SOUTHERN BAPTISTS SEEK TO APPLY BIBLE’S TEACHINGS ON GENDER ROLES IN HOME AND MINISTRYBy Sharayah Colter & Tammi Reed LedbetterTEXAN Staff

While previous generations battled over the inerrancy of God’s Word, a current discussion within the Southern Baptist Convention deals with the sufficiency of Scripture to define the distinct roles of women and men.

“The big battle ground today is not that the Scripture is inerrant and absolutely true—though that’s still a battle ongo-ing—but among evangelicals and among Baptists, the real battle today is whether Scripture is sufficient,” Dorothy Patter-son, a theology professor in women’s studies at Southwestern Baptist Theolog-ical Seminary and a founding member of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, explained to the TEXAN. She boiled the disagreement down to a simple question: “Did God mean what he said [about gender roles], and if he did, did he give any way that we can live that way

when it’s ob-viously not popular [and] it doesn’t seem workable because of the circumstances?”

COMPLEMENTARIAN VS. EGALITARIANIn many ways, churches are continu-

ing to work out the implications of a movement started three decades ago.

Concerned by what they described as “the spread of unbiblical teaching,” a group of evangelical leaders met on Dec. 2, 1987, and drafted the Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

Before adjourning late that night, the group voted to in-

corporate as the Council on Biblical Manhood

and Womanhood (CBMW)—an orga-

nization that con-tinues to be one of the main voices on the subject of gender issues today. The next day the newly

established coun-cil—consisting of

Dorothy Patterson, Bill Mounce, Wayne

House, John Piper, Jim Borland, Tom Ed-

gar, Wayne Grudem, Lane Dennis, Ken Sarels and Glea-

son Archer—voted to adopt the Danvers Statement, which can be ac-

cessed online at cbmw.org/uncategorized/the-danvers-statement.

Grudem wrote in his 2006 book, Coun-tering the Claims of Evangelical Feminism, that the Danvers Statement introduced the term “complementarian” in discus-sions of male-female equality and roles.

Mary Kassian, whom the council added as a member in 1990, wrote an ar-ticle on The Gospel Coalition’s website, Sept. 4, 2012, to clarify the definition of

By Keith CollierManaging Editor

FORT WORTH Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick held a press conference prior to the Fort Worth Indepen-dent School District board meeting May 10, calling for Superintendent Kent Scribner’s resignation in the wake of guidelines for transgender students that were announced in April without discussion or approval from the school board or parents.

“When you ask for someone’s resignation, you owe an explanation why,” Patrick said. “I believe this policy is ill-advised and wrongheaded; it vio-lates the Texas education code, specifically in one

See Q&A, 3

See FWISD, 2

By Michael FoustTEXAN Correspondent

STEPHENVILLE It is rare in a modern-day church for a single worship service to cover nearly every single hot-button issue—from premarital sex to gay mar-riage to the exclusivity of the gospel—but for Timber Ridge Church’s college ministry, it’s a weekly event.

And instead of seeing college students get up and walk out of the service, Timber Ridge has seen its college attendance double.

It all started when Timber Ridge pastor Nic Burleson and the college team began brain-storming how they could attract college students who don’t at-tend church to their on-campus

SEX? ISLAM? GAY MARRIAGE? NO QUESTION IS OFF-LIMITS AT GROWING COLLEGE ‘Q&A MINISTRY’

H O T - B U T T O N I S S U E SPages 12-18S P E C I A L R E P O R T: C O M P L E M E N TA R I A N I S M

Texas Lt. Gov. calls for FWISD superintendent’s resignation over transgender guidelines

JUNE 2016 Newsjournal of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention N MORE NEWS AT TEXANONLINE.NET

See ROLES, 12

SBTC BOARD APPROVES REBRANDING TEAM, COLLEGIATE LEADER & HAWAII PARTNERSHIP 8

JIM RICHARDS RECOVERING FROM HEART SURGERY 8

Created to Complete, Not Compete

SBC PRESIDENTS NOMINEES Q&A, PART 2 20-21

area dealing with parents’ infor-mation. … The job of the super-intendent is not to be a social engineer; the job of the super-intendent is to prepare his stu-dents for a great education.”

According to the guidelines, “The District requires all person-nel to acknowledge the gender identity that each student con-sistently and uniformly asserts.” This includes using the name and pronouns preferred by the student and allowing students to use restrooms and locker rooms that align with their preferred gender identities.

The guidelines also prohibit school personnel from notifying parents about their child’s gender identity or potential transition process unless the student con-sents, which Patrick said is a clear violation of Texas education code.

“Texas education code 26.008 makes no doubt that students cannot leave their parents out of information about their activi-ties at school,” Patrick said. “Par-ents have a right to know, unless there is some type of abuse or danger at home, and in that case it’s not up to the school to decide that, they turn that over to the police to investigate.”

Patrick acknowledged that he wants to protect every student,

which is why he voted for a 2011 senate bill that directed districts to create policies to prevent ha-rassment and bullying. How-ever, the FWISD guidelines, he said, go beyond this.

Although the guidelines are said to be based on Title IX—the U.S. Department of Education’s policy against sex discrimina-tion—Patrick stated, “Sex in Title IX does not talk about transgen-der transition. This is something that people interpreting Title IX are putting forth. It has no basis in law or fact.”

Patrick also claimed that the new guidelines violated Texas University Interscholastic League (UIL) rules that were passed in February stating that public school extracurricular participa-tion—including academic, ath-letic, and music contests— is deter-mined by the gender assigned on a student’s birth certificate.

With these violations, Patrick said, the guidelines are “ripe for lawsuits.” He noted that Texas Atty. General Ken Paxton is-sued a letter to the school dis-trict that day expressing con-cerns over the violations. Other state officials present with Pat-rick at the news conference were Sen. Kelly Hancock (R-North Richland Hills), Rep. Matt Rinaldi (R-Irving) and Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano).

Reporters questioned Patrick about his involvement in the is-sue, asking him why the state would weigh in on a local issue.

Patrick affirmed his advocacy for local control, but said, “Lo-cal control is about local people having a say. The parents of this school district had no say; the school board had no say. As Lt. Gov., I am responsible for a multi-billion-dollar education budget; about $350 million of that went to this district.”

Supporters of the district’s transgender guidelines held a competing press conference pri-or to Patrick’s, claiming Patrick was bullying the school district and using the issue for personal political gain.

The school board meeting following both press confer-ences was standing room only,

as hundreds of citizens on both sides of the issue filled the chambers, with more protes-tors outside the building. The new guidelines were not on the school board’s meeting agenda but were addressed during an hour-long public comment pe-riod. Some praised Scribner for the guidelines, while others called for their repeal.

Scribner told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that he has no intentions of resigning and is proud of the guidelines because they “provide educa-tors with the ability to make all students more comfortable and confident in a learning environment.”

The guidelines created by FWISD and the ensuing re-action by Patrick and others gained national attention. In a seemingly related move, May 13, the Obama administra-tion—in conjunction with the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice—issued a directive to the nation’s public schools and universities to permit transgender students to use restrooms and locker rooms corresponding to their gender identity instead of their bio-logical sex. Though the direc-tive does not have the authori-ty of law, it threatened the loss of federal aid if a school does not obey.

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N2 COVER FEATURE sbtexan

FWISDCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

FWISD school board members prepare to hear public comments related to the district’s new transgender student guidelines during their May 10 meeting. PHOTO BY KEITH COLLIER

W ell, alright. President Obama has over-stepped. His May 13 declaration that Title

IX discrimination rules apply to a student’s gender identity du jour as well as his biological gender was a political decision based on almost no science, little history and scant legal au-thority. He will get away with it unless we in flyover country just say “no.”

Saying no looks like a score of more of governors and at-torneys general suing the ad-ministration and warning in-dependent school districts that states provide more education funds than does the federal government. Saying no looks like a thousand or more school districts suing the administra-tion for this imperial chang-ing of established guidelines. A class action suit would fit the bill I think. And of course there are parents whose part in pub-lic education is often underem-phasized. Parents, now as well as yesterday, must decide who will assist them in educating their children. But these par-

ents are also taxpayers with the right to decide if local bond and sales taxes related to schools are approved. If school boards know that state funding as well as local funding will be affect-ing by their silly dalliance with gender politics, they might find the courage to say “no” also.

Understand, I don’t mind if a local school accommodates a gender-confused student out of compassion. In fact, I think it’s commendable to do so. Minor children, by definition, need rational adults to assist them, provide for them and counsel them. That’s why policies like the one adopted by the Fort Worth ISD and threats like the one offered by the Obama De-partment of Education are such a betrayal. The result of policies requiring teachers to refer to a student by his “preferred” pro-nouns and to keep the fact that Bobby goes by Betty while he’s at school from Bobby’s parents, is advocacy for novel defini-tions of sex and gender. Bobby is not being accommodated by this servant of the local com-munity; he is being counseled down a path away from health and mature happiness. He’s being counseled by those his parents employ. It’s outrageous. The question really is whether or not we are capable of feel-

ing and productively express-ing outrage when the children of our cities are so oppressed. I honestly don’t know that we are, but this is a big moment.

We are deciding a couple of foundational things right now. First, we are deciding if we want any control more local than na-tional over the institutions we locally fund. Do we any longer believe that there are things we understand about our neigh-borhood that people who’ve never been here or lived any-where remotely similar cannot understand? Are our neighbors, who serve on the school board, administer public institutions, and work part time in the Texas legislature, servants of our com-munities or servants of transi-tory national political agendas? It’s a real question and one that requires a different answer than the one we have given in recent days.

Second, we are deciding who disciples our children. If I had a child in the Fort Worth ISD or any other district determined to keep my child’s mental, spiri-tual or physical issues from me, I’d fire them. If I couldn’t literally end the employment of the superintendent, I’d find someone else to help me train my children—effectively firing public schools as my assistants

in teaching. It will cost you to do that. It cost me thousands, de-layed home ownership, leaned out my retirement income and perhaps had other effects I have not considered to disciple my own children this way. I have no regrets.

