Editorial
Peter R. Schemm Jr.
In December 1987, a group of evangelical leaders met in a town in Massachusetts to compose a list of affirmations on biblical manhood and womanhood that would serve as the official statement of beliefs for a newly formed ministry. Today that statement is known as the "Danvers Statement," named after the New England town of origin. It has been the guiding theological statement of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW) for the past twenty years. Local churches, denominations, and organizations have adopted the Danvers Statement as a part of their confessional framework or used it as a guide to compose their own position statements. My own school, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, affirms the Danvers Statement as a guiding confessional document in a time and culture in which these biblical principles are widely rejected yet sorely needed.
In recognition of this twentieth anniversary of CBMW and the Danvers Statement, we offer this issue of JBMW to present a modest assessment of the evangelical community on the gender debate. Confusion and disagreement over the role relationships of men and women in the home and in the church has by no means abated over the last two decades. As Bruce A. Ware has written in this issue,
It is fair to say that our culture despises the traditional Christian understanding of gender roles. It is no wonder, therefore, that enormous pressure is placed on Christians, particularly Christian leaders, to make concessions so that the resulting "Christian" stance adapts into one that is less offensive to the modern Weltanschauung.
How are evangelicals holding up under this pressure? While the following pages only scratch the surface in terms of appraising the evangelical world, I believe our contributors demonstrate reason for both encouragement and concern.
Jason Duesing and Thomas White begin with an evaluation of the Southern Baptist Convention. An unprecedented conservative resurgence beginning in the 1980s has moved this largest U.S. Protestant denomination from a slide toward liberalism to a place of biblical fidelity. Recent years have seen the denomination take a strong public stance, including the addition of complementarian statements to its confessional document. Given its size and influence, knowing the state of the gender debate in the SBC is crucial. And we are grateful to Duesing and White for their analysis.
Next Sam Storms looks at the Vineyard USA, a charismatic church planting movement led for many years by John Wimber who advocated a biblical leadership role for men in the home and the church. While, previously, Vineyard documents included no official statement on roles of men and women, Storms considers significant recent events that have led to clarification of the ambiguity—but in an egalitarian direction.
In our final article, Denny Burk and Jim Hamilton look at the range of opinion on the question of women in ministry among younger evangelicals. Tomorrow's pastors and organizational leaders are being influenced today. Burk and Hamilton offer an insightful look at the various views of young evangelicals on this topic and who is influencing them.
This issue of JBMW also features a special "forum" section with contributors participating in a Q&A format. We are pleased to present several faithful leaders and supporters of CBMW, who have for years boldly and winsomely taught and modeled the biblical teaching on manhood and womanhood. Many have served with CBMW from its beginning and have maintained biblical fidelity under hostile opposition. All have given of themselves sacrificially to call the church to faithfulness. Contributors to this JBMW Forum include Wayne Grudem, David W. Jones, Peter Jones, Russell D. Moore, Dorothy Patterson, Paige Patterson, Peter R. Schemm, Jr., Randy L. Stinson, and Bruce A. Ware. Questions range from assessments of the gender debate to the impact of the Danvers Statement, from the current state of women's ministry to the fundamental problems of men's ministry, from confusion over the Trinity to clarity on raising sons and daughters. Their theologically informed answers will encourage, challenge, and provoke you. As always, we conclude with our annotated bibliography, which considers gender-related books published in 2006.
It is with a deep sense of regret that I announce the completion of my tour of duty as JBMW editor. The ministry of CBMW is a crucial source of help to the local church and I count it a profound privilege to have served in this ministry. I am particularly grateful to the President of CBMW, Randy Stinson, for the trust and confidence he has placed in me for these past three years. I cannot imagine how our working relationship could have been any better. I also wish to acknowledge the Associate Editor staff, David Jones and Chris Cowan, without whom I would have lived a truly miserable editorial life. These two men are Israelites in whom there is no guile. Finally, I should thank Lance Johnson, my Administrative Assistant, for his more than capable editorial skills. Each of these men has made scholarly contributions to the success of JBMW, but more importantly, they are men who live and practice biblical manhood.
I know JBMW will be in good hands in the days to come. The new editor, Denny Burk, is a professor of New Testament at Criswell College in Dallas, Texas. Assuming his duties with the Spring 2008 issue, Denny brings with him a passion for the truth of Scripture and an exciting vision for the journal's future. By God's grace, JBMW will continue to hold forth the beauty of God's good design for men and women. May we each do the same. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
