The Georgia Baptist Convention recently changed its policy on receiving monetary gifts to allow it to refuse funds from churches that were “not in cooperation and harmony” with the Southern Baptist Convention.
Leaders of the Georgia Baptist Convention have thus far rejected the funds of one member church, First Baptist Church of Decatur, which appointed a woman as senior pastor last year.
In a report from the administrative committee recommending the change, it said the proposal was “a result of questions raised regarding First Baptist Church of Decatur, who has a woman as senior pastor,” according to the Associated Baptist Press.
FBC appointed Julie Pennington-Russell, who had previously served at Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, for nearly 10 years, after a “slow communal process of discernment” for months in 2007, according to Dr. David Gushee, a member of the congregation in a column posted on ABP.
Pennington-Russell, in her reflection on the new policy at the convention, said, “I kept waiting for someone from the Georgia Baptist Convention to call us or come visit with me and other leaders of our church to inform us that these matters were being discussed,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an e-mail.
She was out of town at the time and did not attend the convention.
“I assumed that a 146-year relationship was worth, at very least, a personal conversation,” she added.
First Baptist Church has been connected with the Georgia Baptist Convention for 146 years. It is also affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, a moderate breakaway group.
“To me, the saddest ripple effect will be that some members of our church who have faithfully supported Southern Baptist ministries and missionaries through the years, often with money given from their monthly Social Security checks, will have to be told that the [convention] doesn’t welcome their support any longer.”
The state convention will here on check sources to see if churches adhere to the 2000 Baptist Faith & Messages, which is the Southern Baptist Convention’s confessional document.
A statement in this document reads, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
GBC executive director Robert White told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that the new financial policy does not apply to churches with women deacons or female members that serve in ministerial positions other than pastor. But the convention would refuse gifts from questionable sources, such as alcohol distributors.
“It is more than a little insulting for other Georgia Baptists, and the GBC itself, to decide that this autonomous congregation made such a bad decision that our missions money is now tainted,” wrote Gushee, who is a professor of Christian ethics at Mercer University in Atlanta, in his column.
“This puts FBC Decatur in company with … other ‘gifts from questionable sources, such as alcohol distributors,’” he added, referencing the Journal-Constitution article.
According to the 2007 Annual Church Profile by LifeWay Christian Resources, First Baptist Church of Decatur has a primary worship attendance of 483, received a total of $1,207,765 last year, and gave $10,444 to the Cooperative Program.
In total, it has a reported membership of 2,700.
During its annual meeting Nov. 9-11, the Georgia Baptist Convention reported a deficit of some $3 million in its 2008 Cooperative Program budget.
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I remember listening to a Bible study by Beth Moore and she pointed out that the only people who truly had a chance to reveal Christ to Muslim women were Christian women. This is due to the Islamic belief in segregation of the sexes unless it involves being accompanied by spouse or family member. There is a place for Christian women to provide leadership that is not in conflict with the belief that that men are to be the leaders in the church. Plus many times it may be a woman (wife, relative, caregiver or Sunday school teacher...) who can provide daily or weekly Biblical instruction to children. I'm sure this existed in the times of and before Christ and that women were often quite instrumental in teaching and exemplifying Biblical teachings and principles.
david, I like that armor vs. t-shirt idea and once again I wholeheartedly agree that when it comes to submission total reliance on God is a must in those cases where it appears submission to someone is virtually impossible.
David wrote: "it's as hard for 'today's woman' to submit as for 'today's man' to have a woman truly submit to him"
This is so true today. "Today's man" has a hard time understanding his role in sacrificial love just as "today's woman" has understanding submission. A man's sacrificial love for his wife is what prompts her freedom to submit to him. (or at least this how God intended it.)
Believer, yes submission to corrupt, unjust, or oppressive authority is a hard thing to do. I believe that's why it's 'armor' of God we are told to put on and not the 'tee shirt' of God. God also gives us His Holy Spirit which has the gift of long suffering and peace among other things which makes it less difficult (sometimes even joyful) to endure the oppression.
Even submission to God given authority, such as what a wife is required to do to her husband, is not that easy in today's society where there is the concept of equality, interchangeability between the genders, and even female superiority (Jezebel), and I believe it's as hard for 'today's woman' to submit as for 'today's man' to have a woman truly submit to him. It is why we need to know the Word to know how God really designed us to work.
david, I'm in total agreement with you there even though at times that submission can be difficult regardless of the gender of the leader or supervisor.
Since it was brought up, Re: female authority in secular situations, we are instructed to submit to authorities since God has allowed them (Rom 13:1, He 13:17, 1 Pet 2:13), but to trust in the Lord, not that authority (Ps 118:8 and many many others). In our submission to that authority we are not to fall victim to it but to stand firm stand firm in the armor of God (Eph 6), so we may stand.
dis, I wholeheartedly concur with your view of women not having spiritual headship over men in the home or the church key word being spiritual, but I personally have no problem with women being in supervisory roles in the workplace nor did I feel threatened as a man when I had female supervisors and in fact several of my best supervisors were women.