Really guys, if you needed to hire a nanny to teach your children important things like math, language, the origin of man, the nature of man, the nature of truth and the respon-sibilities of one person for an-other, and then give your kids to that nanny for seven hours a day, five days a week, 32 weeks a year, for 13 years (plus college) and know that this nanny and your child will keep secrets from you, you’d better know that nanny well and trust him to a degree you trust very few people. We all like to think of

ourselves as good parents. A good parent knows what goes into his kid’s mouth, his heart and his mind. Otherwise he’s not so good.

So yes, I’m saying that Presi-dent Obama has given us a very personal chance to understand the issues in America. I think we do have the real power to offer an amendment to his re-building of our society. But Lord help us, I’m not sure we are gen-erally unified enough to do it or even that we care enough to se-riously consider our response.

Whether we are or are not, this is a watershed. You will remember that this happened and you will associate many things not yet done with our ac-tions, or inaction, regarding the education of our children, the education of your children, in the spring of 2016.

You say you want a revolution?

Gary Ledbetter Editor

THE RESULT OF POLICIES REQUIRING TEACHERS TO REFER TO A STUDENT BY HIS “PREFERRED” PRONOUNS AND TO KEEP THE

FACT THAT BOBBY GOES BY BETTY WHILE HE’S AT SCHOOL FROM BOBBY’S PARENTS, IS ADVOCACY FOR NOVEL DEFINITIONS OF SEX

AND GENDER.

ministry at Tarleton State University in Stephenville.

“We didn’t want it to be your tradi-tional sing-some-songs, preach-a-ser-mon service,” Burleson told the TEXAN.

Burleson’s idea to the team: allow college students to ask any question about Christianity and life, and then have him answer those questions in front of a live audience. Everyone liked the idea, so on one Wednesday night in February Timber Ridge’s on-cam-pus ministry, known as TROC, hosted its first “You Asked For It” service, in which a worship band leads in mu-sic for 20 minutes and then Burleson fields questions from the audience for approximately half an hour.

About 40 students attended the service that first week, but by the end of April weekly attendance had more than doubled to nearly 100 each Wednesday night. Students from seemingly every walk of life—includ-ing Muslims, atheists and people from the LGBT community—have come.

Even more exciting, “You Asked For It” has led to three baptisms.

“I think there’s a spiritual hunger among millennials,” Burleson said. “There’s a spiritual hunger among the college students on Tarleton State’s cam-pus and in our town. And allowing their spiritual hunger to dictate the conversa-tion has been beneficial for us.”

Thanks to a smartphone app called Text Free, all the questions remain anonymous, and the person’s phone number is not revealed.

The college team sifts through between 20 and 50 questions each Wednesday night, and Burleson, due to time constraints, answers five to eight. They weed out questions that have been answered repeatedly in re-cent weeks, although if one question is

addressed by several people, Burleson tries to field it live.

But no question goes unanswered, provided the student is persistent.

“If students don’t get their question answered live, we tell them to come back and send it again, or they can text us, ‘just answer me please,’ and that night and the next day our college team, myself, some of our staff, spend time answering questions via the tex-ting app,” Burleson said. “We’re point-ing them back to the Bible, pointing them back to God’s Word.”

He doesn’t avoid the tough questions, though, which means he does some-times get stumped.

“If they send a really hard question, you can usually see their face light up: ‘Oh, I’ve stumped the pastor.’ We have had a couple of times where we’ve said, ‘That’s a great question. We’re going to dig into God’s Word, and next Wednes-day we’re going to kick things off with this question, and we’re going to find out the answer.’”

Burleson’s background isn’t in apol-ogetics, at least not in an academic set-ting. Prior to planting Timber Ridge in 2011, he spent 12 years as a youth pastor and three as a family pastor. He said he has a strong interest in ex-plaining to church members and col-lege students about “how we live out our faith” in a culture “that is multi-ethnic and multi-faith.”

Burleson and the college team devote themselves to prayer each Wednesday prior to the service, ask-ing that God would guide him as he responds to questions.

“It’s amazing the Bible passages that me and some of the other leaders have memorized in the past, they just seem to come to mind at the right time,” he said.

The service is held in a room in the basement of the student building. Bur-leson is able to speak at the service be-

cause it is hosted by the TROC college ministry, an official on-campus, student group formed this year. The benefits of the service, he said, are significant.

“Progressively, the church has been seen in America as very close-minded,” he said. “We haven’t allowed people room for questions. We haven’t al-lowed people room for discussion. When you open it up to allow people to ask questions that they’re struggling with, or questions they’re very con-cerned about, you are meeting them. And that’s where we’ve seen the power in this.”

The Q&A ministry, he believes, can be duplicated by other churches on other college campuses.

“We’re not doing anything special or spectacular,” he said. “It’s simply humil-ity to say we’re going to allow the peo-ple that we serve and the people that we’re trying to reach to have a part in determining the conversation.

“We’re just excited about what God is doing.”

COVER FEATURE 3

Q&ACONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

“PROGRESSIVELY, THE CHURCH HAS BEEN

SEEN IN AMERICA AS VERY CLOSE-MINDED. WE

HAVEN’T ALLOWED PEOPLE ROOM FOR QUESTIONS. WE HAVEN’T ALLOWED PEOPLE

ROOM FOR DISCUSSION. WHEN YOU OPEN IT UP

TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO ASK QUESTIONS THAT THEY’RE

STRUGGLING WITH, OR QUESTIONS THEY’RE VERY CONCERNED ABOUT, YOU ARE MEETING THEM. AND

THAT’S WHERE WE’VE SEEN THE POWER IN THIS.”

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016

T he issue of women’s roles in church and home is sensitive, even among those who be-

lieve nearly the same things. For that reason, our special report on the subject took two months longer than I ex-pected. More than one or two Baptist spokesmen (and wom-en) declined comment—some possibly fearful that we would mangle their quotes and em-barrass them; others maybe concerned that we might quote them accurately.

We did not make any effort to contact those who torture Scripture to upend the biblical teaching on the roles of sisters and brothers in Christ. Gender roles are not the only place we differ with those who dimin-ish scriptural authority. Give up the scriptural authority and you become a mere pas-senger as your theology leaves the rails. The people we quoted in these stories agree with me and each other on biblical au-thority, and on nearly every-thing else. They believe that wives should submit to the ser-vant leadership of their own husbands and that the pastor

of a church should be a man. Beyond these two convictions are interpretations and mat-ters of prudence that lead some to ordain deaconesses, others to appoint sisters to teach co-ed Bible classes or lead singing, and other churches to do none of these things. We spoke with one leader who believes that a woman is biblically qualified to teach nearly any class in a Baptist seminary. A few won’t tell us what they believe, though I’m certain they also affirm a biblical, complemen-tarian viewpoint.

So what is the rub? First, I think there is a well-founded concern that compromise can lead where we never intended to go. That hap-pened in recent SBC history. Some who “merely” wanted a kinder convention, toler-ant of other views of Genesis and Jonah, are now affirm-ing transgender pastors from their pedobaptist pulpits. In a culture that lampoons biblical morality, we want to be very different from that culture. It makes some leaders who would utilize the sisters in ev-ery role but elders careful lest they be thought liberal. Sec-ond, trust has been wounded for those who’ve been treated disrespectfully because they are women. They still agree

doctrinally with the most conservative of us, but they have been offended by conde-scension or abuse on the part of some male leaders.

In nearly every debate within the body of Christ not involving the nature of God, man or salvation, go back to Philippians 2:1-11. Taking on the mind of Christ as we try to live in unity does not com-promise scriptural truth, but it does move us to root out those places where we have been proud, thoughtless, inap-propriately ambitious, bitter, peevish or even rude when we are right. Can you preach Phi-lippians 2 without stepping on everyone’s toes?

That means the brothers should not speak as though the fairer sex is also a less compe-tent one. That’s not true. Our

wives and sisters don’t submit because the men in their lives are smarter or work harder—we are all of the same essence, and our giftedness is fully nec-essary to the body whether we preach, help, give, encourage or do any other thing the Spir-it empowers for the edification of all. We should not behave as if a deacons or elders meeting is a secret society—grown-up stuff in a way that other gath-erings are not. It’s proud, even vain, to behave in this way and can needlessly provoke resentment. Christlike humil-ity will move the brothers to seek ways to serve the body of Christ rather than seek posi-tion or acclaim offered by fel-low sinners.

The mind of Christ will move the sisters to submit to Christ and the precepts writ-

ten in the Scriptures that God inspired. It will move them to forgive real and perceived slights more readily. It will help the sisters avoid being easily provoked and less apt to bitterness when provocations inevitably come. It will lead them to seek places to serve their churches rather than seeking recognition and affir-mation from fellow sinners.

This is not a “can’t we all just get along?” piece. If we accept that love is an active concept, so is humility. Christ humbled himself by doing something. He tells us to do something—esteem one an-other better than ourselves. This means look for ways to honor, value, encourage those around you as they seek to serve God with the gifts giv-en to them. We additionally miss some of the gifts God gave our churches when we diminish the other sex. There are consequences when God’s people undervalue humility and servanthood. Certainly this discussion will continue as we seek God’s way in a confused and confusing cul-ture. But we must also stop letting the delightful differ-ences between brothers and sisters be an impediment rather than the complement they were meant to be.

NOT MY BROTHER OR MY SISTER BUT IT’S ME, O LORD

V acation Bible School—it’s not just for church kids! VBS can be a fantastic evangelism event. Catch

a vision for how your VBS could impact eternity.

Here is a simple plan to in-volve every member of your church or small group to en-gage unchurched children in life-changing VBS. It’s called: “I Invited 1.”

Issue a challenge.The goal is for every indi-

vidual in your church to per-sonally invite one unchurched boy or girl to VBS. Anyone can

do that. Specifically call out ev-ery child, senior adult, youth, single adult, couple and college student to take the challenge. They personally invite a child in their life who doesn’t attend church—neighbor, acquain-tance, schoolmate, stranger, work associate’s child.

Ask church members to bring the first name of that child next Sunday.

