Dr. Jason K. Allen, President of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has released a resolution which he has submitted for consideration at the SBC Annual Meeting. It is signed by entity heads, by President Steve Gaines, by both presidential candidates, by past SBC presidents, many of our state executives (I did not check to see how many did or did not sign), and by many mega metro pastors. The resolution is printed below in full. Dr. Allen’s commentary on the resolution can be found at his website and is well worth reading.
This resolution is well-written and much-needed. As the commonly used phrase says…for such a time as this!
On Affirming the Dignity of Women and the Holiness of Ministers
WHEREAS, the Holy Scripture presents the Lord God as creating the man and the woman by his own hand, yielding glorious equality between the sexes, and crowning them with essential and inestimable dignity and worth (Genesis 2:7, 21-22); and
WHEREAS, women constitute the first eyewitnesses of the resurrection of the Son of God, early financial supporters of the Apostles, valued servants of the early church, many martyrs in the post-apostolic era, heroic missionaries of the historic Baptist movement, and are now tremendous contributors to the faith and practice of the body of Christ, his church (Matthew 28:1; Luke 8:3; Acts 9:36; Acts 18:26; Romans 16:1-2; Philemon 2); and
WHEREAS, the Baptist Faith and Message states the complementary call of husbands and wives: “A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church” and “He has the God-given responsibility to provide for, to protect, and to lead his family” and “A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ”; and
WHEREAS, sinful men have in Scripture and the history of the church wronged women, abused women, silenced women, objectified women by ungodly comments and ungodly acts, preyed on women, left women unprotected, failed to report injustices and evils committed against women to civil authorities established by God, and failed to act out of the overflow of the image of Christ (Genesis 3; Judges 19; 2 Samuel 13); and
WHEREAS, men throughout Scripture are called to the servant leadership of the home and of the worshipping community, imaging the self-sacrificial head of the church, Jesus Christ, through their covenantal headship of their home, committing themselves to the protection and defense of women (Genesis 2:24; Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Timothy 2:9-15); and
WHEREAS, pastors and ministry leaders are held to a high standard for their doctrine, speech, and conduct, the standard being the very character and example of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1; 1 Timothy 4:16); and
WHEREAS, the ill treatment of women and ministerial moral failing is often combined with women being enticed, exploited, abused, and shamed by sinful ministers, to the utter contradiction of biblical moral standards and established ministerial ethics, denominational expectations, and to the absolute shame and harm of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ; and
WHEREAS, the evil one who steals, kills, and destroys is actively seeking to ruin lives, render asunder marriages, destroy ministries, tarnish God’s glory in the church, sow discord and disunity in the Southern Baptist Convention, and harm our collective mission and ministries; and
WHEREAS, to the shame of the Southern Baptist Convention and the very obscuring of the glory of God, a number of Southern Baptist leaders, professors, and ministers have since our last annual gathering sinned against the Lord and against women by their ungodly behavior and language; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Dallas, Texas, June 12-13, 2018 repudiate in the strongest terms any comment that would objectify and dishonor a woman, and any behavior with a woman that would compromise the New Testament standard of a minister’s absolute purity and requirement to be “above reproach” (1 Timothy 3:1, 5:2); and be it further
RESOLVED, that we call upon our congregations and ministers, and especially our denominational employees, to guard their life and doctrine scrupulously, understanding that as they do they ensure salvation for themselves and for those to whom they minister; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we covenant one with another to recommit ourselves to confession, repentance, contrition, and to mortify sin in our own hearts and in our churches; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we call upon every congregation and the ministers who serve them to abide by all reporting laws and to respond accordingly to civil authorities, to pursue biblical church discipline and institutional discipline in addition to, not instead of, legal notification, and that even allegations of noncriminal inappropriate conduct be treated with urgency, objectivity, and be measured by biblical standards of personal holiness and ministerial qualifications; and be it further
RESOLVED, that we denounce not only sexual impropriety and abuse but also anyone who would facilitate or knowingly cover up such acts; and be it further
RESOLVED, that having humbled ourselves before the Lord and the watching world, with full consciousness of the judgment of God we will return to the Great Commission work before us with newfound fervor and purpose, will not allow ourselves, our ministries, or our Convention to lose sight of the great and glorious task before us: the fulfillment of the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ through the upbuilding of churches, the discipling of the sheep, and the unflagging evangelization of the lost.
