On Unity and Clarity in the SBC

 

Dr. Al Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary has proposed an amendment to the SBC by-laws as follows: A cooperating church “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.”

 

I have a long-held respect for Dr. Mohler, and I very much appreciate the goal of his motion to bring clarity and unity over the question of female pastors. However, I believe this motion as worded cannot bring the clarity that he intends because words matter. The motion does not define the “function” of a pastor beyond the preaching role, and this imprecise language will confuse more than clarify. The pastoral function is much more than preaching, and the wording of the amendment places limits on all pastoral functions. The vast majority of Baptist churches welcome faithful lay people (men and women) to counsel others, to publicly read scripture, to lead worship, to write devotionals, or a myriad of other pastoral functions.  The “Internet Sanhedrin” will use this as a pretext for expanding restrictions on women. Perhaps they will say a woman can’t serve on a personnel committee or vote in the congregation. Perhaps they will say single women can’t be missionaries because church planting is a pastoral function. I know they will say this because they already are. Why give them expansive language and more oxygen to create more division? 

 

If clarity is the goal, the lack of definition of the “assembled congregation” creates further confusion. Does that include a women’s retreat or a couple’s retreat? Would that have applied to Mrs. Criswell’s Sunday School class at FBC Dallas which was larger than the vast majority of SBC churches? How about a podcast conversation about the Sunday sermon? It sounds far fetched unless, of course, you listen to Dr. Mohler’s own podcast. 

 

Please allow me a moment to offer some clarity. Taking a look at the Word of God, we can find the following truths on pastoral function: 

 

1 Peter 5:1-4 calls pastors to “shepherd God’s flock among you.” In addition, pastors are commanded not to “lord it over” those entrusted to them and to “be an example” to the flock. Being a Christlike example and helping shepherd church members without lording over them are clear biblical functions of a pastor/elder/overseer. And yet, are these the exclusive province of a pastor? Can any church member encourage or disciple others?

 

Ephesians 4:12, Pastors are “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ.” Are laypeople, men or women, called upon to function as support to some degree in these roles? 

 

Titus 1:9  Elders are to “be able both to encourage with sound teaching and to refute those who contradict it.” This is an important function, but is it exclusive to the pastor alone? Church members can be great apologists who contend for the truth. 

 

2 Timothy 4:2 “Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and encourage with great patience and teaching.” This was an instruction for Timothy as a pastor, so one can argue this verse applies exclusively to a pastor. And yet, are only pastors able to correct, rebuke, and encourage? Every parent in the church has these responsibilities.  

 

James 5:14 calls upon the elders to pray for the sick. No reasonable expositor would conclude this is an exclusive function of the office of pastor. 

 

 

Gazing upon what God’s Word says about the function of the pastor/elder leads us to conclude that many (but not all) of these functions are shared with members of the church who are not elders. Our churches would be weak and ineffective if these functions were restricted to pastors/elders alone. No church could reflect the image and likeness of Jesus without mature men and women who are regular members bearing some of the biblically defined pastoral functions.

 

Words matter. Every word in the Bible matters. So why ignore them? This amendment restricts the function of the office of pastor to pastors alone, something the Bible clearly does not teach.  

 

As a local church pastor, I am careful about how our church uses the term. Our church does not use the term “pastor” for most ministry staff positions. 1Timothy 3 elder qualifications are the biblical standards we submit to. We align with the BFM 2000 on the offices of the church and are fully supportive of this as our SBC standard. I want to propose a way for the SBC to say what we mean with very specific language that affirms what we believe with clarity and unity.

 

Take a fresh look at the superior wording of the BFM 2000. The Church: 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. 

 

If in the wisdom of the messengers there is a need to speak to this issue by updating our by-laws, let’s adopt the well-crafted, well-seasoned, more comprehensive BFM 2000 wording as the motion. However, I prefer not to amend the by-laws at all because there is a better way. 

 

If the body adopts the proposed resolution (See the Resolutions Committee Report) on pastoral qualifications, the Credentials Committee would have exactly what they need to interpret what the SBC means on the question of female pastors. The Credentials Committee uses resolutions as a measure of how the SBC intends for them to address concerns about messengers or churches. We already have the BFM 2000, this resolution clarifies the intention of the SBC to recognize that Baptists believe the Bible says women can and do serve in many vital ways, but cannot serve as pastors/elders/overseers. 

 

There are huge advantages to passing the resolution to guide the Credentials Committee rather than another attempt at a by-law change. First of all, the resolution can be voted on and then implemented by the Credentials Committee right away. There is no need to vote to suspend the rules or to spend two years voting and discussing a by-law change. Secondly, if the goal is unity, this resolution is very likely to receive nearly unanimous support. The resolution allows for a fuller presentation than one line in the by-laws, which provides the clarity we all have been wanting. It’s simpler, it’s clearer, and that makes for unity. Unity and clarity, I commend it to you. 

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Marshall Blalock

Pastor, First Baptist Church of Charleston, SC