Make it easy.As you issue the challenge,

give each person a VBS invita-tion for the child they’ll invite. It can be a business-card size invite or a card. Include the church website for details and online registration. Pray over the invitations, and ask God to direct each person to a child who needs him.

Make it visual.u Create a huge “Jesus loves

the little children” wall display in a visible area of the church.

u A couple of Sundays before VBS, give each church member a colorful die-cut paper doll to write the first name of the child they’re inviting, and add it to the wall display as a prayer reminder.

u Print well-designed, round stickers with large let-ters “I invited 1” for every person to proudly wear. Pur-chase and print sheets of cir-cle stickers, or order stickers from a print company. Picture this: grannies and 4-year-olds, teens and newcomers—all wearing “I Invited 1” stickers. Wouldn’t it be fun if some needed a dozen stickers?

u Announce the total num-ber who’ve been personally

invited so far. Pray for them. Challenge others to invite one.

Create excitement.u Strive for 100% involve-

ment. Though many are already fully engaged in VBS planning, the majority of members prob-ably can’t offer hands-on help be-cause of work, schedule or health conflicts. Every person of every age and circumstance can invite one child. Imagine what God can do if every member participates.

u Children’s Sunday school teachers give tips on how to invite friends, how to include and wel-come newcomers, and how to in-vite them to your church after VBS.

u Just before VBS begins, en-courage members to remind the child they invited to come.

u Instead of an all-church proj-ect, this could be done in your

choir, women’s ministry, youth group, deacons, small group, etc.

u Plan an enormous follow-up on Saturday after VBS, and pre-pare to welcome many new par-ents and children on Sunday.

So wear your “I Invited 1” sticker with pride and prayers. And, VBS staffers—hold on to your hats! God’s at work; his church is excited about invit-ing; and this may be the most thrilling VBS in history.

Keep Jesus’ words from Luke 14:23 in mind: “So his master said, ‘Go out into the country lanes and behind the hedges and urge anyone you find to come, so that the house will be full.’”

Diana Davis is a Texas native but now lives in Pensacola, Fla., with her husband, Steve, who serves as the vice president of the North American Mission Board, South Region.

VBS: I Invited 1

Diana DavisFresh Ideas

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N4 OPINION

Gary Ledbetter Editor

sbtexan

The Southern Baptist Texan is the official newspaper of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, P.O. Box 1988, Grapevine, Texas 76099-1988. Toll-free 877-953-7282, Phone 817-552-2500, FAX 817-552-2520. Email: gsullivan@sbtexas.com

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Letters to the editor should be limited to 250 words and should refrain from personal attacks. Submit by email to gsullivan@sbtexas.com or mail to the address to the left.

Individual subscriptions are free of charge within Texas. A $10 per year donation is requested for out-of-state subscriptions. Email changes to gsullivan@sbtexas.com.

Southern Baptist TEXANVOLUME

15NUMBER

06JUNE

2016

Jim Richards, Executive Director

Gary K. Ledbetter, EditorKeith Collier, Managing EditorTammi Ledbetter, Special Assignments EditorSharayah Colter, Staff WriterGayla Sullivan, Circulation ManagerRussell Lightner, Layout/Graphic Artist

Contributors: Diana Davis, Melissa Deming, Michael Foust, Roy Hayhurst, Nathan Lino, Amy Malott, Bonnie Pritchett, Erin Roach, Jane Rodgers, Jeff Steed

sbtexan sbtexantexanonline.net

TAKING ON THE MIND OF CHRIST AS WE TRY TO LIVE IN UNITY DOES NOT COMPROMISE SCRIPTURAL TRUTH, BUT IT DOES MOVE US TO ROOT OUT THOSE PLACES WHERE WE HAVE BEEN PROUD,

THOUGHTLESS, INAPPROPRIATELY AMBITIOUS, BITTER, PEEVISH OR

EVEN RUDE WHEN WE ARE RIGHT.

P undits are saying that the United States’ presi-dential election is a watershed. In all likeli-

hood, the next president will shape the Supreme Court for the foreseeable future, which will greatly impact religious liberty. Public policy on sanc-tity of life and immigration will also shift according to who is elected. The deciding factor for the believer is to determine who will best represent bibli-cal values. It might come down to voting against the one least

representing biblical values. Remember there is never a per-fect candidate.

Southern Baptists have an election for president too. We will hear glowing nomination speeches in June. Thankfully all three announced nominees are godly men who love the Lord Jesus. They all are theo-logical conservatives, and I am grateful all three are faithful pastors. Although differing in style, their local church leader-ship is evidently blessed of God, and I am grateful for their ex-amples. On all of these grounds, there is very little daylight be-tween the candidates. Person-alities are different. Individual circles of influence are differ-ent. Are there other factors to

consider between these three deserving men?

I have attended 33 consecu-tive conventions, and Ronnie Floyd has been one of the best SBC presidents in my lifetime. President Floyd has brought disparate tribes of the SBC to-gether. His emphasis on spiri-tual awakening must continue. Whoever our next president is, we need prayer gatherings across our convention, and promotion of personal wit-nessing must remain a priority. President Floyd has led us well in the area of racial reconcilia-tion. Our president’s “team” ap-proach says we need one an-other. The strongest ways he has demonstrated the value of cooperation is his emphasis

on the Cooperative Program. Thank you, Ronnie Floyd, for a job well done.

One of the problems of hav-ing a new SBC president every two years is that the conven-tion’s emphasis usually chang-es. Prayerfully consider the three announced candidates. One of the nominees may best represent an extension of

momentum created by Ron-nie Floyd’s leadership. Now is not the time for us to change course. We need to keep evan-gelism, prayer, reconciliation and cooperation in giving as priorities. Our SBC future de-pends on us staying together.

[Read Part 2 of the TEXAN’s Q&A with SBC President nomi-nees on pages 20-21.]

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016 OPINION 5

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS IN THE U.S. AND THE SBC

O ne of the most dis-couraging aspects of leading a church is the opposition to mis-

sions by a few vocal members.

Stand before a congregation and push missions, and you can expect immediate opposition. As I push missions before my congregation almost every Sun-day, I regularly receive feed-back like: “God is going to save the people that will be saved whether I participate or not;” “I’m not called to participate in missions;” “we have no busi-

ness taking the gospel overseas when there are plenty of people to reach in our city;” “evange-lism is for those who have the gift of evangelism;” “it makes people uncomfortable when you constantly push us to do missions;” and “you talk about missions too much.”

The temptation is to let op-position to missions by a few of

our members cause the pastor to take his foot off the gas ped-al. It’s easy to become discour-aged if we lose perspective of what is actually happening. Here is a word of encourage-ment my fellow church lead-ers: every single church has members like this ... every sin-gle church for the 2,000-year history of the local church. Don’t believe me? Check out the book of 3 John.

The book was written to encourage a church that was becoming discouraged and di-vided over missions because a member named Diotrephes vocally opposed missions in their church. Not only did Di-otrephes refuse to do missions himself, he vocally criticized the leaders and his fellow members who engaged in the mission of Christ (vs. 10)! Here’s a word of encouragement: vo-cal opposition to missions is nothing new; it’s to be expect-ed. Even if the Apostle John himself were pastoring your church, your members who oppose missions would say the exact same things to him that they now say to you! Here’s an-other word of encouragement: John calls such opposition to missions “wicked nonsense” (vs. 10b), and he did not take it lying down (vs. 10a); in other words, he refused to take his foot off the gas.

Here’s another word of en-couragement: the local church in 3 John also had a Gaius (1) and a Demetrius (12a) and other encouragers in the mission like John himself (12b) as well as

members whose enthusiastic support of missions is laid out in vs. 5-8. Unfortunately, every church has a Diotrephes, but praise God every church also has a Gaius.

My fellow shepherds, don’t abandon the mission because you are intimidated by some-one speaking “wicked non-sense.” Wisely and lovingly push your congregation to engage the mission of reach-ing our cities and the nations. 1,000 people are moving to Texas every single day. There are still 3,000 Unengaged Un-reached People Groups. There are still 5,000 Unreached People Groups. The fields are white unto harvest. In the end, let the call of Christ to go and the cry of the lost to come drown out the sound of your Diotrepheses.

Every church has a Diotrephes ... but every church also has a Gaius

Jim Richards Executive Director

NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR US TO CHANGE COURSE. WE NEED TO KEEP EVANGELISM,

PRAYER, RECONCILIATION AND COOPERATION IN GIVING AS PRIORITIES. OUR SBC FUTURE

DEPENDS ON US STAYING TOGETHER.

IN THE END, LET THE CALL OF CHRIST TO GO AND THE CRY OF THE

LOST TO COME DROWN OUT THE SOUND

OF YOUR DIOTREPHESES.

Nathan Lino SBTC President,Pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church

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S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N6 NEWS sbtexan

Ill. pastor Doug Munton to be 1st VP nominee

Illinois pastor Doug Munton will be nominated for first vice president of the Southern Bap-tist Convention, Missouri pas-tor John Marshall announced April 26.

Munton has been pastor of the St. Louis-area First Baptist Church in O’Fallon, Ill., for 20-plus years. He is a former president of the Illinois Baptist State Association and a current member of the SBC Commit-tee on Committees.

During Munton’s pastorate, First Baptist has baptized approximately 2,000 people and grown in average wor-ship attendance from 550 to more than 1,600, according to the release. Data from the SBC’s Annual Church Profile indicates an average of 116 baptisms over the past five years for which statistics are available. First Baptist reported giving approximately 8 percent of its undesignated receipts through the Coopera-tive Program in 2014-15.-from bpnews.net

2 nominees announced for SBC Pastors’ Conference president

John Avant, pastor of First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, Tenn., and Dave Miller, pas-tor of Southern Hills Baptist Church in Sioux City, Iowa, have both been announced as nominees for president of the Southern Baptist Con-vention Pastors’ Conference. This is the first time since 2010 that more than one candidate has been nomi-nated for the position.

Steve Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., stated his intention to nominate Avant in an April 27 announcement to Baptist Press.

