[Dr. Shawn Wright is a history professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and in this post is critiquing a paper that was presented by Dr. Mimi Haddad, the president of Christians for Biblical Equality.  You should also know that Shawn is an elder and teacher at Clifton Baptist Church (which he helped plant a decade ago), a humble husband and loving father of five sons.  -- David Kotter]

I have two responses to Mimi Haddad's paper which I was happy to hear at the most recent annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society.  One of my points is positive, but the second is a critique of Haddad's argument.

First, I appreciated being reminded of God's remarkable work in the nineteenth century.  The 1800's were a period of incredible growth and activity amongst Evangelicals in America and Britain.  Missions agencies-both domestic and foreign-and benevolence societies of all sorts grew and prospered and dramatically impacted the world.  We should praise God for this advance of the gospel.  Among other things, we should thank the Lord that he chose to use many remarkable women to accomplish some of these things.  Haddad's paper was a helpful reminder of this fact.

Nevertheless, I think there was a severe weakness to Haddad's "Since A, then B" argument.  She attempted to prove that since women led in some important ways in the Evangelical movement in the past, we should encourage women to assume leadership in our churches and ministries today.  Without nit-picking about the details of the nineteenth century (What were the relative numbers of women leaders vs. men leaders anyway?  Lottie Moon impacted Southern Baptists without ever being placed in a position of leadership on their missions agency, right?), here is my major concern with Haddad's argument.

We must remember that the Bible is authoritative; history isn't.  We must always eschew the fallacy of looking back in time to follow the doctrine that our favorite theologian formulated or to adopt a methodology that "worked" at some previous time.  As a church historian I remind my students of this all the time, for this is the danger of those who love and value history.  "John Owen said it, so it has to be right."  "William Carey did it, so it must be biblical."  Right?  No.  We must humbly learn from sisters and brothers who loved Christ before us.  That is, in my opinion, one of the great reasons to study history.  But the only touchstone of our faith and practice is God's inspired word, the Bible.

All evangelicals should agree that the Bible alone (sola scriptura) is the only inerrant guide for our beliefs and church practices.  Haddad argues, though, that we should seek to base our ministries on the example of women's roles in the nineteenth century (which is not as strong an example as Haddad implies), rather than tackling the teaching of texts like 1 Tim 2:11-15.  This is a dangerous course.  If we follow it, we are in danger of abandoning the Protestant principle of sola scriptura in favor of Roman Catholicism's view that God guides us through both Scripture and as the Holy Spirit leads the church to fuller revelation in her tradition.  Protestants should value and learn from the tradition of the church.  But we must always critique that tradition biblically.  On the basis of the Bible's teaching on women's roles, I don't think that Haddad's arguments from the history of the nineteenth century are valid.

[Brent Thomas blogs from Glen Rose, Texas and is the teaching pastor and an elder of Grace Community Church.  - David Kotter] 

An article in the Fort Worth Star Telegram recently reported on a controversy surrounding Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas.

For the church's 125th birthday, they planned to distribute a new pictorial church directory. But, as the newspaper reports, "Since three gay couples asked to have their pictures included, Broadway Baptist has been involved in an increasingly divisive struggle over whether allowing the portraits to appear would be an endorsement of homosexuality by the congregation." Broadway Baptist Church is part of the Baptist General Convention of Texas (BGCT).   The paper adds, "The convention includes churches that broke away from the Southern Baptist Convention when the SBC started becoming more conservative."

As the article chronicles the controversy surrounding the gay yearbook additions, it becomes quickly apparent that the issue for the church is not whether or not homosexuality is a sin. Instead, they have openly allowed gay members for years. In fact, Brett Younger, the church's pastor recently said, "The church has had gay members for decades but that no couple had ever been pictured in the directory." He said to change directions would understandably be "troubling to many." In other words, the issue is a baptist "we've never done it that way before" problem more than it is over homosexuality. The pastor essentially condoned homosexuality from the pulpit.  As it is, they just don't want to change the way they've always done their directories.

The only reference to the possibility that homosexuality might be viewed as sin comes when the article notes that the BGCT does consider homosexuality to be sin, but "it is up to the local church to decide what it wants to do" and that "the convention adopted a policy in the late 1990s that encourages churches to minister to gays." In other words, the BGCT says out of one side of its mouth that homosexuality is sin, out of the other it says that such "sinners" are more than welcome in church and that it's up to local member churches to decide how they want to deal with sin.

