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Women
as Pastors Among
the changes to the "Baptist Faith and Message" statement
to be recommended to the Southern Baptist Convention in June is
the declaration that "the office of pastor is limited to
men as qualified by scripture." I respectfully but
fervently disagree with this statement for several reasons. Inadequate
Interpretation First,
I believe this statement is based on an inadequate and inconsistent
interpretation of scripture. If one interprets scripture to forbid
women as pastors, one should also interpret scripture to instruct
women to cover their heads for worship and for slaves to remain
content as slaves. I believe these biblical instructions intended
for a first century culture were not meant to be normative or
authoritative for the church in future generations and cultures. What
is normative - for the past, present and future - is that Jesus
is Lord of the Church, that he calls all believers for service,
and that he gifts all believers with the Spirit. The New Testament
mentions several "offices" or positions of leadership
in the church, including apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor/teacher,
deacon, elder, bishop. Again, what is normative is that those
in leadership are to be persons of impeccable integrity, wisdom
and compassion. What
is essential is not the gender, age, status or even title of the
leader, but the character and commitment of the person who is
the leader. Limits the Holy Spirit Second,
I believe the proposed statement reflects an insensitivity to
the work of the Holy Spirit. Baptists
have long championed the priesthood of every believer. This means
that every person is able to respond to the Spirit and receive
divine guidance. We have also championed the freedom of every
church to follow the Spirit and choose its leadership. This new
statement asserts that if the Spirit leads a woman to the pulpit
or if a church is led to call a woman as its pastor, they are
wrong. Who are we to question the freedom of the Spirit to call
whomever the Spirit chooses? Who
are we to question the freedom of an individual or church to respond
to the Spirit? I find this kind of closed-mindedness to be contrary
to scripture and to the spirit of Jesus. Clouded view of God's Activity Third,
I believe the proposed statement reveals an unwillingness to see
what God is doing in our world today. God is increasingly using
women in ways that even a hundred years ago were unthinkable. Women
are now surgeons, scientists, prime ministers and presidents.
They are leaders in government and business, in public and in
private, in the church and in culture. Who among us would want
to turn the calendar back? What
is happening in Baptist life (although not as quickly as I would
desire it) is that we are opening our eyes to see the work of
God in our world. God is calling women to ministry. They are responding.
Churches are recognizing it and inviting women to exercise their
gifts at all levels of leadership in the congregation. Coerced
View of Beliefs Finally,
I believe the proposed statement offers further evidence that
the SBC is firmly in the control of white, male, fundamentalist
pastors bent on imposing their definitions of orthodoxy - and
their interpretations of scripture - on a diverse denomination. Though
churches cannot be forced to comply with the statement, its influence
cannot be overestimated. Through various means, denominational
employees, seminary faculty, missionary candidates and others
will be required to conform to this document. Bible study and
educational literature produced for Southern Baptist churches
will reflect this document. Conventions
and conferences will be planned with this document in mind. The
cumulative effect will have enormous impact on the local church
and on the culture of Southern Baptists. One
reason I feel so poignantly about this issue is because of my
own pilgrimage. I grew up in a theological and sociologically
conservative environment that nurtured a simple Biblicism, but
also at times, a narrow provincialism. My desire to be faithful
to scripture and my lack of exposure to women in ministry contributed
to a long-held belief that women shouldn't be pastors. Then
I was challenged on several fronts. First, I met some pious, humble
women who not only told me they were called by God to preach and
pastor, but were doing it with effectiveness. Second,
I began to explore interpretations of scripture different than
my own. I found Bible scholars who loved and believed the Bible
as much as I did, offering different understandings of the disputed
texts. This tempered my dogmatism. Finally,
a historical and global perspective challenged me. I learned of
women in other cultures and countries who have been pastors -
for years. All this led to soul searching, remorse and eventually
a change. I asked forgiveness for my wrong-headedness and stubbornness.
In return, I received grace, not only from God but also from others
- especially from women called to ministry. - This article was first published as a "Commentary" by Religion News Service and is used by permission of RNS. July 2000 |