Todd Benkert, a pastor at Eastlake Baptist Church in Crown Point, Ind., told Baptist Press May 9 he wants to nomi-nate “a small church guy and do a different kind of Pastors’ Conference [next] year.”

Miller “is a small church pastor,” Benkert said. “Dave has shown over the years both in his blogging and par-ticipating in convention life that he’s committed to unity in the SBC and he’s commit-ted to broad participation among the various groups that make up the SBC.”

Mississippi religious liberty law challenged

Mississippi is now headed to federal court over its ef-fort to protect the religious freedom of individuals who

object to same-sex marriage and restroom use based on gender identity.

Two organizations—the American Civil Liberties Union and the Campaign for South-ern Equality—challenged the state’s Protecting Freedom of Conscience From Government Discrimination Act May 9 and 10, respectively.

Filing its suit on behalf of a same-sex couple, the ACLU described Mississippi’s new law as unconstitutionally discriminatory and asked a federal judge to block enforce-ment of the measure before it takes effect July 1.-from bpnews.net

Sudan releases church leader held since Dec.

Sudan has released one of two church leaders jailed since Decem-ber, sources said, leaving another pastor incarcerated without charges.

Telahoon Nogose Kassa, head of discipleship at the embattled Khartoum Bahri Evangelical Church, was released May 10 after Sudan’s National Intelligence and Secu-rity Services (NISS) arrested him without charges Dec. 13, 2015, according to church members.

“Finally, Telahoon is released, thanks for your prayers and hope the rest will be released,” Kassa’s brother wrote on his Facebook page.

It was unclear why Kassa was released, but NISS can hold detainees for up to four-and-a-half months without judicial review, according to Human Rights Watch. Sudan was also subject to a United Nation’s Universal Periodic Review on human rights abuses last week.

A pastor with another church who was arrested in Decem-ber remains in detention without charges. Authorities arrested the Rev. Hassan Abdelrahim Tawor, vice-moderator of the Sudanese Church of Christ (SCOC), at his home Dec. 18. No charges have been brought against him, although NISS officials were said to have objected to his Christian activities.-from bpnews.net

Ed Stetzer to join Wheaton College faculty

Ed Stetzer, executive direc-tor of LifeWay Research and executive editor of The Gospel Project curricu-lum published by LifeWay, has been named to the faculty of Wheaton College and as executive director of Wheaton’s Billy Graham Center for Evangelism.

Stetzer, 49, will begin his new roles at Wheaton July 1, which also will include pub-lisher of Evangelical Missions Quarterly, founded nearly 50

years ago, and chair of the Wheaton College Graduate School’s evangelism and leadership program.

LifeWay President Thom S. Rainer voiced appreciation that Stetzer, in nine years with the SBC entity, “made a significant contribution to our ministry. We are excited for the impact Dr. Stetzer will make in his new role, and also grateful LifeWay will have a continued consult-ing relationship with him.”

Stetzer, while with LifeWay, also has served as executive editor of its Facts & Trends journal and authored or coau-thored 10 books, most recently “Transformational Groups: Creating a New Scorecard for Groups” with Eric Geiger. Before joining LifeWay, he had written five other books.

He also is the lead pastor of Grace Church in Henderson-ville and Gallatin, Tenn., which he founded in 2011.-from bpnews.net

Sexual addiction tragedy prompts seminary conference

The suicide death of a beloved colleague after a sexual addiction came to

light drove the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary community to their knees in prayer last August. They rose determined to help others caught in pornography and sexual addiction.

“Recalibrate,” a campus-wide conference with Greg Miller of Faithful & True, a ministry to those impacted by sexual addictions, came together as a response to the death of John Gibson, longtime professor at NOBTS’ Leavell College on the opening day of classes on Aug. 24, 2015.

Thomas Strong, Leavell Col-lege dean, encouraged the seminary community to attend the April 28 conference in an NOBTS weekly publication.-from bpnews.net

BRIEFS

Trump knocks Moore after national media comments

Russell Moore spoke and Don-ald Trump took notice in one of his Twitter posts May 9.

Trump’s tweet came the morn-ing after Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commis-sion, criticized the presumptive Republican nominee on CBS’ “Face the Nation” and, two days earlier, in a New York Times online op-ed.

“@drmoore Russell Moore is truly a terrible representative of Evangelicals and all of the good they stand for. A nasty guy with

no heart!” Trump tweeted at 5:05 a.m. May 9.

Trump’s tweet quickly stirred diverse reactions among out-spoken Southern Baptists, from

pro-Trump pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas to several Baptist leaders who affirmed Moore’s comments.-from bpnews.net

Survey probes pastors’ views on handling misconduct

There’s no consensus among Protestant pastors whether a colleague accused of misconduct should step down from the pulpit for a time, according to a LifeWay Research survey released May 10.

Few respondents, however, say pastors who commit adultery should be permanently banned from ministry, LifeWay Research reported on the findings of a telephone survey of 1,000 Prot-estant senior pastors.“Pastors believe church lead-

ers should be held to high standards,” said Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research, based in Nashville. “They also want to protect themselves against allegations that could be false.”The LifeWay Research survey

asked pastors for their views on handling allegations of miscon-

duct; the type of misconduct narrowed to adultery in one of the questions.Forty-seven percent of those

surveyed say a pastor should step aside while church leaders investigate alleged misconduct. About a third (31 percent) say the church should leave the pastor in the pulpit. One in 5 (21 percent) is not sure.Older pastors (those 65 and

older) are more likely to want the pastor to stay in the pulpit (36 percent). Younger pastors (those 18 to 44) are less likely to hold that view (27 percent).-from bpnews.net

Jeffress: Moore pro-voked Trump with attacks on policies, character

While many Southern Baptists have sided with Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president

Russell Moore in his scuffle of words with presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, some, including First Baptist Dallas pastor Robert Jeffress, say Moore essentially brought it on himself with inflam-matory remarks.

“Trump’s response to Moore was not unprovoked,” Jeffress

said in an email to the Christian Post. “Moore had been launch-ing vitriolic attacks not only against Donald Trump’s policies, but also personal attacks against [his] character. … When you keep poking the bear, don’t be surprised when the bear takes a bite out of you.”-from christianpost.com

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016 MISSIONS 7

Five new Southern Baptist missionaries have Texas tiesMISSION BOARD HONORS

MEADOR FOR 41 YEARS OF MINISTRY

By Tammi Reed LedbetterSpecial Assignments Editor

ROCKVILLE, Va. A missionary couple headed to the North Africa and the Middle East region in partnership with the International Mission Board sees evidence of God’s divine plan, as their family histories have overlapped. More than a century ago, an American mis-sionary shared the gospel in his family’s village in the Middle East. Then 50 years ago, her great aunt and uncle became the founding members of the Texas church that is sending the couple to bring the gospel back overseas.

It’s the kind of pathway that IMB President David Platt loves to talk about, as he did in commissioning 29 new missionaries on May 10.

While they, like so many others, cannot be identified because of securi-ty concerns, their story is compelling as they recognized the opportunity to share their faith in the most danger-ous of war-torn circumstances. Their shared heart for the nations drew

them together while attending South-western Baptist Theological Seminary, she explained.

“Five years ago, a war began in the Middle East allowing millions of people to become open to hearing the gospel,” he shared during the appointment service in Rockville, VA. Their work overseas has allowed them to witness many Muslim families coming to faith in Christ. Now they return with their young daughters with the assistance of Meadows Baptist Church in Plano.

Texas native Ange-la Banks was educat-ed at Southwestern Seminary and West Texas A&M Univer-sity in Canyon where she is a member and interned at First Bap-tist Church. More re-cently she served in IMB’s Hands On pro-gram and later was a nanny for a SWBTS faculty member’s family.

“Ten years ago, God used a trip to show me spiritual darkness that I’d never seen

before,” she told those gathered for the commissioning service. “My response? God, I will do whatever you want me to do, to go wherever you want me to go, and stay where you want me to stay because for me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Now, I am being sent by First Baptist Church in Canyon to the Hausa people in West Africa to see the light of the gospel push back the darkness.”

Another couple with vocational ties to the Austin-based Docent Re-search Group is returning to Madagas-car where they walked through open doors for service, sitting under a tree with a team from their sending church in North Carolina. There they listened to a village elder describe how their community had been transformed by Jesus—“a Jesus hundreds of thousands have never known.”

“Growing up, I never wanted to be a missionary,” Nathan Baker admitted during the appointment service. His wife, Tessa, countered by sharing that she’d wanted to be a missionary since childhood when she learned of oppor-tunities through the GA missions edu-cation program in her church.

Sent by Southern Baptists in partner-ship with two North Carolina churches, Tessa Baker said, “We are going, as God told Isaiah, ‘to the distant islands that have neither heard my fame nor seen my glory. And they will declare my glo-ry among the nations.’”

Southern Baptists fund their mis-sions enterprise by giving to the Coop-erative Program through state conven-tions like the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and through their gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions.

The Board’s decision to move all of this year’s appointment services to the International Learning Center outside of Richmond has saved half a million dollars that will be reallocated overseas, according to a report given to trustees on May 11 by Platt.

Platt also offered a hopeful report of anticipating higher giving to missions,

recognized Clyde and Elaine Meador for 41 years of ministry, and announced upcoming meetings with Southern Baptist leaders to brainstorm the types of mission pathways he envisions.

While the final tally of contributions to last year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Of-fering has yet to be announced, Platt said “things are looking better than ever,” expressing gratitude for progress toward exercising greater responsibil-ity with short term finances and long term organization for the largest mis-sionary-sending organization.

“We can’t just think like we always have as to who can go and how to get there,” he added. “We’ve got to make a way for the churches to go to the na-tions.” IMB leadership will meet with Southern Baptist pastors, seminary leaders and state convention leaders to brainstorm how those pathways will develop “if we really are serious about making the glory of God known” to the nations, Platt said.

Citing the current refugee crisis in Syria and surrounding countries, the leader of the largest missionary-send-ing organization discouraged “looking at it through the lens of political pun-ditry,” and instead focusing on accom-plishing the Great Commission. “We need to see the world in which God has put us.”

