) the idea the Bible prohibits women from holding the New Testament position of pastor-bishop- elder.”
In his 2006 article, “After Patriarchy, What? Why Egalitarians are Winning the Gender Debate” (Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society, vol. 49, no. 3, September 2006, pp. 569–76), Russell D. Moore describes how, “Egalitarians are winning the evangelical gender debate, not because their arguments are stronger, but because, in some sense, we are all egalitarians now.” (576) The current state of the SBC is even worse than Moore predicted. In fact, Moore seems to have not only given up on resisting what he calls a feminist movement, but may have contributed to it.
In this article, the Texan addresses concerns over the 2020 SBC Pastors’ Conference, reporting that, “Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia, and current chairman of the SBC Executive Committee, told the TEXAN, ‘Southern Baptists have spoken clearly through the BF&M about female pastors. The inclusion of a female pastor is in direct contradiction to our own doctrinal statement and has been officially for 20 years. There are other concerns but this one garnered the most attention.'”
If you are tired of talking about issues related to Beth Moore, that means you are a sane and rational person. I know it’s exhausting, but we need to care about Beth Moore preaching, and here is why.
In part three of my critique of Jen Wilkin speaking on what pastors need to know about women, I will be focusing on Wilkin’s claim that women should be dignified with pay that reflects their service and workload.
Is there anything inherently wrong with wanting women to be rewarded well for our hard work, expertise, and unique perspectives? Of course not. Being a good steward includes stewarding resources for wages as well as shepherding and discipling those women to serve in ways women can do best. Women have specific strengths that can contribute mightily to discipleship and the well-being of any church. If there is a woman or multiple women in your church or ministry who contribute their creativity and wisdom in ways that glorify God, it is an altogether good thing to take note of those women and if possible, pay them for that work. In 1 Corinthians 9:9-14 Paul writes to the Corinthian church and urges them to provide for those who sow spiritual things among them, namely their leadership. Just as the priests in the temple shared in the sacrificial offerings as their food, it is important we now see those who work bountifully in the church as the same. Provision for them is not only acceptable, it is good and commanded by God.