Messengers at the 2009 annual meeting of The Southern Baptist Convention in Louisville on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed a resolution proposed by Russell D. Moore promoting adoption and orphan care.

The resolution encouraged every Southern Baptist family to pray about whether God wants them to adopt or provide foster care for a child or children. It also called on Southern Baptist and other evangelical churches to devote a Sunday each year to emphasize "our adoption in Christ and our common burden for the orphans of the world."

Moore, who serves as senior vice president for academic administration and dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, knows well of which he proposed; Moore and his wife Maria adopted two of their sons from a Russian orphanage a few years ago.

Moore hopes the resolution will provoke deep thinking that leads to action among Southern Baptists regarding the Gospel significance of adoption and orphan care; all who are saved by God’s grace were once orphans who were adopted into the Kingdom of Christ.

The number of adoptions among evangelicals has steadily increased in recent years, yet the need is profound: in the United States alone, more than 500,000 children were in foster care system in 2005, the last year for which federal statistics were available. About 115,000 were waiting for adoption.

“Something is a foot among Christian families and churches of virtually every kind,” Moore said. “God is calling the people of Christ to see the face of Jesus in the faces of orphans in North America and around the world. Southern Baptists have affirmed our belief in the authority of Scripture, and the Bible tells us pure religion is defined by care for the fatherless.

“We’ve been defined by our commitment to evangelism, and there is no greater field is 'white unto harvest’ right now as children in orphanages, group homes, and the foster care system, children who don’t know a parent’s love and who don’t know the name of Jesus.  When Satan wars against children, we should be the ones who have compassion on them, even as Jesus did and does.

Moore authored a deeply personal and compellingly theological book on adoption that was published in May by Crossway books, “Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families &Churches.” In it, Moore argues that the church should view the adoption of orphans as a crucial part of its mission precisely because God has adopted helpless sinners to be His sons.

“The resolution by itself isn’t going to spark an orphan care movement among Southern Baptists,” he said.“Neither is my book, and neither are a thousand manifestoes. Only the Holy Spirit can do that as local churches start to embrace a vision for orphan care.

“The resolution though was meant to prompt some questions. If one messenger in the Convention hall is moved to simply pray, ‘Lord, how would you have me minister to orphans?’ then the resolution is a success, in my view. If one pastor is prompted to ponder how he could preach on adoption, or lead a foster care ministry among his folks, then the work is starting.

During the introduction of the resolution, Moore appeared on stage with Timothy and Benjamin, the sons he and his wife adopted seven years ago. More than 8,000 messengers met the resolution and its unanimous passage with lengthy, enthusiastic applause.

“I was overwhelmed with emotion on the platform to see my sons, two little ex-orphans, looking out on a sea of yellow ballots as thousands of Southern Baptists affirmed that we want to be the people who love fatherless children,” he said.

“I realized that, in an alternative story, my boys would still be in an orphanage, not knowing even the name of Christ Jesus. But here they are, at the Southern Baptist Convention, calling by their very presence the world’s largest Protestant denomination to recognize there are hundreds of thousands of children as helpless and alone as they once were.

“My prayer is that twenty years from now there are thousands of Southern Baptist pastors, missionaries, and church leaders who started their lives as orphans, now preaching the gospel of God their Father.”

I make no claim to be any sort of trailblazer for the gender debate. This is not a direction proposal for the next generation of pastors and scholars who will write and think on gender. This is an attempt to be biblically faithful with the present opposition to a biblical understanding of manhood and womanhood in the family and church.

The gender debate does not look exactly the same as it did twenty or so years ago when the Danvers Statement was published in 1988. Nor does it fit what those who crafted the statement expected the debate to evolve into, as Dr. Wayne Grudem mentions in his most recent article in the JBMW, Personal Reflection on the History of CBMW and the State of the Gender Debate, saying, “I am surprised that his controversy has gone on so long. In the late 80’s and early 90’s, when we began this, I expected that this would probably be over in ten years.”