The IMB president said he anticipates the day when such sin and suffering will be no more, reminding those present, “As long as we’re in this world, remember ev-ery one of us finds ourselves in a foreign land, seeking a homeland—a city where we’re migrants, multicultural citizenry of an other-worldly kingdom.”

Elaine and Clyde Meador (right) receive appreciation for their 41 years of service through the International Mission Board from Zane Pratt (left), IMB vice president for training, during a May 10 luncheon given in their honor. PHOTO BY ROY M. BURROUGHS/IMB

IMB trustees and staff spend time in concerted prayer for the Muko-Muko people group of Indonesia who are unreached with the gospel. PHOTO BY ROY M. BURROUGHS/IMB

“As long as we’re in this world, remember

every one of us finds ourselves in a

foreign land, seeking a homeland—a city

where we’re migrants, multicultural

citizenry of another worldly kingdom.”

— D A V I D P L A T T

8 TEXAS S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N sbtexan

SBTC Exec DirectorJim Richardsreleased from hospital after heart surgery

By Staff

GRAPEVINE SBTC Executive Director Jim Richards was released from the hospital May 11 and is now resting at home following a May 4 surgery to correct a congenital valve defect and an aortic aneurysm. The Richards family is overjoyed at the news and asks con-tinued prayer as his recovery continues.

Richards informed the SBTC Executive Board of the pro-cedure during their April 19 meeting in Denton. During that meeting, the board approved conven-tion CFO Joe Davis as acting executive director for the peri-od in which Richards would be unavail-able to perform his duties.

By Keith CollierManaging Editor

DENTON With the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s 20th anniversary coming in 2018, executive board mem-bers have approved the forma-tion of a research committee to determine future methods for strengthening “the con-vention’s relational strategy with its churches and the next generation of church leaders.” During their spring meeting at Camp Copass in Denton, April 19, the board also approved a new collegiate ministry leader and a missions partnership with the Hawaii Pacific Bap-tist Convention in addition to other business.

“We want to celebrate where we’ve come from; we want to always remember what God has done; but we also want to be drawn to the story of our fu-ture, what God has for us next,” said Nathan Lino, SBTC presi-dent and pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church, in his recommendation for the cre-ation of the “Strategy Research Committee.”

Lino believes the SBTC’s organizational structure is streamlined and positioned for success, so the focus will

be on updating the conven-tion’s branding. The board approved the committee to work with a consulting firm to develop and implement a new relational strategy, be-ginning in 2017, which in-cludes creation of a new logo and “updated materials to tell the story of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.” Funding for the work will come from financial reserves, as approved by the board’s administrative committee.

“What we need to think about is the matter of how we explain ourselves to those who are not us,” Lino said. “How do we tell our story? How do we cast our vision? How do we help people in the coming years to understand who we are and what we are about?

“We will get the leaders we need in the future because we tell our story well.”

The newly formed commit-tee will be comprised of Lino; board chairman David Flem-ing, pastor of Champion For-est Baptist Church in Houston; board vice chairman Kie Bow-man, pastor of Hyde Park Bap-tist Church in Austin; board secretary Robert Welch, pas-tor of Rock Hill Baptist Church in Brownsboro; and Kenneth

Priest, SBTC director of con-vention strategies.

Collegiate Evangelism AssociateThe board affirmed the ap-

pointment of Mitch Tidwell as collegiate evangelism associate for the convention. Tidwell, a member of First Baptist Church in Colleyville, has served at the SBTC since 2012 as a ministry assistant in the church ministries department and for a year prior as the co-ordinator for the Engage min-istry, which sends college stu-dents on revival teams around the state each summer.

Tidwell shared his testi-mony with board members, noting his own conversion to Christ in his early 20s and his desire to see college students commit their lives to Christ.

“What I experienced on that night is what I hope everyone on this earth experiences. You don’t experience the holiness of God and walk away un-changed. I want college stu-dents across Texas to experi-ence that,” Tidwell said.

Pointing to the 2 million stu-dents on nearly 450 university campuses in Texas, Tidwell said, “I believe the college cam-pus is the most strategic mis-sion field in the world.”

Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention partnershipThe board affirmed a new

missions partnership with the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Conven-tion to connect Texas churches with church planting and church revitalization needs

on the islands. While partner-ships do not typically require board approval, the peer-to-peer nature of the partnership between two state conven-tions and the fact that Hawaii is a destination location caused missions staff to request the board’s affirmation.

“This may sound like an al-luring situation, but it will prove to be trying and taxing; it’s a long way over there, and it’s expensive,” said SBTC Ex-ecutive Director Jim Richards. “We wanted total transpar-ency and your affirmation that this is something positive. It’s a tough work and a challenge, and we won’t be going there for a vacation.”

SBTC currently has existing partnerships, which generally last three to five years, with NAMB’s SEND Seattle, the IMB in Ecuador, and Reach Hous-ton. Missions staff are also working on a possible partner-ship in Indonesia.

Other items:u The board amended an

approved motion from its April 2015 meeting regarding the gifting of a convention-owned property to a ministry in Laredo, Texas. The property, located at 3124 Potomac Ct. in Laredo, was given to Laredo Baptist Network Ministry. The amendment allows “the 501c3 exemption to be obtained at any time prior to the convey-ance of the property, rather than requiring the IRS exemp-tion to be obtained within twelve months from the origi-nal motion.”

u New requests from 38 churches seeking affiliation with the SBTC were approved along with 13 churches re-moved—eight of which had disbanded, four merged with another church, and one dis-affiliated. The number of af-filiated churches now stands at 2,569.

u The board received a clean audit review of 2015 financials from outside ac-counting firm PSK.

Research committee created to engage new generation of SBTC pastors

Mitch Tidwell

JUNE 2016 TEXAS 9

By Amy MalottTEXAN Correspondent

LOVELADY Approximately 100 miles north of Houston, the small town of Lovelady, Texas, covers only 1.1 square miles of land and boasts a population of 600. Despite its size, God is do-ing some big things in the life of Antioch Baptist Church.

Tony Wolfe, serving in his first pastorate after a number of years as a music minister in Louisiana and Texas, came to Antioch four years ago and saw immediate growth. In his first

year as pastor, the church out-grew its sanctuary and has been meeting in the gym ever since.

Wolfe said at times it feels like a church plant because each Sunday morning a team of people sets up and tears down for the service. Plans are in the works to build a new sanctuary and remodel older facilities to meet the needs of their growing faith community.

In the midst of this nu-merical growth over the past three years, Sunday morning attendance has grown from 80 to 220, with the church

baptizing 140 people—55 of those in 2015.

“There is nothing that will do more for the forward momen-tum of your church than bap-tizing people nine Sundays in a row,” Wolfe said.

Lovelady is located in one of the more economically chal-lenged counties of Texas, with about 21 percent living below the poverty line. Despite this reality and a major economic downturn in January and Feb-ruary of 2015, giving at the church increased during those months by 52 percent. Wolfe at-tributes this to a mighty work of God in people’s lives. Members are eager to give because they are seeing lives changed for the glory of God.

“Whole families are coming to Christ and many others we [Christians] would normally write off,” Wolfe said.

Creating a new mission statement is a seemingly small change, but the words “knowing Jesus and making him known through Christ-centered relationships” have

become a rallying cry for An-tioch members. Rather than develop new and innovative programming, staff encour-age church members to build relationships with Christians and non-Christians as the most important way to disciple and evangelize. This simple, bibli-cal approach is paying off in dividends in this small town.

“When it comes to church growth, there is just no substi-tute for consistent, faithful gos-pel witness,” Wolfe said.

Quick to say they are not sole-ly focused on numbers, Wolfe

understands that every number or percentage represents a man, woman or child.

“Other than the numbers, it’s amazing to see lives trans-formed, marriages saved and people with nowhere else to turn coming to our church,” he said.

Wolfe prays that during their successes and blessings that everyone, himself includ-ed, remembers that it is all for the glory of God. Antioch Bap-tist Church is proof that some-times big things do come in small packages.

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N sbtexan

SUPREME COURT RULING GOOD NEWS FOR GUIDESTONE, MINISTRIES

By Roy Hayhurst GuideStone

DALLAS The U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opin-ion May 16 ordering the govern-ment to work out a solution in the contraceptive mandate cas-es that would actually protect the religious beliefs of objecting religious organizations, includ-ing GuideStone and the minis-tries it serves. The court vacated the lower court decision that had gone against the religious organizations and ruled that

the government cannot fine the ministries as the cases proceed.

No ministries served by GuideStone have been fined; a temporary injunction has been in place since Decem-ber 2013, preventing the gov-ernment from enforcing the mandate or applying penal-ties against ministries served by GuideStone’s health plans. Churches and closely related auxiliaries of churches were exempt from the mandate from the outset and were not at risk of penalties.

“We are thankful, first and foremost, to the Lord for this decision,” GuideStone Presi-dent O.S. Hawkins said. “We appreciate the diligence of our legal teams in working through the legal and constitu-tional issues that were raised as well as for the men and women of the Supreme Court who took seriously their oaths of office. This is a good day for which we are thankful.”

The Becket Fund for Reli-gious Liberty, which represents GuideStone in the case, called

the development a victory for religious freedom.

“The Court has recognized that the government has changed its position,” said Mark Rienzi, senior counsel at the Becket Fund. “It is crucial that the jus-tices unanimously ordered the government not to impose these fines and indicated that the gov-ernment doesn’t need any notice to figure out what should now be obvious. There is still work to be done, but today’s decision indicates that we will ultimately prevail in court.”

Hawkins noted that the Af-fordable Care Act has created challenges for the health care industry as a whole, but Guide-Stone continues to work on be-half of its participants.

“The federal health care law continues to create challenges for all who provide medical plans,” Hawkins said. “Despite the headwinds caused by regu-lations out of the law, Guide-Stone remains committed to providing high-quality and af-fordable medical coverage in 2017 and beyond.”

10 TEXAS

Lovelady church experiences big God in small town

S A M P L E P A Y M E N T R A T E SAGE RATE AGE RATE65 4.70% 80 6.80%70 5.10% 85 7.80%75 5.80% 90+ 9.00%

Notes: Rates are subject to change. Rates are based upon one-life.