Submitted to the 2018 Resolutions Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention by Jason Allen of Kansas City, Missouri.
Can’t wait to vote for this!
I’m really thankful for this. It’s much needed and a very good statement of the issues at stake. Thanks to Dr. Allen for his leadership on this.
Excellent resolution. I am curious to see what the reaction will be of many who are calling the SBC misogynistic when they read this. This resolution does not attempt to move the convention to what they want; egalitarianism.
And for the record, I never thought our leadership was trying to do such a thing at any point.
I would oppose any official SBC move toward egalitarianism. Thankfully, I’ve not seen anyone arguing for that – except ones who’ve been arguing that move away from scripture for many years.
I have seen and heard some in the SBC using this time as an argument towards that; that is why I made the statement. I’ve been a little surprised by some who I’ve heard make the beginnings of a case. I appreciate this statement and have already joined in “signing” it.
As with every “moment” there are those who will attempt to take advantage of it. I’m thankful for those speaking out in a God honoring, Scripture following way.
I can assure you that no man or woman in the SBC is wanting to head toward egalitarianism. But those who disagree that women should be a part of the SBC, have a voice, many thing this resolution says as well as women having a voice in theology, teach theology in colleges etc. think this is egalitarianism and it’s not. So if you do not want this, then you have missed what we as Southern Baptist women are saying.
1. I am impressed; you polled every SBC person and know beyond a shadow of a doubt that NONE of them are egalitarian. That is spectacularly amazing, and terribly naïve; there are entire SBC churches that are egalitarian to their core. To think there is no one in SBC life that will not take advantage of a crisis to further an agenda is ludicrous.
2. I agree with the statement (I even mentioned I signed it) because it upholds a Biblical view of protection and leadership, so I am confused as to the attack(?) you are leveling here.
Michael’s got a point. There are some people (myself included) that don’t think the gender roles should be in the BF&M. At this point I don’t consider myself egalitarian and most definitely not complementarian except maybe non-hierarchical.
I know pretty much all of you will disagree. I know most of the rest who would have agreed left a long time ago. It’s definitely not easy to stay.
I’m raising my hand right now!
Dr. Allen rocks!
This resolution rightly affirms biblical complementarianism while rejecting it’s abuses… The problem is not complementarianism the problem is abuse of it!
Amen
I agree Dave C. The problem in my opinion is not complementarianism but the abuse of it. It has morphed into the view of Patriarchy which views men as holding all the power, excluding women from everything where there are also men or power. Big difference in my opinion. It is where the misogyny accusation comes in because that is what Patriarchy is from my view.
I don’t think a full egalitarianism is what most people want , which would include women as the senior pastor
What this doesn’t address is the patriarchy that can be and often times is the result of this relatively new complementarisnism which I think was a reaction to the women’s movement in the 60s and 70s. Paige Patterson and the horror stories we are reading about ( see Burleson and Cole’s blogs), not to mention Klouds and Bullock are predictable outgrowths of that process
I predict that this will pass, everyone will pat themselves on the back, Paige keeps his stained glass, CP paid “retirement/golden parachute and we will go our merry way
We will also hemmorage the best and brightest women to other denominations/ fields of study where they are respected
The SBC is heartbreaking. It is almost too much to bear. I hope you are wrong, Eric.
There is so much to like about this resolution!
However, I hope the Resolutions Committee will add a clarifying biblical citation of 1 Timothy 4:16 at the end of this resolved.
“RESOLVED, that we call upon our congregations and ministers, and especially our denominational employees, to guard their life and doctrine scrupulously, understanding that as they do they ensure salvation for themselves and for those to whom they minister;”
I have a lot of confidence in Jason Allen. He is very measured and smart. He also loves the Lord. Great resolution.