This short series of three parts will discuss some issues in the current opposition to complementarianism: Part 1 (presently) will look at what needs to be visited afresh or what is neglected textually or hermeneutically in today’s opposition to complementarianism. Part 2 will survey how egalitarians have synthesized their textual and hermeneutical conclusions into a systematic theology. Part 3 will then look at how to relate gender issues to the Gospel in the home and the local church.

Textual and Hermeneutical Issues

Sarah Sumner’s (an egalitarian) Christianity Today article "Wounds of a Friend: Egalitarian" argued that the textual arguments of egalitarians haven’t been faithful to the text, but rather to political ideologies. It could be implied that egalitarians should move beyond the textual battles to a more nuanced hermeneutic. While many egalitarians do not come to this conclusion, some have made that shift. For example, two recent influential egalitarian books on women in ministry — William Webb’s Slaves, Women & Homosexuals: Exploring the Hermeneutics of Cultural Analysis (IVP, 2001) and Scot McKnight’s The Blue Parakeet: Rethinking How You Read the Bible (Zondervan, 2008) — raise questions on the legitimacy of how many are reading their Bibles in order to come up with complementarian conclusions to texts. So then, it seems that complementarians should shift their focus to simply hermeneutics.

In a conversation I had with Dr. Tom Schreiner, he says he is not convinced that is the route to take. He comments, “I would add that textual work is never done. It always has to be renewed, or we actually forget it.” This is a helpful statement for the Church who, while we are redeemed, still fight a sinful condition that is often quick to forget. Complementarians should stand upon the shoulders and develop what has gone before us. The phrase “reformed and always reforming” doesn’t mean to always be developing a radical new system. If we are always radically new, then we are never strong and firm, but rather flimsy and able to be “tossed about by every wind of doctrine.”

Schreiner then added, “I would say that we need to constantly keep up in all the texts, especially 1 Timothy 2, 1 Corinthians 11, Genesis 1-2, and Ephesians 5. It may be that 1 Corinthians needs the most work. I think a major book could be written on it.” When you take a close look at the entire chapter of 1 Corinthians 11 and see how much scholarship on, not only gender, but the doctrine of the Trinity and theology proper is related to that single chapter, you begin to see how a major contribution from a complementarian scholar would be welcomed. Schreiner also suggests that, “we need to answer what people are saying about all the texts that relate to women, such as Junia in Romans 16:7 and Pheobe in Romans 16:1.”

Though he doesn’t think the textual battle is over, Dr. Schreiner is no stranger to discussions on hermeneutics (see his New Testament Theology). Questions he suggests pertaining to hermeneutics are how do we move from exegesis to application? What do texts like 1 Timothy 2 or 1 Corinthians 11 mean for today? Schreiner gives an example, “More work could be done on prophecy since women prophesy but are not to preach. What does that mean exactly? What does it look like in our churches?"

One implication we can take from Schreiner’s suggestion is that while a majority of egalitarians have made the shift from textual arguments to new paradigms of hermeneutics, complementarians should not abandon exegesis. Even when we defend a historical interpretation or hermeneutic, we should never take our finger from the text.

Finally, Schreiner directs our attention to the Trinity and Millard Erickson’s new book (Who’s Tampering with the Trinity?) –“The Trinity still needs to be addressed,” he adds. One can see how these textual and hermeneutical issues lead to systematic issues like spiritual gifts, the Church, the doctrine of God, and the Trinity. That is where we will pick up in Part 2.

Note: Special thanks to Dr. Tom Schreiner for his help in this post.

One great pleasure of Gender Blog is that we get to go shoulder-to-shoulder with many other godly and articulate bloggers out in the blogoshere. We get to learn from and find other helpful resources from these friends. Though their regular output of posts may not always be on gender issues, they are faithful to Scripture when they do. So then, here is an annotated bibliography of blogs that think and write clearly on gender issues for the Church and the Christian home (in no particular order):

Denny Burk

Dr. Burk is not only the JBMW Editor , he is also blogger-extraordinaire! He writes on topics ranging from theology, politics, to LSU football. Not only that, he is very clear in relating biblical truth to the understanding of manhood and womanhood in the home and the local church.

