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.
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.
According to the video description, “Dr. Mohler answers questions from students dealing with the Abstract of Principles, his lack of age and experience, vision for the seminary, women in ministry, personhood of women, homosexuality, etc.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQTQOnv21Z8&w=560&h=315]
Last week, Jen Wilkin, a well-known Christian author and Bible teacher, made a troubling statement at the Acts 29 Regional Conference concerning Women in the Church. About two and a half minutes into what she had to say, Wilkin claimed, “Women’s bodies, every 28 days, tell them a parable about the shedding of blood for the renewing of life.”
Our culture hates humility and femininity, so you can imagine what the culture thinks of humble and feminine women. I personally have suffered from the consequences of my own sinful desires to be in control of my marriage, and to be constantly thought strong and proud. I gave into the desire to see myself as the head of the family, I bought cultural lies about feminism and shed many tears over the constant tug-a-war my heart and spirit played concerning my longing to sin versus personal conviction about that sin. In eight years of marriage, my husband and I have fought endlessly over this struggle. Looking back, I am thankful God created him with a gentle and calm spirit, that our warring was mostly me in sin, with him graciously and mercifully standing in the way to keep me from further sin and leading me back to truth. In those years, I wore myself down spiritually and emotionally day after day engaging in things that wreaked havoc on me as a Christian and as a woman. It was only in the last year that I realized God was using all of those moments to painfully strip layer after layer of pride, resentment, and doubt surrounding my heart. The good news is God sanctifies His people despite our depravity. He will not allow any of His children to remain in sin, and He will use our faithlessness to point us back to His perfect faithfulness.