This is an excellent resolution. I will certainly vote for this.
People, while this certainly touches on issues that were in evidence in the Paige Patterson brouhaha this is a much bigger and broader focus.
There is SO much more at issue here.
Agreed; by we can’t pretend like this statement would have come out, with all the esteemed signatories, had the Paige Patterson (and to a lesser extent Frank Page) “incidents” not come to light.
I don’t see anything in this Resolution about rethinking women’s places at the table. A balanced God given theology is going to include women.
That seems to be a valid critique. You could argue that the first Whereas paragraph alludes to this, but I think the resolution could be strengthened by a Resolved section along the lines of making sure women are included in areas of church and convention leadership other than the role of local church pastor.
Brent,
Leslie Lea’s suggestion is a helpful and needed one, that strengthens an already strong & needed resolution. I sure hope that somehow her sugesstion reaches the resolutions committee & is added/including in this great resolution, yet one lacking the much needed clarification and declaration offered by Leslie.
It would be nice if these committees would start talking to women, and not just talking about us.
I would agree – about adding to the second whereas (or adding a new one), Something like.
– The Baptist Faith and Message acknowledges and affirms both men and women as gifted by God for ministry, excluding the office of Pastor which is scripturally exclusive to men, therefore women should be encouraged to serve in Convention and Seminary offices as appropriate. –
Clearly someone can do better than me and wording this… LOL
Just out of curiosity, what roles would you like to see open to women?
The answer to this question is less important as the reasoning, heart, and exegesis behind the answer.
I absolutely agree, but the question would bring clarity to the conversation. But in the end, all that matters is what the scriptures dictate.
John,
You first – tell us what convention offices women might be biblically excluded from….I bet we agree.
I ask this of you because – I think this list will be shorter than one that details all the convention/Seminary jobs women *should* be considered for.
That’s actually a difficult question, because conventions and seminaries are extra biblical entities and so the rules regulating churches would not seem to be in order here. I personally have no problem with a lady teaching theological courses in a seminary. But if that leads to our seminaries encouraging women in the pastorate then I think we’ve gone too far.
Maybe I’m wrong. Should we apply the same role restrictions on women in convention roles and we do in individual churches?
*as we do*
John,
isn’t the point of male leadership in a congregation, as hown by elders and pastors being men only, is because they are shepherds of the flock? Also they correspond to the husband who corresponds to Christ. Thus the idea that in the local congregation, men should be the elders/pastors and the teachers of doctrine, the shepherds who guide the flock.
But in a seminary, it isnt a flock with a shepherd. A teacher isnt leading a flock but imparting some kind of knowledge.
So to aswer your question, should we apply the same role restrictions on women outside of congregations or congregation like groups, and the answer, it seems, is no.
A women teaching me Greek isnt my shepherd or under-shepherd. She isnt my pastor or my spiritual guide. Thus, it seems, she is not in any vuiolation of the Scriptures.
Likewise, a women in many other convention positions isnt fulfilling a role as a teacher elder/shepherd. Thus I see no conflict with the Scriptures. But there are probably roles within the convention or at a seminary where the role is like an elder/shepherd, and there the restrictions should be applied.
John – generally – I think women can hold roles in seminaries that do not place them in a role of teaching Pastors how to Pastor – as it’s not permissible for a woman to Pastor therefore she’d be as unqualified to teach a pastoral duties class as a man who has never pastored.
For both practical and theological reasons I’d think only men should hold roles in the Seminary that place them in direct mentorship roles for budding pastors.
Teaching languages or church history or even theology, imo isn’t necessarily a problem for bible believing, BFM2000 affirming, Seminary theological confession affirming ladies. Whereas teaching a class set up for specific pastoral training would be a problem in my view.
As to the convention – I see no reason, off the top of my head, given our polity of church autonomy and lack of denominational oversight structure, why a qualified woman can’t serve in any multiplicity of positions within the upper echelon‘s of Nashville, trustee boards, committees, etc….
Oh for Pete’s sake guys.
Mike White: Wow. Lately you are about the only voice of reason in this silly conversation.
Huh?