Over 100 Christian bookstores run by the Southern Baptist Convention have pulled from their shelves this month's issue of Gospel Today Magazine, which features a cover story about female pastors.
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(Gospel Today Magazine)The Sept./Oct. issue of Gospel Today Magazine, an urban publication with a circulation of nearly a quarter of a million, was pulled this from Lifeway Christian Bookstores for featuring a cover story about female pastors.
Customers to Lifeway Christian Bookstores, located mostly in the Bible Belt with a handful of locations along the West Coast, will now have to request to buy the Sept./Oct. issue of Gospel Today Magazine, which have been placed behind the stores' counters.
The front cover of the latest issue of Gospel Today, an urban publication with a circulation of nearly a quarter of a million, features five smiling female pastors and was titled "Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Female Pastors." In the cover story, the five preachers talk about their roles and responsibilities, struggles and successes.
The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation's second largest Christian denomination, officially opposes females serving as pastors. In 2000, the denomination overwhelmingly adopted a revised statement of faith that said the pastoral role should be restricted to men.
"We have removed the September/October issue of Gospel Today from our shelves because the cover story, featuring female pastors, clearly advocates a position contrary to our denomination's statement of faith, the Baptist Faith & Message," Chris Turner, a spokesman for Lifeway Resources, told The Christian Post.
The Baptist Faith and Message declares that “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
Teresa Hairston, the magazine's publisher, could not be reached for comment. But according to reports by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Associated Press, Hairston said she was just reporting on an emerging trend in churches, and not trying to promote women pastors.
"They basically treated it like pornography and put it behind the counter," said Hairston, according to AP. "Unless a person goes into the store and asks for it, they won't see it displayed."
Richard Land, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, also weighed in the topic of women serving in leadership roles in his recent commentary on women and the election.
He rejected misunderstandings that the denomination wants women to be "subservient" to men, citing the SBC's confession of faith that states woman and man are "equal worth before God."
But he drew from teachings in the New Testament to support the Southern Baptist position on women pastors. In 1 Timothy 2:12, "the Apostle Paul instructs that 'a woman is not to usurp authority over the man,'" explained Land.
"Most Southern Baptists have understood this to mean that women are not to be pastors of local churches, since the pastoral office is a position of authority," he said.
Although the denomination doesn't agree with women serving as pastors, said Land, it does not oppose women serving in leadership roles in public service, such as the vice presidency.
"For Baptists, who make a strict distinction between the local church congregation and other denominational or parachurch ministries, such a statement would not preclude women 'gifted for service' from serving in leadership positions in the denomination as opposed to the local church."
Southern Baptists aren't the only denomination which believes women should not be pastors. The Catholic Church, also holds a similar view. Among charismatic and non-charismatic Protestant churches, nine percent of churches are led by a female senior pastor, according to a 2008 Barna Group study.
Pastor Tamara Bennett California of This Is Pentecost Ministries in Sacramento, Calif., is one of the female preachers featured in the magazine. In her opinion, gender is irrelevant when it comes to fulfilling the Great Commission.
"God’s assignment is that no souls are lost and all are saved,” Bennett told AJC. “Gender is not how God sees it. We are about winning souls, period.”
Also featured on the cover of Gospel Today this month are Pastor Sheryl Brady of The River in Durham, N.C.; Bishop Millicent Hunter of The Baptist Worship Center in Philadelphia, Pa.; Pastor Claudette Copeland of New Creation Christian Fellowship in San Antonio, Texas; and Pastor Kimberly Ray of Church on the Rock in Matteson, Ill.
On the Web: The Sept./Oct. issue of Gospel Today Magazine at gospeltoday.com
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blue, the submission of a wife to her husband is a decision between her and God, plus men and women alike are challenged by God in His Word to submit to Him. Men are also challenged to love their wives as Christ loved the Church and gave His life for the Church. Plus, the issue here is not one of submission but spiritual headship and the Bible clearly teaches that a woman is to not have spirtual headship over a man in either the home or the local church.