GirlTalk

GirlTalk (as referenced to in a previous post ) is almost encyclopedic in their resources on womanhood because of their consistent and extensive contribution over the years. They provide practical wisdom for mothering, hospitality, discipleship, and friendship. We would especially encourage all ladies to pay close attention to GirlTalk. They are Gospel-centered and richly biblical. They are winsome and pointed in their posts.

Solo Feminity

The Lord has blessed his Church with the contribution of Carolyn McCulley through her books, articles, and her blog. She has a clear and prophetic voice for single women that directs their affections and desires to God and his Gospel.

Owen Strachan

Owen has a unique ability to comment on social, political, and theological concerns with a Bible-saturated perspective. So, when he writes on gender and biblical manhood and womanhood, it is God-oriented and informed by Scripture, not centered on felt needs nor is he capitulating to culture.

Andy Naselli

Andy is a scholar-blogger. That is the easiest way to put it. He regularly engages in academic and theological affairs, while still keeping a firm foot in practical applications for the local church. Thankfully, he uses his abilities to think through gender issues in the family and in the Church not only on his blog, but also for JBMW!

Between Two Worlds

What do you say about Between Two Worlds? When your blog gets mentioned in TIME magazine, that usually speaks for itself. Someone once said, when asked what their favorite things to read were, he responded, “Whatever Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds tells me to read.” Justin Taylor consistently points his readers to helpful resources. He keeps the evangelical world synthesized. He also cares deeply for the gender debate and has contributed to JBMW on the issue of the TNIV .

John Ploughman

John Starke, the author at John Ploughman, is a staff contributor at Gender-Blog. At John Ploughman he regularly comments on topics concerning theology, ministry, and biblical manhood and womanhood.

Miscellanies

Tony Reinke is a fun blog to visit. He gives clever ideas - such as the BlankBible , fun updates from popular conferences, and silly video updates. But Tony is also a Gospel-centered blogger who always posts encouraging applications from Scripture and highlights helpfulbooks for Christians in every spectrum – for the pastor and for the layman. Tony regularly posts on thetopic of biblical manhood and womanhood or points to many helpful resources.

In her recent book Gifted to Lead, Nancy Beach makes the following statement:

No mistake was made in heaven when God gave you the gift of leadership or teaching. Every gift you have came from the hand of a loving Father who crafted you.

When taken apart from her egalitarian beliefs, this statement elicits complete agreement. I also believe that God does not make mistakes when he gives gifts to believers. I further agree that God intends believers to exercise those gifts, to his glory and for the good of the church.

But I would also add this statement to Beach's:

No mistake was made in heaven when God authored the qualifications in Scripture concerning the exercising of spiritual gifts. Every gift you have been given should be exercised according to the qualifications laid down by your wise and loving Father.

What I tried to capture with that statement is the fact that the Bible places limits on how and when spiritual gifts can be exercised. Beach and other egalitarians seem to miss this point. Christians certainly receive spiritual gifts from the Father, but that fact does not mean that Christians can exercise those gifts however they please. In a variety of contexts, the Bible places qualifications on the exercising of spiritual gifts.

In texts such as 1 Timothy 2:9-15, qualifications are placed on women. A woman may indeed possess the gifts of leadership and teaching, but the presence of such gifts does not mean that she may exercise them in a way that violates these qualifications. So, a woman who is gifted to teach should indeed exercise her gift of teaching, but she must do so in a way that honors the qualifications in Scripture.

There are qualifications placed on men as well. A man who has been given the gift of teaching cannot exercise that gift however he pleases. For example, if he has not been called and set apart as an elder/pastor, he cannot teach in the congregation whenever he would like, even if he believes he has been given the gift of teaching. The exercising of his gift is qualified by the scriptural teaching concerning elders/pastors and its application within the life of the congregation.