Believer,
A person can come up with a thousand scenarios that would make it difficult to follow the Biblical ideal that men should lead and women follow but that does not make the Biblical ideal the problem but the thousand scenarios and the evil societal structures that create them. Society is hellbent on rejecting Scripture and will thus deliberately or ignorantly create these scenarios. An example of another question along these lines is: "if a child is in an orphanage and only a Homosexual couple is available to adopt him/her would you recommend keeping the child in the orphanage or allowing the Homosexual couple to adopt the child? If such a scenario were to develop it would reveal the utter decay of society and the bankruptcy of the church to leave such a scenario. Such a scenario does not make the adoption of a child by a Homosexual couple acceptable. A woman in the military who ascends the ranks and is forced to have authority over men is simply a commentary on the evil of our times.
<<<We find in Scripture, Other Women who held the Title of Prophetess.
Miriam: Exodus 15:20.
Deberah: Judges 4:4.
huldah: 2-Chronicles 34:22.
There were the Four daughters of Philip the Evangelist. We are told that as God pours out His Spirit in the Last Days, " Your Son's and Daughter's shall Prophesy.
To Prophesy, Can mean to Preach. >>>
While this is true, it does not support the point that a woman would be placed in a position of authority over a man (1 Tim 2:12). Scripture can NOT be broken (John 10:35). There is no restriction against a woman prophet (though we are warned against the false prophetess Jezebel (Rev 2:20)). This does not put her in a position of authority, but a servant of the Lord, relaying a message. We (the body of believers aka the church) are instructed to test the spirits (1John 4:1) to see if what anyone (male or female) is saying if they are claiming the words are from God. Also remember that the man (not the woman) has the knowledge of good and evil (Gen 3:22), and it was not the man who was deceived, but the woman (1 Tim 2:14). Remember that woman was taken out of the man (Gen 2:23), they used to be a single physical person, God in His wisdom wanted to divide this single person into 2 physical persons with different characteristics. The physical relationship between man and woman should be a reflection of the relationship between Christ (the Bridegroom) and His Church (the bride). Women are instructed as part of there surrendering to Christ to submit to their Husbands (Eph 5:22), if they are not submitting of their own free will, they are not submitted to Christ. Likewise man is instructed to love their wives as Christ loves the church(Eph 5:25) - which means, just like Jesus does not demand we submit to him, husbands are not to demand submission from their wives, it must be a free will submission which is arrived on the Love they receive.
Also those are daughters, we can assume they are under the authority of their father (if not husband)
Believer,
Good question. Probably, she should think about declining the promotion. Elisabeth Elliot would not preach to the men in village church even though she was way more qualified then any available men. Instead, she found a qualified man and taught him so that he could in turn teach the village.
dis, what about in the military where the normal promotion system automatically places women in roles/ranks that would give them authority over men regardless of if they want it or not?
chris, thanks for clarifying that and I do appreciate your willingness to share that, believer.
The same unseen force that is motivating, inspiring, and energizing the normalization of Homosexuality upon society is the same one that is behind the agenda to blur the distinction between men and women. No only is it improper for a woman to seek authority over men in the church and the family but also in corporate America as well. These are parallel issues. In fact, the normalization of Homosexuality upon society is the extreme end result of the already accepted fact there is no difference between men and women. A woman deliberately seeking authority over men is just as evil as two men getting married to each other.
Hey Believer,
Yes, the claim is true. This particular fund was engendered originally to help the poor and serve the poor in ways like healthcare, voting rights, housing, etc. This fund did support ACORN, and they have withheld all new monies and any other monies that were promised to ACORN. The US Conference of Catholic Bishops has pulled all support from this organization and any ties to them.
It seems like the right hand did not know what or how the left hand was giving out money. Many organizations like ACORN have good fronts and this has created a new need for oversight within Funds like this that the Bishops support. I personally sent a scathing letter to my Bishop telling him that without oversight, I cannot send anymore money to this Fund. I also said that the Bishops must be completely transparent to which groups they sponsor. As a Conservative Catholic Christian I am sincerely upset that they didn't know that ACORN was a front for Socialist leaning politicians who are always Democrats.
chris, good to hear from you, I've got a question totally off this subject, I read an article that talked about the Campaign for Human Development which is supposedly a catholic organization which donated over a million dollars in the form of 37 grants to ACORN. What's up with that and is that a valid claim?
One last thing, the CBF thinks that there are more than one way to GOD. WHAT BLASPHEMY!
We can only be saved through Jesus Christ alone, not muhammed, not budha or any other name. Jesus is the only way the only truth and the only life!
ar, I see no disagreement with you with regards to a woman being a preacher, but both Peter and Paul declare that a woman is not to have spiritual headship over a man in either the home or the local church. And in essence my own wife, even though she never had an official title, in many ways was a co-pastor with me when we were in the pastorate, we've always seen ourselves as partners in ministry and in fact she was called to full-time Christian service at the age of 12 during VBS, 4 years before I was even saved, although I got my call to full-time Christian service 11 years before I was saved.