By Jeff SteedSouthern Baptists of Texas Foundation

“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today

shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children.”

Deuteronomy 6:5-7a [NKJV]

Fulfilling the great command-ment to love God with all our heart, soul and mind calls for a commitment of all our be-ing and gives purposes to our existence. Living out our faith models to the next generation an authenticity that perpetuates the forward movement of God’s kingdom. Toward that end, it is critically important for each generation to leave a legacy that impacts the lives of our children and grandchildren with the teachings of God’s Word.

Scripture emphasizes the importance of generosity as a key component of the Christian life. How are we teaching this key scriptural value to the next generation? Our children best

learn about generosity through our own personal actions. As we seek to tithe and give to the kingdom, our children take notice. They see Matthew 6:21 lived out—“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

Through our generosity for the sake of the kingdom, the next generation sees the pas-sion of our hearts. They see our desires to financially sup-port the ministries of the local church, to fund mission efforts around the world, to improve the lives of students in Chris-tian colleges and universi-ties and to help those in need. Through our generosity we impact the next generation as they see our love for God lived out through our stewardship of God’s blessings!

Jeff Steed is director of planned giv-ing for the Southern Baptists of Texas Foundation. For more information, visit sbtexasfoundation.com.

IMPACTING THE NEXT GENERATION

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016 TEXAS 11

CHURCH POSITIONS

PASTOR u Meadowbrook BC, Rockdale, is seeking a FT pastor. Rockdale has a population of 5,500 and is halfway between Austin & Bryan. Must be strictly Southern Baptist and adhere to the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message. Resumes accepted through July 31. Mail to Search Committee, P.O. Box 996, Rockdale, TX 76567 or email ggreen4911@sbcglobal.net. u West Shore BC, Sandia, (rural area; 30 miles N of Corpus Christi) seeks FT pastor with 5 years’ experience and a Master of Divinity. Submit no later than 06/17/2016. Parsonage available. Mail resume to: Pastor Search Committee, c/o Jim Bell, 150 FM 534, Sandia, TX 78383 or email to jebell@eprod.com u New Colony BC is seeking a FT pastor. Send resume to New Colony Baptist Church, Pastoral Committee, 3086 Hwy 59 N, Linden, TX 75563 or newcolonybaptistchurch@yahoo.com. u FBC Cameron seeks FT senior pastor. Ideal candidate will have prior youth minister or pastor experience. Strong preaching, leadership, communication and people skills. Competitive compensation package with available parsonage. Send resume in confidence to fbccameron@outlook.com. u FBC Jewett is seeking a FT senior pastor. Send resume to donna.ellis81@yahoo.com or PO Box 263, Jewett, TX 78546. u Grace BC, Salado, is seeking a FT pastor. A minimum of five years’ pastoral experience is required. Resumes will be accepted until filled and should be sent via email to gracebcsalado@embarqmail.com. Receipt of resume will be acknowledged. Salado is located approximately 50 miles north of Austin, TX. u FBC of Roby seeks FT pastor. Parsonage available. Send resume to FBC Roby, PO Box 460, Roby, TX, 79543 or email to fbcroby@sbcglobal.net. u FBC Galveston is seeking a FT pastor who holds at least a master’s degree, has at least five years’ FT ministry experience as an associate pastor or senior pastor. For a complete profile, see:

fbcgalveston.com/fbc-galveston-pastor-search. All inquiries and materials should be directed to the Pastor Search Committee by email to fbcgalvestonpastorsearch@gmail.com. u Eastside BC of New Braunfels is accepting resumes through August 1, 2016, for the position of bi-vocational pastor. Eastside is a small SBC church. Send resume with references to: kmlehmann@satx.rr.com or Eastside Baptist Church, Attn: Kathy Lehmann, 983 Holly St, New Braunfels, TX 78130. u Eastside BC of McCamey seeks a bi-vocational or FT pastor. Please consider researching the area prior to submitting a resume. Parsonage and utilities furnished. Please submit a resume to Eastside Baptist Church, PO Box 786, McCamey, TX 79752 or highpockets54@live.com.u Triple C Christ Cowboy Church in Snook is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Please send resumes to PO Box 471, Snook, TX 77878 or email mike@mikebishop.us. u Luella FBC is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Please send resumes to Patty Madison, chairman of Pastor Search Committee by email at pjmprinc@aol.com or mail to 3162 State Hwy 11, Sherman, TX 75090. u FBC Flat is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Parsonage included. Send resume to FBC Flat Search Committee, PO Box 87, Flat, TX 76526 or email to wadeparker1103@gmail.com. u FBC Blum seeking bi-vocational pastor. Parsonage included. Send resumes to First Baptist Church, attn: Sam Howard, 207 E 3rd St, Blum, TX 76627. u Maplewood Baptist Fellowship, North Richland Hills, is seeking a bi-vocational senior pastor. Please submit resumes to tara@maplewoodfellowship.org. u Lone Oak BC near Snook, TX, 15 miles from Bryan-College Station is seeking a bi-vocational pastor. Parsonage available. Submit resumes to mschoe3058@aol.com or Pastor Search Committee, PO Box 300, Snook, TX 77878.

MUSICu Emmanuel BC in southwest OK is prayerfully searching for a FT worship minister to lead with passion our blended music and worship ministry. Send resumes

to EBC, 800 N Forrest, Altus, OK 73521 or email to ebcaltus@sbcglobal.net. u Highland Park BC, Bartlesville, OK, a conservative, reformed Southern Baptist Church, is seeking a FT worship pastor to lead in a blended worship style service. Preferred abilities include choir conducting and media skills. Visit our website at highlandparkbaptist.net. Email resume to: office@highlandparkbaptist.net. u FBC New Braunfels is accepting resumes for a FT music minister until July 15. Worship style is updated blended using contemporary instruments, praise team and choir. Responsible for organizing, managing, and leading the church’s music ministries. Seminary degree with music emphasis and church ministerial staff experience desired. Send resumes with references and video sample to musicministersearch@fbcnb.org. u Main Street BC, Grand Saline, is seeking a FT worship leader. Must be able to play instruments, direct choir and move into community. Send resume to David@churchonmainstreet.com or call Edell Davis at 409-489-5323. u Cornerstone Baptist Church in Lucas is looking for a pastor of worship & creative arts who is gifted instrumentally and administratively. He will have the ability to recruit, train and shepherd volunteers and execute technical, creative and musical aspects of the church. Contact Darrell Edwards, pastor@cbcLucas.com or 2242 W Lucas Rd, Lucas, TX 75002.

COMBINATIONu Connection Church, a growing church plant in Spearfish, SD, has multiple staff openings for combination positions in the areas of worship, small groups, children, youth, college, and administration. For details, please go to: http://spearfishconnection.com/who-we-are/paid-positions. For more information, contact 605-559-1020. u Calvary BC, Lufkin, is seeking a bi-vocational director of music and media, responsible for musical worship, planning blended worship music for Sunday services in collaboration with lead pastor’s sermons, directing

choir rehearsal on Wednesday evening, and managing basic media and technology. Please submit resumes to secretary.cbc@icloud.com.

YOUTHu FBC of Newton is seeking a FT youth pastor. Please contact Pastor Dean Ferguson at 409-379-3381 or email resumes to pastor@newtonfbc.com. u Indiana Ave BC in Lubbock is seeking a FT minister of youth. The qualified candidate will need both education (bachelor’s degree minimum) and experience (at least three years full-time). Over 100 students are waiting for you. Send resumes to tommy.martin@iabc.org. u Kirkwood Church, Houston, is seeking a FT student pastor to work with high school and college students. Contact Pastor David Mai 281-495-7783 or email resume to davidmai_79201@yahoo.com. u Community BC, Crosby, is seeking a FT student pastor. If interested, please send resumes to dwilliams@cbccrosby.org.

OTHERu Calvary BC of Pampa is seeking a FT families pastor. Primary responsibility will be pastoring a growing youth department as well as overseeing leadership in children’s ministries. Resumes may be sent to calvarybaptist@cableone.net. u FBC of Troy is in need of paid nursery workers. Nursery workers need to be at least 18 years of age and available to work on Sunday mornings, Sunday evenings, Wednesday evenings and would occasionally be needed for other special occasions. Workers can expect to regularly work 8-9 hours per week. If you or someone you know would be interested in this position, please contact the church office at 254-938-2582 or fbctroytx@fbctroytx.org for an application. u Panhandle Baptist Association in Guymon, Oklahoma is seeking an associational missionary. We would consider a bi-vocational/semi-retired individual. Send resumes to PBA; Attn. A.M. Search Committee, 221 NE 12th St, Guymon, OK 73942 or pbaok221@gmail.com.

Announcementsu Saundra (Snipes) Mayo was born May 5, 1937 in Brownwood, Texas and died April 29. She was a faithful member of Hillcrest Baptist Church, Cedar Hill, Texas. She was an outstanding basketball player for Early High School. She attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary while her husband was a student. She worked with youth in churches where her husband served as Minister of Education and Youth. She had a compassion for giving a witness for Christ. She is survived by her husband of 60 years, Benny. Children: Penny Varian and husband, Lee. Kitty Yntema and husband, Howard; brothers, Weyland Snipes and wife, Patti, Jack Snipes and wife, Brenda, aunt, Mickey Mathis and a host of nieces, nephews and cousins. She is also survived by 8 grandchildren and 5 greatgrandchildren. She was preceded in death by her parents, sister, Wynell (Snipes) Winslett and brother, Tommy Snipes.

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complementarianism in a post titled “Complementarianism for Dummies.”

“Though the concept of male-female complementar-ity can be seen from Genesis through Revelation, the label ‘complementarian’ has only been in use for about 25 years,” Kassian wrote. “The need for such a label arose in response to the proposition that equality means role-interchangeability (egalitarianism)—a concept first forwarded and popular-ized in evangelical circles in the 1970s and 1980s by ‘Bibli-cal Feminists.’”

Kassian debunked the myth that complementarians consid-er women inferior to men.

