HENDRICKS HERALD - May 15, 2003 "Is HAB a 'Southern Baptist' Church?"

pastor's page

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.