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"Is HAB a 'Southern Baptist' Church?"
I thought I would be a helpful pastor and warn you
about the questions from your Methodist, Presbyterian,
and Episcopal friends who happen to read The
Wall Street Journal a couple of weeks ago.
There was a paragraph that read:
Southern Baptist missionaries must swear
by May 5 that wives should be submission to their
husbands and only men should serve as pastors.
Since May 5, 13 Southern Baptist missionaries who refused
to sign the Baptist Faith and Message have been fired;
another 30 have resigned or retired. This is perhaps
the most un-Baptist thing the SBC has done in the past
twenty years.
In light of such news, your friends of other religious
traditions might ask you, "Is HAB a 'Southern Baptist'
Church?" You may have already been asked the question
over the past few years. It's difficult to explain in
less than five minutes, especially when they prefer
a response in less than five seconds.
The questions we must ask ourselves are: Do we want
to be included with this line of thought in the minds
of Jacksonville residents? Do we want to be linked to
a group where the leadership has forsaken the right
of the individual to believe according to their conscience
and must sign a human creed in order to keep their job?
The Southern Baptist Convention used to call this right
"the priesthood of every believer." When people
drive down the road and see "Hendricks Avenue BAPTIST
Church," what do they think? What do we want them
to know?
I can understand why a group of Southern Baptist men
would want to enforce the submission of wives, at least
in print. (Everyone knows the reality!) If you want
to know why many people oppose women as pastors, here
is a list of possibilities:
1. Women preachers make male mediocrity less marketable.
2. The fear of Oprah Winfrey anecdotes.
3. What would she do on a bad hair Sunday?
4. Not too many husbands can play the piano or make
a casserole.
5. It would cause confusion and outrage at Pastor's
Wives' Conferences.
6. The pastor's husband would have too much influence
since the pastor would have to submit to her husband.
7. Knitting illustrations would replace sports illustrations
in sermons.
8. They were not at HAB on Youth Sunday to hear Melany
Wimpee preach to hear what an excellent job she did.
The truth regarding the Southern Baptist Convention
is that it is no longer Baptist. It is not the same
organization we supported in the 1970's and before.
It is a brand new convention. Therefore, I no longer
consider myself a "Southern" Baptist. I'm
just "Baptist." And hopefully, I'm more Christian
than Baptist.
"Is HAB a 'Southern Baptist' church?" Good
question. |