“Essentially, a complemen-tarian is a person who be-lieves that God created male and female to reflect comple-mentary truths about Jesus,” Kassian wrote. ”That’s the bottom-line meaning of the word. Complementarians believe that males were de-signed to shine the spotlight on Christ’s relationship to the church (and the LORD God’s relationship to Christ) in a way that females cannot, and that females were designed to shine the spotlight on the church’s relationship to Christ (and Christ’s relationship to the LORD God) in a way that males cannot. Who we are as male and female is ultimately not about us. It’s about testify-ing to the story of Jesus. We do not get to dictate what man-hood and womanhood are all about. Our Creator does.”

Alexander Strauch, in his book Men and Women, Equal Yet Different: A Brief Study of the Biblical Passages on Gender, describes the disparate views on gender within Christendom as an “emotionally charged con-troversy that divides churches and denominations worldwide.” Still, he said, the gender roles de-bate is an issue from which no

one can hide and one which no one should try to avoid.

Strauch points out that each view is represented by a ma-jor organization—comple-mentarianism by CBMW and egalitarianism by Christians for Biblical Equality (CBE).

CBE says it exists “to promote bib-lical justice and community by educating Chris-tians that the Bi-ble calls women and men to share authority equally in service and leadership in the home, church and world.” The group formed on Jan. 2, 1988, led by Gilbert Bilezikian, W. Ward Gasque, Stanley Gundry, Gretchen Gaebelein Hull, Catherine Clark Kroeger, Jo Anne Lyon and Roger Nicole.

INTERPRETING SCRIPTUREComplementarians draw

their convictions on role dis-tinctions from the “plain, lit-eral, straightforward teaching of the Bible on gender,” Strauch argues in Men and Women, Equal Yet Different.

Patterson echoed Strauch’s view, saying a natural reading of Scripture is the most appro-priate hermeneutical approach to understanding what the Bi-ble says and means.

“If you read [1 Timothy with a] natural reading of the text, there is no way to get around what it’s saying,” Pat-terson explained.

Complementarian scholars typically cite five key Scrip-ture passages that define gen-der roles in the home and in the church:

u Genesis 2 describes a pre-fall design for male headship in the home and the designa-tion of the wife as a helper to her husband;

u Genesis 3 describes the post-fall curse that women would have a desire for their husbands, which some inter-

pret as a desire to rule over or over-come;

u Ephesians 5 instructs wives to submit to their hus-bands and charges husbands with the responsibility of lead-ing and loving their wives—both in emulation of the rela-tionship between Christ and his church;

u 1 Timothy 2 prohibits women from teaching men or exercising authority over them within the context of the church; and

u 1 Timothy 3 presents qual-ifications for overseers (com-monly known today as pastors or elders) and deacons, indicat-ing they are offices reserved for men (though some comple-mentarians differ on whether women can serve as deacons).

Egalitarians argue the insti-tution of gender roles followed the fall and therefore are not what God called good. They propose that Christians should seek to overcome the distortion of roles, equating submission with inferiority.

CBE claims that “the Bible, properly interpreted, teaches the fundamental equality of men and women of all ethnic groups, all economic classes, and all age groups, based on the teachings of Scriptures such as Galatians 3:28: ‘There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’”

Complementarians, how-ever, interpret Galatians 3:28 as pertaining to salvation being available to all people and not role interchangeability.

The egalitarian view that roles are interchangeable is essential to their belief that God calls women to the pas-torate, a primary goal of the organization Women in Min-istry, founded in 1983 by dis-enchanted Southern Baptist

women at the en-

c o u r a g e m e n t of the Woman’s Missionary Union, Christian Life Com-mission and several Southern Baptist seminaries.

The group changed its name to Baptist Women in Minis-try in 1995 and continues to promote women as pastors. Funding schools and churches include Truett Seminary at Baylor University, First Baptist in Austin, Wilshire Baptist in Dallas, Willow Meadows Bap-tist in Houston and Calvary Baptist in Waco.

BAPTIST FAITH & MESSAGESouthern Baptists have set

as their statement of faith The Baptist Faith and Mes-sage (BF&M). First crafted in 1925 and revised since, the BF&M delineates what South-ern Baptists have agreed to be the theological tenets of their faith, practice, and cooperation with each other and serves as a way to “define and defend its beliefs,” according to the study committee that drafted the re-vision adopted in 2000.

In the BF&M 2000, Article 6 affirms the equality as well as the role distinctions of men and women in the local church.

“While both men and wom-en are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture,” the document reads. There is no stipulation that women cannot serve in non-pastoral roles, and local churches exercise autonomy in their practice of employ-ing women in non-preaching assignments.

Article 18 affirms the equal value yet different roles God has ascribed to men and wom-en, this time within the sphere of the family.

“The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s

image,” the article reads. “The marriage relationship mod-els the way God relates to his

people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the

church. He has the God-given responsibility to

provide for, to pro-tect, and to lead his

family. A wife is to submit herself gra-ciously to the ser-vant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ. She, be-ing in the image of

God as is her hus-band and thus equal

to him, has the God-given responsibility

to respect her husband and to serve as his helper

in managing the house-hold and nurturing the next

generation.”While the BF&M 2000 does

place the role of pastor as as-signed to a man (1 Timothy 3), the document does not in-clude other aspects Scripture addresses such as the instruc-tion of 1 Timothy 2:11 that a woman must not “teach or have authority over a man.” Nor is the debatable role of women as deacons addressed in the document. The BF&M is not intended to be a complete statement of faith or to have “any quality of finality or in-fallibility,” according to BF&M study committee.

COMPLEMENTARIANISM IN THE SBCSBC entities are guided by

the BF&M 2000, which pres-ents a complementarian view of gender roles. Additionally, several Southern Baptist semi-naries have also officially ad-opted the Danvers Statement as a doctrinal document.

Midwestern Baptist Theo-logical Seminary Provost Jason Duesing, who serves as a board member for CBMW and edi-tor for the Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, said, “As all the seminaries of the Southern Baptist Conven-tion have reaffirmed their con-fessional commitments over the last two decades, … those who serve in and attend these schools are not left wondering where the institution stands and thus have great freedom to work within these standards.”

Duesing said observers don’t have to look too far back to see that this was not always the case, and with ambiguity came confusion and theological drift.

“These [doctrinal] statements serve as helpful guardrails that provide the minimal boundar-ies for cooperation and instruc-tion as the seminaries seek to serve the churches,” he said.

Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and a

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N12 COMPLEMENTARIANISM sbtexan

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In Their Own WordsH A N D L I N G 1 C O R I N T H I A N S 1 4 : 3 4 - 3 5 A N D 1 T I M O T H Y 2 : 1 1 - 1 2

“While these two New Testament passages are often confusing to women, they have profound biblical truths. The command to ‘keep silent’ does not reflect a prejudice against women. God gifts women with the abilities to think and speak. The command is about order in the congregation. Women should not speak critically or judgmentally, but demonstrating submission to the Lord and spiritual leaders in the church, listen and learn. Most of us learn more when we listen with an open heart and willing attitude.”

+ R H O N D A K E L L E Y NEW ORLEANS BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

CBMW board member, said the Wake Forest school also affirms the BF&M 2000 and the Danvers Statement.

“Both personally and at Southeastern, we affirm with-out any hesitation or reserva-tion that God calls men to a lead-ership assignment—a servant leadership assignment—both in the home and in the church,” Akin said. “Men and women are equal in essence before God, but there are specific assignments and functions related to our gender both in the home and the church,” he added.

When it comes to faculty at Southeastern Seminary, those positions that very closely ap-proximate the office of the elder and pastor are also reserved for men. “So, for example, I would not have a woman teach preach-ing, pastoral ministries or theol-ogy,” Akin said. “I would never hire to a [church or seminary] leadership position an egalitar-ian. I would also never allow an egalitarian to teach a Bible study in a church that I was leading.”

Speaking to an April 2016 conference on complementarity organized by CBMW, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler Jr. cautioned attendees to remember that a secular worldview current-ly shapes the viewpoints promot-ed on university campuses, what comes out of Hollywood and what is messaged to the culture.

Referring to CBMW, Mohler said, “It’s a deeply subversive or-ganization in all the right ways. As I tell people, it’s not a con-spiracy if you tell people you’re doing it, and so this isn’t a con-spiracy. We’re just very, very clear about the fact that what we hope for, teach for, pray for, preach for, raise our children for, is a recovery of all that Scripture presents as God’s design.”

Among the most popular speakers at last fall’s LifeWay Women’s Leadership Forum in Hendersonville, Tenn., was

Southern Baptist Jen Wilkin, who has written blogs on wom-en in church leadership posi-tions but does not argue for women serving as pastors.

More than a decade ago she began speaking to the practical application of the complementarian viewpoint, writing an Oct. 17, 2003, post for The Gospel Coalition titled “Pastors need women teachers (and vice versa).”

“There is little dis-agreement among Christians that wom-en can and should teach women,” Wilkin acknowledged. If the gift of teaching has been given to women, she asked, “How might a pastor properly value, cultivate and employ the gifting of women teachers?”

A staff member at the Flower Mound campus of The Village Church, Wilkin went on to of-fer insight into how women can be a valuable asset in church life and a help to their pastors. She expressed a desire, too, for male leaders who will help train women leaders well so that they in turn can train other women well.

“As those uniquely designed to speak truth to others of our gender, we need you to com-mit to help us ‘handle the truth’ with the seriousness and skill it deserves,” Wilkin wrote. “In do-ing so, you follow the example of the greatest Teacher who walked the earth.”

The late W.A. Criswell, long-time pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas, was described as a pioneer in utilizing women in ministry, according to a paper Su-sie Hawkins, wife of GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins, present-ed in 2010 as part of the Criswell Theological Lecture series.

In addition to hiring women, involving them in lay positions and including them on the plat-form alongside their deacon husbands who led in prayer on Sunday mornings, Criswell ac-tively sought the input of key women in his church on a regu-

lar basis, H a w k i n s explained.