This is the same denomination that wants woman to submit themselves to their husbands... what is this, 1800? I don't understand how people justify their 'logical and obvious' positions by cherry picking parts of the bible - like all of Jesus' apostles were men, therefore no women can be leaders, or God made women the bearers of children, therefore the home is their place... - yet most people IGNORE the literal and silly parts of the bible - like the Earth was created in 6 days, or shellfish is horrible, or man was made of dust... -. How can Christians be so literal that they ignore the social and historical context of women thousands of years ago?
smbga, that is an issue that I'm afraid has no pat answer and like you I've heard both of the pieces of advice you received from the two Pastors. There are both positives and negatives to both and needless to say needs to be a serious matter of prayer before a wife and mother makes a decision as to what direction to go. And I also believe you can find scripture to support both of the choices.
believer: i find it amazing that all thru life, I have found different ministrys that teach differently on this subject. I am thankful that my husband allowed God to change his heart and he is now doing good spiritually. But for many yrs. I had the sole responsibility to raise our sons in church. One pastor told me to always submit to my husband no matter what he asked of me. (I didn't agree.) And then another pastor told me to put God first in all areas. That meant that if I had to say no to my husband, then say no.
smbga, there is a difference between fulfilling the responsibilities that come with spiritual headship in the home and taking spiritual headship in the home. As a Pastor I had several women in that situation and I encouraged them to do what they needed to do to ensure their children were taught and brought up in a wholesome biblical environment and they would have the oportunity to be properly taught the Word of God, but to not assume the role of spiritual head of the home.
This is why Sacred Tradition would be helpful here. Women were never called by Christ to serve as Apostles, Bishop, Presbyter or Deacon. We need to use all our gifts for the glory of God. All men and women have equal dignity, but they have different missions and roles to play in the Church.
Both Scripture and Sacred Tradition attests to 2000 years of only men serving as Bishop, Priest, Deacon, Pastor, etc. This is why the Catholic Church would never bend.
Dispensationalist2 -
I agree with you wholeheartedly. You're not "alone"
bottom line: women should never ever have spiritual authority of any kind over men. but,...what if the wife is saved, and the husband is not? i have yet to hear the bottom line on this one.
darshan, if I'm reading your post correctly you appear to be saying women should be allowed to hold the role of Pastor, but both Paul and Peter teach that in the church a woman is not to be in a position that would give her spiritual headship over a man. Would not a being a Senior Pastor automatically give a person that ability?
The pastoral Ministry is, as Dr. Land points out, a "position of authority": but not deriving from any individual be one male or female. Rather it derives from the Authority of The LORD Jesus Christ as virtually all of the Epistles set down: for example, Galatians 1:1 "an apostle ( ie one sent ) (not of men,neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God The Father Who raised Him from the dead). Herein are male and female equal:IN Christ as Galatians also affirms in 3:26-28, and so in being born-again,and so in funtion."For ye all are the uioi (family) of God by FAITH in Jesus Christ...neither Jew nor Greek, bond nor free, there is neither male nor female; for ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
steveh20, if you have a chance read my post in response to Dr. Land's article and let me know what you think. Thanks, believer
Hi believer
No I can assure you we both read the same statement.
Any thing which disqualifies women from doing the same roles as men, apart from obvious physical constraints, is opressive of them. Its not good enough that DR Lang in his article writes that women can do a, b, c etc..but not x, y,z, that gives with one hand but takes away with the other. That said if the SBC wishes to structure themselves in this way, then fine, I don't have a problem with that, but more fool the women who allow themselves to be treated in such ways and more fool the mean who wrap themselves in knots trying to justify it.
Best wishes
Steve
steveh20, either we didn't read the same article or you were truly awed by his make-up, because I just don't see how you could get the idea that he desires to see women oppressed.
Do you mean the article in which Dr Lang uses Christian scripture to justify the opression of women the same way in which Islamic scholars use the Q'uran to do the same.
Read Dr Richard Land's article on women pastor for a clear, Biblical discussion - elsewhere in ChristianPost.