My point is not to isolate homosexuality as some "worse" sin while turning a blind eye to others. Nor is my point to particularly condemn those caught in the sin of homosexuality, for apart from God's redeeming hand, none of us is righteous, none of us does good, none of us seeks God (Romans 3:9-18). We have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and we all need a Savior (1 Timothy 1:15).

Rather, my point is that Scripture clearly teaches that homosexuality is as sin and as long as a gathered group of people calls themselves a "church," we are not bound to our standards but God's. In the face of this truth, the fact that Broadway Baptist Church pretends that the real issue is about the photo directory simply breaks my heart and speaks volumes as to how far removed from God's Word our culture has actually become. It seems that they have forgotten that "a little leaven leavens the whole lump" (1 Corinthians 5:6, Galatians 5:9, etc.) and that we are to "Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump" (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Proclaiming sin as such is not an easy thing. Standing by those convictions is even more difficult, but we have not been called to what is easy. The church of the living God is to be a "pillar and buttress of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15), and yet, in so many instances, we see people abandoning the bulwark of salvation (Isaiah 26:1-3). We must express care and concern. History's pages are certainly filled with people who have spoken the truth in anything but love. Homosexuality is a sin and we must proclaim such but we must not overlook other sins in the process. We must lovingly but boldly, with broken hearts and strong consciences, stand against our society as it moves to "normalize" sin.

We will not be judged by our pictorial directories. We will be judged by how we have kept the commandments of God (John 14:21, 1 John 3:24, etc.). Broadway Baptist church of Fort Worth and others in similar situations serve as a reminder of just how easy it is find ourselves so far removed from the Word and the Truth. May we indeed serve as a "pillar and buttress of the truth" rather than those who want to please those with itching ears (2 Timothy 4:3).

[Steve is a rabid Boston Red Sox fan, graduate of Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, and long-time blogger; I hope you will be intrigued by his consideration of three perspectives on manhood and especially challenged by the last of his three questions. - David Kotter]

Their initials are all "JB".  All three come from very different time periods but still captivate audiences today.  In an interview regarding the last of the Bourne trilogy, Matt Damon didn't have anything nice to say about the first JB -- Bond.  He called him misogynist and imperialistic.  So I got to thinking.

I grew up watching James Bond movies.  I think the first one I saw in the theatre was Live and Let Die over 30 years ago.  He was, as noted, a product of the Cold War and has lots of Cold War cynicism.  He loves his country, loves sex and loves dispatching bad guys.  He doesn't quite fit Damon's sensibilities.  I don't blame him -- I don't want to defend Bond's womanizing ways.  Austin Powers started as a playful nod to all that was Bond before degenerating into ever-increasing crudity.

The Bond franchise got a much needed shot in the arm with Casino Royale.  It sought to explain the man--his cynicism and womanizing.  I see it as the inevitable and necessary hardening of his heart to cope with what he has to do.  It doesn't justify it--just explains it.  Bond is not a virtuous man, but one who is defending his country.

I read the Bourne books in the 80's, and really enjoyed them.  Jason was more a product of the 70's with its suspicion of the government.  He's a typical anti-hero: an individualist who really only cares for himself.  He's not cynical, but paranoid.  He is faithful to a fault, pining for the woman he loved.  Unlike Bond, he does not descend into womanizing.  He does not protect our freedom, but pursues his own.  He's not looking for solutions, but answers.  He is the existential man.

Then there is Jack Bauer -- a product of 9/11.  Unlike Bond, he does not enjoy what he does.  Unlike Bourne, he does not fight for himself but for his country.  He is a man of honor, who sacrifices himself for others.  He is not suave, but often brutal.  That is because he knows many thousands or even millions may die if he fails.  He is driven in a way that Bourne cannot understand.

Three ‘heroes' that have captivated audiences.  Three very different men reflecting very different eras.  Three men driven by different motives.  Three men who should cause us to ask questions about ourselves.

1. What effect does what I do have on me?

2. What effect does what I do have on others?

3. Is it all about me, or am I willing to sacrifice for something greater?

Here is my perspective:  I enjoy the action found in (some) Bond movies, and the Bourne movies.  But I'm stirred by Jack Bauer's self-sacrifice.  While Bond would retreat to booze and women, and Bourne would seek safety, Bauer would try to save me even at the cost of his life.  This is why Bauer beats them both, hands down.

