OPINION|
Dear Editor,
I greatly enjoy the Hauxeda, and particularly the columns written by Steve Pokin. As the director of Greene County Baptist Association, imagine my dismay when Pokin gave a poke in the eye to my denomination (the Southern Baptist Convention) in a recent column pertaining to female pastors. Thus, I would like to offer a friendly response.
First, I should probably preface my remarks by stating that no one individual speaks for all Southern Baptists. While I oversee the cooperative work of Southern Baptist churches in Greene County, I do not speak for the churches or individuals who comprise them. Our churches are autonomous, and their views may not line up exactly with my own.
That said, Pokin is correct that Southern Baptists as a whole are complementarian. In other words, we believe God gives men and women distinct and complementary roles in the church. For instance, the SBC’s current doctrinal statement says, “We believe that 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.”
We understand our view on female pastors is counter-cultural in today’s world, and we’re okay with that. We are most concerned with pleasing God rather than man. We are not angry at those who disagree or interpret Scripture differently. We joyfully follow the teachings of Scripture to the best of our understanding, genuinely believing that all humans — including women — flourish most when we follow God’s design.
To Pokin’s credit, he is correct in that far too often complementarianism has been used as an excuse to abuse and belittle women. Such behavior is wicked, opposed to the teachings of Jesus, and we condemn it in the strongest of terms.
At the SBC annual meeting this past June, there was a resolution overwhelmingly passed by messengers that Pokin neglected to mention. I believe the following excerpt from that resolution summarizes well the feelings of Southern Baptists:
“Resolved, that the messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention praise God for His authoritative call to all Christian women to fulfill His Great Commission, for His providential guidance of the multitudes of women who have faithfully served our Lord Jesus throughout history, and for the Holy Spirit's continuing call to women to edify His church in a plenitude of unique, critical, and indispensable ways [and] that we commit ourselves to cultivating an environment within the Southern Baptist Convention where women are fully respected, valued, and mobilized as co-laborers for the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission and the glory of the Triune God.”
I don’t know of any Greene County Baptist congregation that would not offer a hearty “amen” to this resolution! We want women to know you are honored, respected and welcome in our congregations. Come visit any one of our churches, and I trust you will find this to be the case.
Yours Truly,
Joshua Hall, Director
Greene County Baptist Association