Women should never have "Headship" over men in Church. I support the SBC in staying true to the Word. I also call all Southern Baptists to be very wary of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The CBF is not moderate, they are left leaning Liberals who are too politically correct to preach the Truth!
Liberalism is a disease, that can only be stamped out by Christian orthodoxy.
We find in Scripture, Other Women who held the Title of Prophetess.
Miriam: Exodus 15:20.
Deberah: Judges 4:4.
huldah: 2-Chronicles 34:22.
There were the Four daughters of Philip the Evangelist.
We are told that as God pours out His Spirit in the Last Days, " Your Son's and Daughter's shall Prophesy.
To Prophesy, Can mean to Preach.
If there is no Man that is Qualified, I see no restriction in the Word of God for the Woman to fill that office. Could not the Woman stand as Co-Pastor with her husband.? If Married, maybe she could be co-Pastor even if not Married.
And again, God will not Anoint that which he does not condone.
If the Genuine Anointing of the Holy Spirit is upon that Woman to preach, Then I can only conclude that God has indeed called this woman to stand in that office.
If Galatians 3:26-39 is true, then other passages that do speak to the "women in the church" issues must be tempered by this fundamental declaration that we are all one regardless of nationality, freedom, or gender.
Luke 2:36 says, " And there was one Anna, A Prophetess, ."
The Word " Prophetess " refers to this Lady as a " Preacer of the Gospel."
Again, does God Anoint that which he does not condone.?
God is a God of order not for the purpose of devaluing, but rather valuing. God created Adam and then Eve as his helpmeet to complete him.
Women have a place of honor, afterall, they were fashioned and brought to someone that were to love, cherish and protect them from harm. Isn't this exactly what makes for a great romance novel?
Women by God's design are compassionate, intuitive, and need meeters. Women need someone and something to take care of or help and God gives them this very important role in His order and design for life.
Women are ministers to the needs of...well, everyone except for themselves. ;-)
Women may "not by permitted" to preach or teach in the assembly (to include all), but women are most definately the beauty and strength God created them to be. Women just want to be helpful. Women are the examples and impressors of faith in Him. They offer a sounding board and a help to husbands and sons growing in the leadership of His church. And they are a source of strength, encouragement and growth of women and girls to continue in Godly living! They work hard in ministries that are need oriented; ie community clothing drives, providing food the community, organizing poverty relief through the US and overseas, offer hospitality which includes Bible studies for other women, and cry with and for someone in pain, and most important THEY PRAY!
That's value!
ar, three of the most prominent Christian female speakers are Southern Baptists, Kay Arthur, Anne Graham Lotz, and Beth Moore. The issue is not women proclaiming God's Word and Truths, but women being put in a position within the local church that would give her spiritual headship over men. The question is not should a woman be a Pastor or Deacon, but rather if a woman is given a position will it give her spiritual headship over men, if so then based on God's Word she should not take that position.
artm,
Is pastoring the only position for women to fill who have been gifted as speakers, teachers, or even exegetes?
I have heard a number of Women Minister the Word of God, and I must admit that there has been an Anointing of the Spirit on more than one of them.
Does God Anoint what he does not condone.?
DP, my wife and I see our roles that way although she has never spoken before men, but she has no desire to have authority over anybody to include men, but at the same time she does have good leadership skills and has been used of God through those skills. We've always seen ourselves as partners in ministry.
Daniel Paul, I'm confused by whether you approve of the model or not because you started by saying you had a problem with it?
The examples of women and men that you know seem, at least to me, to be in keeping with the model and goes further to be in keeping with the model for women in Titus 2.
The problem I have is with the model of Christ and the Church in Eph. This is why woman is not to have authority over a man. It has nothing to do with the value of a woman.
I know some women pastors who copastor with their husbands. The husband pastors the men and the wife pastors the women. Both preach. It is a good model. These women will tell you they don't want authority over men! They want to uphold the model of Christ and the church.
Yee, when one biblical truth is compromised, unfortunately, other biblical truths begin to be compromised as well. I feel for this situation and pray for those holding to the Truth.
mb, hopefully they won't since it is a lie straight out of the pit of hell itself and especially since Christ Himself declared I am the way, the truth, and the life and no one can come unto the Father(God), but through Me.
more than one way?!? keep a civil tongue in your head. don't let the rest of creation find out about this!
The issue was not the woman pastor the issue was the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship which are supposed Southern Baptist churches who hold views that are contrary to the Baptist Faith and Message and more importantly the Word of God. Recently they were a major part of an event sponsored by former Pres. Carter where it was shared in a breakout seminar that there is more than one way to God other than Jesus Christ alone and there were key CBF people present who did nothing to correct that.