Jesus himself expressed this principle in his own earthly ministry. Jesus possessed unequaled Spirit-gifting, yet he acknowledged that there were qualifications placed on his earthly ministry by the Father. Specifically, Jesus spoke of not being able to do anything unless it was willed by his Father (John 5:19, 8:28). So, Jesus' miracles and teaching were all in accord with the will of the Father. In a certain sense, then, Jesus taught and worked as he did not primarily because he was gifted to do so, but because such things had been willed by his Father.

My point is that the presence of Spirit-gifting is not the last word concerning ministry within the church. Believers must exercise their gifts, but they must do so in ways that honor the qualifications and commands of Scripture. Gifting does not trump such qualifications and commands. God certainly knows what he is doing when he gives gifts to his children. Beach is right; God does not make mistakes. But God also knows and expects his Word to be followed and obeyed. Christians, in whatever context they may find themselves, can and should exercise their gifts in such a way that honors both the Spirit's gifting and the qualifications and commands in Scripture.

The church in which I grew up did not do holidays well. For Christmas, Santa was usually lurking somewhere within the vicinity of our discussions of the Incarnation. Easter brought Jesus out of the tomb and also drove a certain bunny out of winter hibernation. Fathers Day and Mothers Day, while not “official” holidays as such, were usually fraught with tear-filled testimonies about and flowers for mom and a sermon adorned with talk about tool time and deer hunting for dad. We were pleased to traffic in Hallmark sentimentality.

Today, I am blessed to attend a church that seeks to be Christ-centered and God exalting in all things. As with all churches, it is filled with imperfect believers, and I am deeply grateful for the courage and faithfulness of our elders in preaching the Word of God. Yesterday, on Fathers Day, my friend John Kimbell, our senior associate pastor, completed a sermon series on 1 and 2 Thessalonians with an exposition of 2 Thess. 3:6-18, “Do Not Grow Weary in Doing Good.”  In it, he issued a convicting challenge to dads. John first pointed out Paul’s view of the slothfulness in the life of Christian: it is a self-centered sin that veils the Gospel and is anything but a mere trifle:

“What drives a lifestyle of idleness is a disregard of others,” Kimbell said. “That’s why the sin of idleness is so serious…We’re talking about a heart that is absorbed with self. An idle person is one who certainly does not want to be troubled with the needs of others and more than that, is generally willing to cause trouble and burden for others if it means that it will help them pursue their own self-centered desires. This is precisely 180 degrees from the lifestyle of a disciple of Jesus Christ…What drives idleness? It is a self-centered pursuit of one’s desires while disregarding the interest of others…The heart it reveals is not in keeping with a follower of Jesus Christ.”

John had this penetrating application of the text for fathers, an application that urges men to be husbands and fathers of the Ephesians 5 sort:

“I don’t think it is a coincidence that (Paul) goes to fatherhood here. The heart of fatherhood is spending yourself, your time, your energy, your labor, your strength, to provide for and instruct and bless your family. Let’s not be idle, dads. Let’s not turn in on ourselves and shoot for the glorious goal of being an armchair quarterback. Let’s give of ourselves and let’s not simply be content not to trouble our families.

“I read this year how men tend to think of love in terms of not causing trouble for (their families). We tend to think, ‘Nobody’s mad at me; I must be doing a pretty good job, right?’ Don’t settle for that as a dad. Your job is not simply to keep out of trouble. Your job is to lay your life down, not to be idle, but to give all of your strength and energy to provide and instruct and to be a blessing for your family. The flipside of not being idle is not simply working to provide for your own needs—it certainly includes that—but it goes beyond that. It’s about looking out for the interests of others. Don’t be a burden, but rather be a blessing. Spend yourself, your time, your energy, your labor and your strength in order to be a blessing to those around you.”

As a dad who is prone to idleness, these words were convicting, challenging and edifying. Thanks John for your faithfulness to the God’s Word, for not feeding my fellow dads and me candy corn on Father’s Day. Our idle hearts desperately needed to hear it.