Президент Южных баптистских семинаров инициировал поправку к конституции, ограничивающую служение женщин на амвоне

Oh my, the brouhaha that stirred when the Southern Baptist Seminary President Al Mohler put forth an amendment to the SBC Constitution regarding women and pulpit preaching. I haven’t seen anything like it since the SBC’s “Battle for the Bible” in the 1980s and '90s, when matters as important as the nature of scripture and meaty doctrines like Jesus’ resurrection were dealt with at the doctrinal level and in the elections of trustees designed to slowly turn things back to biblical norms. And now, people are going to the mattresses over the ordination and staffing of women as preaching pastors in SBC churches. Social media in particular has weighed in with many erroneous ideas (SBC women being only qualified to change diapers in the nursery or being second class Christians, to name but two). On the surface the idea may seem silly, out of touch with reality or a violation of the treasured baptist distinctive of local church autonomy. But beneath the surface there are biblical matters worthy of our consideration. First some procedural matters for those unfamiliar with Southern Baptist polity. The amendment passed its first vote during the June 2026 annual meeting of the SBC in Orlando by a super majority of just over 75%. But for the amendment to be added to the constitution it must be passed in two consecutive annual meetings. I’m predicting a bit of an SBC family spat and continued media misrepresentations over the months leading up to the June 2027 meeting in Indianapolis. Ever the one to seek clarity, let me share a partial list of ministries that the amendment will not prohibit in SBC churches or convention work. Women can, and women are, encouraged to use their talents, training and the spiritual gifts entrusted to them by the Holy Spirit, as illustrated in the lives and ministries of several named women in both testaments of the Bible, throughout church history and right now in the SBC. Such ministries are expressed through: • Women teaching the scriptures • Women writing theological materials • Women evangelizing • Women speaking at conferences • Women serving as missionaries • Women serving staff position in the SBC • Women leading church ministries • Women involved in church planting • Women earning theological degrees • Women serving on any board in the SBC • Women involved with many other examples of leadership one could add to this brief list. Except one position. Related to one function. Limited to SBC churches. Let’s look at it. The amendment proposes a sixth qualifier under Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the SBC Constitution. The article limits voting during the annual conventions to messengers (voting members) from Baptist churches in “friendly cooperation” with the convention. The following list of the five statements in paragraph one is inclusive, including the parentheses. An SBC church in friendly cooperation: • Has a faith and practice which closely identifies with the convention’s adopted statement of faith. (By way of example, churches which act to affirm, approve or endorse homosexual behavior would be deemed not to be in cooperation with the convention.) • Has formally approved its intention to cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention. (By way of example, the regular filing of the annual report requested by the convention would be one indication of such cooperation.) • Has made undesignated, financial contribution(s) through the cooperative program and/or through the convention’s executive committee for convention causes and/or to any convention entity during the fiscal year preceding. • Does not act in a manner inconsistent with the convention’s beliefs regarding sexual abuse. • Does not act to affirm, approve or endorse discriminatory behavior on the basis of ethnicity. Then there is the amendment itself, which is italicized here as it is not yet in force: “Does not act to affirm, appoint or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, specifically preaching to the assembled congregation.” And that’s it, disallowing local churches with women serving as preaching pastors to be considered as cooperating SBC churches able to send voting messengers to the annual meeting. But why? I mean women preach in mainline churches, Pentecostal churches, Black churches and various Evangelical churches across the theological spectrum. So, one asks: Why this and why now? Before answering that question, let me draw your attention back to three of the limiting factors in the list of ways to qualify SBC churches and messengers. You will note that endorsing same-sex behavior, not dealing consistently with sexual abuse issues and showing bias regarding ethnicities are not allowed. The wording of each of those examples has been added as amendments, starting in 1993, as a result of internal SBC issues, as well as secular influences in some of the churches. No less so for this amendment. SBC leaders since the conservative resurgence believe that dealing with immoral, unethical or hot-button social issues is a matter of biblical authority and biblical integrity, especially for those that look at scripture not with a “that was then, this is now” approach that allows almost anything to be re-evaluated, but with an approach that sees all scripture as breathed by God and therefore profitable and purposeful to believers as it is written (2 Timothy 3:16,17 and 2 Peter 1:19). That conviction forces Southern Baptists to look carefully, during these days of third wave feminism and gender wars in America, at the descriptions of the church overseer (aka pastor or elder) in 1 Timothy 3. Many approach the subject from other verses and perspectives but never seem to discuss the text of 1 Timothy 3:1. So let’s look at it. 1 Timothy 3:1 (ESV): “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.” Comments: 1) Paul used “The saying is trustworthy” a mere five times in his 13 letters, as a way to introduce and underscore the importance and enduring value of what follows; 2) The word translated “overseer,” understood as a bishop in hierarchical churches, is understood in the free churches (including Baptists) to refer to the main preacher in each church. Elsewhere the words elder and pastor (from the word shepherd) refer to the maturity and the functions of the overseer in leading, feeding and protecting the members, as a shepherd does the sheep; and 3) the word “anyone” shows, quite literally, that anyone in a church might express a desire to serve in the noble work of an overseer - any man, any woman, including any one of any spiritual condition. And they do. I once knew a teenaged boy to push for ordination because “God had called” him, a college sophomore who requested ordination “for tax advantages,” a part-time children’s director because “it wasn’t fair” that her associate pastor husband was ordained and she wasn’t, and others that I knew who were not qualified due to reputational or other issues who made similar requests and claims. The solutions for all are found in the various descriptions which follow verse one. In fact, the six verses that follow list multiple descriptions and rationales for the overseer. Let’s focus on the one that is pertinent to this discussion, the one that deals with gender, in verse two. 1 Timothy 3:2 (ESV): “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife. . ..” Comments: 1) The overseer “must be” (lit: “is to be”) applies to each description, underscores the trustworthy nature of the matter and serves to counter some of the “but God called me” and other claims; 2) The Greek word translated “husband” only means man or husband, and never means woman or wife, a separate term that also appears in the verse. The two words are gender specific. Here’s the point, at least to some who believe they have a firm footing in 1 Timothy 3:2 and the parallel text in Titus (v 6): It is a faithful truth worth repeating, that it is biblical to reserve the ministry of the overseer to married men of good reputation who exhibit all of the other characteristics as well and not just filling the slate, so-to-speak. One detail often omitted in the public discussion is that this is not a new or novel idea in the SBC. The convention-approved document that guides all Southern Baptists, and to which a church must “closely identify” in their teachings and practice, is called “The Baptist Faith and Message Statement” (BFMS). That doctrinal document has included the following statement on the church since the year 2000, slightly amended in 2023, to read: “Its two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” So why a constitutional amendment now? Two rationales come to mind. One is that the preamble to the BFMS gives some latitude about following the statements to a T, while the constitution does not. Another is that without the amendment, a church could claim to be “closely” identified with the spirit of the whole BFMS even if at variance on a point or two here or there, something that shows up mostly on matters related to end times prophecy. My plea, if you believe the Southern Baptist position is wrongly construed, is that you will at least give them credit for attempting to be consistent in interpreting and applying the scriptures, even in the face of strong voices to the contrary from some in the religious, irreligious and secular worlds.