Guest Blogger

The following statement was released to media outlets earlier today and is reposted here. _____ Statement from Leaders, Advisors and Advocates in the Southern Baptist Convention. As individuals who have worked alongside the Southern Baptist Convention in abuse reform or held positions of past or current leadership in the Convention related to abuse reform, we come together to express our deep grief at the Amicus Brief filed on behalf of the Convention, Lifeway Publishing, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the SBC Executive Committee, opposing the application of sexual … [Read more...] about Statement from Leaders, Advisors, and Advocates in the Southern Baptist Convention

At the heart of the proposed (and first-vote-affirmed) amendment to the SBC Constitution are two doctrinal beliefs held by a majority of Southern Baptists. (Count me among those who hold them. Men and women, while both created in the image of God, were created with different roles to play in both the home and the church. Only men are to be responsible to fill the pastoral role(s) in the church. What, then, does the Bible say that only pastors do? No one seems to be addressing this question either. This is at the root of disagreement between the varieties of complementarians. Is … [Read more...] about What Do Only Pastors Do? (Stephanie Jones)

At the Annual Meeting, messengers voted multiple times overwhelmingly in favor of complementarianism. One of those votes included amending Article III of the SBC Constitution with a sixth requirement of churches. The exact wording of that section of Article III would read: “The Convention will only deem a church to be in friendly cooperation with the Convention, and sympathetic with its purposes and work … which: … 6.Affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.” If messengers in Indianapolis next year give a second affirmative vote … [Read more...] about How Will Churches Respond to a Moratorium on Female Pastors? (Stephanie Jones)

Around the time discussing Beth Moore’s Mother’s Day activities became controversial, my pastor husband and I began having regular – and sometimes heated – conversations about what women can’t do in service of the church. The question I started asking was, “What, then, can women do in the church?” As complementarians, we are quick to make lists, and they vary from church to church: women cannot preach, women cannot teach mixed group classes, women cannot be ordained, women cannot baptize, women cannot be the worship leader, women cannot be deacons, women cannot be in authority over a … [Read more...] about What CAN Women Do in the Church? (Stephanie Jones)

Language really is a funny thing, because so often how words are used determines what they mean regardless of their actual definition. Or to put it another way, meaning is dictated by connotation more than by actual denotation. This is especially so when it comes to current discussions in the Southern Baptist Convention about who can and cannot serve as pastor. Over the past several decades, the titles and types of pastors on church staffs all across this country have proliferated exponentially. We now have Senior Pastors, Lead Pastors, Teaching Pastors, Executive Pastors, Assistant … [Read more...] about On Pastoral Ministry and Job Titles (Phillip Powers)

A note from Dave: i neglected to change this from my name to guest blogger before I left on my trip to New Orleans. My Apologies. It seems like there has been a lot of discussion recently, especially within the Southern Baptist community, regarding pastoral ministry and the role of women. This is largely due to the actions taken by Rick Warren and Saddleback Church. In May 2021, the southern California megachurch made denominational headlines when it ordained three women as pastors. Since then, it has also recognized Stacie Wood, wife of current pastor Andy Wood who succeeded Warren in 2022, … [Read more...] about On the Spiritual Gift of Pastoral Ministry

The SBC Annual Meeting is just a few days away, and sex abuse reform remains central to the SBC and its future. All sides agree abuse is wrong, abusers should be held accountable, and the SBC must do better. Yet, the divide over the future of the SBC is deep, and the sides disagree with fierce conviction. Enter Trinity Community Church, formerly Trinity Baptist Church, Ashburn, Ga. Trinity has a confessed child sex abuser serving with their worship team. He confessed to me in 2019 he had sexually assaulted 5 boys and could not remember if there were others. Trinity terminated him at the time, … [Read more...] about Sex Abuse, Credibly Accused, and an SBC Campaign Story—Why Trinity Matters [by Troy Bush]

Last week I posted an essay on women pastors, and I want to share some additional thoughts and information. I believe many critics of the complementarian position on women pastors miss a key point. Those of us who oppose women pastors are not claiming that women are incapable of serving as pastors. No, obviously women could (and do) serve as pastors. Women work in all the professions—law, medicine, counseling, etc. They serve wonderfully well. In my life, I’ve had two female family physicians, and they were both great. I followed their instructions and was the better for doing that. We’re also … [Read more...] about More Thoughts on Women Pastors [Mark Terry]

Mike Stone has launched a second campaign for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he is focusing on the SBC ‘s handling of sex abuse. On a recent podcast interview, he spoke about one of the SBC’s most painful instances of sex abuse and its mishandling by a Georgia Baptist church, a Georgia Baptist association, the Georgia Baptist Convention, and the Executive Committee of the SBC. Instead of pointing to the failures and bitter lessons learned, Mike took credit for keeping Trinity Baptist Church, Ashburn, Ga, from leaving the SBC and for having an abuser terminated who … [Read more...] about Mike Stone’s Campaign Story—An SBC Case Study Not to Be Repeated (Troy Bush)

There is a reason that previous generations referred to the pulpit as "the sacred desk;" it is, no doubt, the same reason that the prophets of the Old Testament sometimes referred to "the burden of the Lord". The responsibility of proclaiming the Word of God to the people of God is a serious and oftentimes heavy calling, and those who have been entrusted with this task should carry out their service with the utmost theological fidelity and personal integrity. In recent years, this concern has become even more evident in light of the growing awareness of the problem of plagiarism. This problem … [Read more...] about On Celebrity Preachers and Plagiarism (Phillip Powers)