![]() Second, this does not mean that the SBC can do nothing. ![]() The upshot of this means that if a Baptist church wants to appoint female pastors, there is nothing that the Southern Baptist Convention can do to prevent that. ![]() No person or group or denomination has any authority whatsoever to tell a local church how to conduct its affairs. That means that the local church alone has the authority to determine its doctrine and order. What are the implications of this teaching for Southern Baptists?įirst, it’s important to point out that we believe in the autonomy of the local church. It speaks categorically about the office of pastor and says that the office is limited to scripturally qualified men. It makes no distinction between senior and associate pastors. And that is why the BF&M’s statement is so important. While churches are free to have pastors and associate pastors, the Bible does not free them to redefine “pastor” in such a way that it is no longer a biblical office of the church. This is an absurdity that cannot be squared with the BF&M, much less with Scripture. It just means that she cannot be a pastor/elder.Īllowing female associate pastors suggests that some pastors are subject to the biblical qualifications for pastors while others aren’t. ![]() That doesn’t mean that she can’t have a meaningful, spirit-filled ministry according to her gifting. 5:22-24), it is clear that Paul does not have women in view for the pastoral office. Since a woman obviously can’t be a husband and since she is not called to be the head of the family (Eph. 3:4) because family leadership is the proving ground of church leadership: “if a man does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of the church of God?” (1 Tim. As a husband, he must “manage his own household well” (1 Tim. Likewise, the Apostle Paul makes clear that pastor/elder must be the “husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 11:8-9), and it prohibits women from the two main functions required for the office of pastor-teaching and authority. That is why there is such a stark prohibition in 1 Timothy 2:12: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.” Again, this prohibition is not arbitrary but based on the order of creation (1 Tim. In the church, God intends for qualified men to lead and to fill the teaching office of the church-the office of pastor. In the home, God calls husbands to be the head and for wives to graciously submit themselves to the servant leadership of their husbands (Eph. The Bible teaches that while both men and women are equally created in the image of God and are both gifted for ministry, God has designed men and women for distinct and complementary callings within the church and the home. The basis of this limitation is not arbitrary but based on God’s design as it is revealed in Scripture. So what does the BF&M actually say with respect to female pastors? The short answer is that it identifies only two offices and categorically limits the pastoral office to qualified men. It falls short of what the BF&M actually says and more importantly of what the New Testament teaches. They claim that the BF&M only limits the office of senior pastor to men but that there is no limitation on women serving in a variety of associate pastor positions. The common justification that I have heard for this practice involves a tortured interpretation of the BF&M. At some point, however, some cooperating Southern Baptist churches began calling women as pastors as well. Southern Baptists have traditionally understood this to mean that only qualified men are allowed to serve in the office of pastor. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture. Church: A New Testament church of the Lord Jesus Christ is an autonomous local congregation of baptized believers… Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. After all, the Baptist Faith & Message (BF&M) states the matter rather plainly: At first blush, it would seem that our formal doctrinal consensus is clear. There seems to be some confusion recently among Southern Baptists about women in the pastorate.
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