[Courtney Tarter is a former member of Bethlehem Baptist Church and prepared the following blog summary at the request of Desiring God Ministries.  In addition to contributing to GenderBlog, she also posts at In View of God's Mercy. - David Kotter]

This post summarizes Susan Hunt's presentation at the Different by Design conference on February 4, 2007.  Dr. J. Ligon Duncan spoke first about the biblical and theological foundation of women's ministry in the local church and how that relates to the pastoral ministry of the church. 

Susan Hunt, a pastor's wife and the Women in the Church Consultant for the PCA, followed Duncan's presentation with practical applications for women's ministry in the local church.  She brought a wealth of life experience and wisdom to her talk based on her years of ministry to women.  From Duncan's biblical foundations, Hunt gave an apologetic of womanhood practically played out in five different ways: submission, compassion, community, discipleship, and scripture.

These principles sought to answer the five questions posed in the book Women's Ministry in the Local Church. Understanding biblical womanhood to manifest itself in "life-giving" rather than "life-taking," she unpacked these five principles by pointing to the Pastoral Epistles (1 and 2 Timothy and Titus).

1. In submission, women must follow the ecclesiastical leadership that God has given them. The women's ministry must be submitted to the male leadership for approval, but so must every other discipleship ministry. We also see the qualifications for male headship in that women are called to submit to godly leaders not tyrants. This should be seen as a security for women, not a hindrance.
2. A vibrant women's ministry can come alongside the diaconal ministries of the church because they are compassionate in this way.
3. When a women's ministry is characterized by community we see what it means to truly be the family of God. The widows in the New Testament were credentialed by a life of the ordinary stuff that makes covenant community life extraordinary.
4. Gender specific discipleship, as seen in Titus 2:3-5, is so important because we would never on our own come to an understanding of what it means to be a life-giver. Gender specific discipleship that focuses on principles about what God says about our womanhood must be taught because women are hearing something in the culture and what they are hearing is not God's way.
5. In 2 Timothy 3:2-17 we see that Timothy's mother and grandmother taught him the Scriptures from infancy. Here we see the principles of the foundation and sufficiency of Scripture. If there are core biblical principles women's ministry can be your greatest delight for men and women. If not, then it will be your worst nightmare.

The conference session ended with questions from the audience. It was encouraging to see men and women desiring to know God and make him known in their churches. May they continue to press on and teach godly manhood and womanhood to their congregations, for the glory of God and the joy of his people.

Listen to Susan Hunt's message along with a host of other free resources for your edification and the building of the local church.

[Courtney Tarter is a former member of Bethlehem Baptist Church and prepared the following blog summary at the request of Desiring God Ministries.  In addition to contributing to Genderblog, she also posts at In View of God's Mercy. - David Kotter]

The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood held a Different by Design pre-conference on February 4, 2007 prior to the start of the Desiring God Conference for Pastors. Dr. J. Ligon Duncan and Mrs. Susan Hunt spoke on their book Women's Ministry in the Local Church to a packed room of pastor's, pastor's wives, church leaders, and women's ministry leaders. Dr. Duncan is the pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi and the chairman of the board for CBMW. Mrs. Hunt is a pastor's wife and the Women in the Church Consultant for the Presbyterian Church in America.

Dr. Duncan spoke first about the biblical and theological foundation of women's ministry in a local church and how that relates to the pastoral ministry of the church. He offered four biblical truths as a foundation for doing women's ministry in the local church:

1. Our understanding of biblical manhood and womanhood must be rooted in the created order. Genesis is our starting point for understanding biblical manhood and womanhood (Genesis 1:26-27). The distinction in the created order is what gives us the distinctions in the church.
2. Our ministry to men and women must be rooted in a proper understanding of the doctrine of God. Being created in his image means ministry must carry the different distinctions between equal persons of the Trinity.
3. Biblical manhood and womanhood must be rooted in the doctrine of the work and person of Christ. Therefore all women's ministry in the local church must rely on the doctrine of Christ. Jesus is the example of perfect submission. The work and submission of Christ radically reorients Christian service for Christian women because it is following in the footsteps of our Savior.
4. Our understanding of biblical manhood and womanhood must be rooted in the doctrine of the church (1 Timothy 2:8-10). Paul is not simply stating an opinion; he is telling Timothy how it should be done in every church. If egalitarianism were true then this passage would be the perfect opportunity to commend it, but Paul does not.

Susan Hunt followed this presentation with practical applications for women's ministry in the local church, and the summary of insights will appear tomorrow in Genderblog.

Listen to Dr. Duncan's message along with a host of other free resources for your edification and the building of the local church.