The Southern Baptist Convention is on the brink of disaster. I pastor a small liturgical Presbyterian congregation in the panhandle of Florida that uses wine during the Lord’s Supper. That fact alone is sufficient to cause great consternation from our SBC friends. Still, I think our practical and theological differences are the kinds of differences that can stir a good conversation around a beer…make that sweet tea.
I love my SBC brethren, but this entire struggle for identity is one they should embrace wholeheartedly. Their future is at stake. SBC ministers must fight for the heart of theological integrity and uphold their commitment to Paul’s distinct vision for only qualified male leaders in the pulpit.
The Southern Baptists I know are committed to doing so, and they should strive for the peace of the convention through stricter definitions and not looser ones. As a former Baptist, I am committed to supporting them in this endeavor, which leads me to my main point: Rick Warren and his tribe must go if the SBC is going to survive.
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (BFM) states unequivocally, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Some, like JD Greer, argue that the number of female pastors in the SBC is declining. But it is clear that this is a statistical error.
Kevin McClure’s recent piece at the American Reformer makes a fairly strong case that close to 1,900 female pastors serve in 1,225 SBC churches. This means that the number of women in pastoral roles is now around the same number of ordained women in the late 1990s. It was around 2000 that the SBC updated the Baptist Faith and Message quoted above. Al Mohler took a significant role in making this monumental move in those days. But now, the SBC has returned to where it was over 30 years ago.
Rick Warren’s pursuit of the old SBC shows that he has some momentum if these numbers prove to be true. Warren has always been part of that old liberal guard who spoke favorably of Prop 8 and then told Larry King that he has never spoken against same-sex marriage. Suppose the SBC wishes to anoint Warren’s pursuits. In that case, they will be headed toward the same future as the American Baptist Churches (USA), whose status has become fairly insignificant in the ecclesiastical scene.
The trend, of course, with any mainline denomination, even those who claim to carry the independent status with them, is that churches that allow for the ordination of women to pastoral roles have declined heavily. Those theological norms often translate to other theological norms which include the ordination of gay clergy. If this seems like a leap, read a little history. And if the SBC continues to view these norms as natural aspects of their evolution, we can be sure to see the SBC take a dive and go the way of all flesh.
And this entire numerical overview leads me to one conclusion: Beth Moore and Russel Moore made the right decisions to leave the SBC. They knew that their political and ecclesiastical emphases differed with the direction of the SBC. So, they left.
Now, the annual meeting should mark a turning point. The SBC will be tested. I will pray our brothers reacquaint themselves with the courage of the old Mohler to rid themselves of what is more than a little trend but a full-blown attempt to indoctrinate the SBC with the same old plague of liberal ideology.
Than You. Well Said.