“He often prayed with the women staff members, spoke with them frequently and lis-tened to their counsel,” she said. “And he was equally engaged with the women in the church,” she added, describing his use of a “women’s council” made up of leading women who were in-vited to meet monthly with the pastor to discuss matters related to the church.

In a Jan. 20, 2016, post for the North American Mission Board’s sendnetwork.com blog, church planter Tanner Turley encouraged a similar approach to including women in key roles and listening to their input.

“One of the best moves I ever made as a young church planter was seeing the game changing possibilities of ‘recruiting’ a god-ly, mission-minded young lady in our sending church named Abbey. She, along with our three church planting wives, proved to be invaluable assets for our team that moved to Boston to start Redemption Hill Church.”

Kathy Litton, who serves as a national consultant for min-istry to pastors’ wives and leads

F l o u r i s h , NAMB’s online

equipping community for ministry wives, also speaks publicly about the value wom-en staffers bring to Christian ministry. Litton affirmed Tur-ley’s blog post, saying, “Women can strengthen the leadership team at church plants as well as existing churches. Their per-spective, skills and heart for the lost will expand the perspective of the larger team that might be all male. Together they work to create informed and inclusive ministry to the community around them, which already operates in an inclusive way.”

Julie McGowan, public rela-tions leader for the Interna-tional Mission Board, told the TEXAN that the missions agen-cy seeks to conform missionary practices with the SBC’s doctri-nal commitments.

“On the international field, missionaries serving with the International Mission Board are required to adhere to a comple-mentarian stance in every area of their ministry, including church planting, follow-up and discipleship, family ministry, and theological education,” Mc-Gowan said.

“In many cultures around the world, only women can share the gospel with women, and only women can disciple women,” making it essential for women to be able to communi-

cate effectively, she said.In a local church setting,

church leaders should recog-nize the giftings of women and help them find ways to serve their local congrega-tions, Patterson said.

“Churches ... have not always recognized the gifts of women and the appropriate ways they

work within the kingdom,” she observed.

“But, all the work in the church is not paid position

work,” Patterson continued. “And I think we have not chal-lenged women enough to let them see a vision—remind them again of all those things that we do as Jesus did them—behind the scenes and without com-pensation, without recognition, but just in ministering to hu-man needs. We’ve kind of lost sight of that as it was exempli-fied in our Savior himself.”

Candi Finch, assistant pro-fessor of theology in women’s studies at Southwestern Semi-nary, says Christian women have Betty Friedan, author of the feminist manifesto The Fem-inine Mystique, to thank for the notion that for work to be val-ued, it has to be compensated.

Finch, a self-proclaimed for-mer feminist, believes secular feminists “placed themselves as authorities over Scripture and viewed God’s Word as an instru-ment of oppression.”

“Here’s the truth,” Finch said. “This is a very divisive issue in the church today, even holding a conversation with someone who holds a different view.

“Our goal is to be obedient. So if you’re convinced that this is what the Word of God says, that’s the end—you’re obedient.”

As complementarians hold to their convictions, though, Finch said, “We’re always to be ready to give an answer to the hope that we have, but we do it with gentleness and respect.”

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In Their Own WordsE M B R A C I N G W O M A N H O O D

“Embracing womanhood came with embracing the gospel—being changed by what Christ did for me on the cross; being changed by the Holy Spirit; but also community. I don’t think I would have had a renewed mind if it weren’t for women walking with me, but also, equally, men walking with me. Having pastors to lovingly guide me in this but also to show me that all men are not like I think men to be. But for young women, my heart, as of late, is simply for them to believe that the Bible is true, and in believing that the Bible is true, also seeing that what God calls women to be is wise and good. I think the culture is trying to communicate to us that it’s not good, nor is God wise in doing and saying what he is. But it’s like, ‘No. The culture doesn’t define the character of God. God defines the character of God.’ So if I can submit myself under that, then I’ll actually experience joy and peace.”

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In Their Own WordsM O T H E R I N G

“Don’t believe the whispers of the world or your own heart that your children are just getting in the way of something better or that they would be better off being raised by a different mother. They are God’s blessings to you. God chose you to be your children’s mom. He chose your voice to sing them songs, your imagination to tell them stories and your way to teach them to fold laundry or bake and fish and cook. The little moments of your presence—these are the things they will remember. They don’t want a perfect mom. They just want a mom who loves to be theirs.”

+ G R A C E A N N A C A S T L E B E R R Y WIFE, MOTHER, AUTHOR

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N sbtexan

WOMEN’S ROLES IN SBC FOCUS OF ADVISORY COUNCIL

By Baptist Press

ATLANTA— A diverse group of 18 women is studying the perspectives and strategies women in Southern Baptist churches bring to the God-given task of fulfilling the Great Commission.

They comprise the Women’s Ministry Advisory Council ap-pointed by Frank S. Page, presi-dent of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Com-mittee. The council joins a list of advisory councils Page has appointed to provide insight into the needs, desires and goals of the many groups repre-sented in SBC life.

“We are excited about encouraging our leaders in women’s ministries across our convention,” Page said when he announced plans to form the council. “Women, we appreciate you, and you are not alone!

“In each [advisory coun-cil] meeting, we have sought to educate and encourage various demographic subsets about the ‘proven and effec-tive cooperative framework’ of our Southern Baptist Con-vention, foster open dialogue, and instill the essence of any and all concerns,” Page said. “We have sought to encourage confidence in the SBC way of doing missions.”

Advisory council mem-ber Chris Adams, senior lead women’s ministry special-ist with LifeWay Christian Resources and a member of Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., praised Page’s efforts.

“Many women in South-ern Baptist churches do not feel valued as leaders though they want to make a kingdom difference,” she noted at the advisory council’s first meet-

ing. “The fact that the SBC Ex-ecutive Committee has asked about women in our churches is huge. Thank you for affirm-ing the value of women and en-couraging the use of our spiri-tual gifts in ministry.”

Rhonda Kelley, an adjunct professor of women’s ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theo-logical Seminary where her husband Chuck Kelley is presi-dent, chairs the council.

“While the SBC has always valued the worth of women and followed the biblical guidelines for female roles in the church,” Rhonda Kelley said of the group, “there is a sincere desire to increase the involvement of Southern Bap-tist women in biblically appro-priate ways at all levels of the convention and to provide the support services to maximize their service.”

Kelley, a member of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, referenced LifeWay Research indicating women comprise about 52 percent of church congregations. Historically, she said, women have often been the majority in church atten-dance and in participation in service projects.

Southern Baptist women are encouraged to participate in the council’s online sur-vey at surveymonkey.com/r/SouthernBaptistWomen. In addition, comments may be emailed to sbwomen@sbc.net.

Kelley described input from women across the SBC as “essential for the task force to complete its important as-signment.”

The advisory council will work throughout 2016 and present its findings to Page in an official report, expected to focus on ways to increase women’s participation in church and SBC life. The inau-

gural meeting was held Jan. 7-8 in Atlanta.

Questions considered by the council at the first meet-ing centered on the minis-tries, training and resources the SBC provides for women; effective evangelistic meth-ods and resources in reaching women with the gospel; any additional support women might need from the SBC; and recommendations re-garding women’s ministry to be made to the SBC Executive Committee.

Women from 14 states com-prise the council, representing different age groups, stages of life, ethnic backgrounds, and ministry positions.

Joining Kelley and Adams are:

u Jacqueline “Jacki” Ander-son, pastor’s wife, Women in Ministry director and execu-

tive assistant, Colonial Baptist Church, Randallstown, Md.;

u Tabitha Barnette, pastor’s wife and speaker, Peace Baptist Church, Decatur, Ga.;

u Brandi Biesiadecki, pas-tor’s wife, writer, speaker and women’s minister, First Baptist Church, Bartlesville, Okla.;

u Linda Cooper, Woman’s Missionary Union president and a member of Forest Park Baptist Church, Bowling Green, Ky.;

u Lourdes Fernandez, an at-torney and a member of River-side Baptist Church, Miami;

u Candi Finch, professor of theology in women’s studies at Southwestern Baptist Theo-logical Seminary and a member of Hope Church, Fort Worth, Texas;

u Ann Iorg, wife of Gold-en Gate Baptist Theological Seminary President Jeff Iorg

and a member of First Baptist Church, San Francisco;

u Elizabeth Luter, wife of Southern Baptist Convention immediate past president Fred Luter and women’s min-istries director of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans;

u Davee Ly, pastor’s wife, school teacher, speaker and Sunday school director at First Hmong Baptist Church, Mor-ganton, N.C.;

u Ana Melendez, Hispanic state women’s consultant and a member of Iglesia Cristo Es Rey, Bolingbrook, Ill.;

u Mary Mohler, wife of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler and a member of Third Avenue Baptist Church, Louis-ville, Ky.;

u Trillia Newbell, director of community outreach for the SBC Ethics and Religious Liber-ty Commission, and a member of Redemption City Church, Franklin, Tenn.;

u Rhonda Rhea, pastor’s wife, columnist and speaker, and a member of First Baptist Church, Troy, Mo.;

u Myra Sermon, registered nurse and nursing consultant, and a Sunday school teacher at Grace Filipino Church, Wood-bridge, Va.;

u Ashley Unzicker, church history songwriter, rapper, Southeastern Baptist Theo-logical Seminary student, and a member of The Summit Church, Durham, N.C.;

u Angela Um, founder and CEO of Boston Academic Con-sulting Group, and wife of the pastor of Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, Mass.

14 COMPLEMENTARIANISM

Women’s Ministry Advisory Council members in attendance at the inaugural meeting are, seated left to right, Chris Adams, Rhonda Kelley, Rhonda Rhea and Ana Melendez; and standing left to right, Jacqueline “Jacki” Anderson, Brandi Biesiadecki, Lourdes Fernandez, Elizabeth Luter, Trillia Newbell, Davee Ly, Candi Finch, Tabitha Barnette and Ashley Unzicker. They are joined by Frank S. Page. PHOTO BY ROGER S. OLDHAM

In Their Own WordsW O M E N I N M I N I S T R Y

“Neo-complementarianism is exploring how to apply the biblical parameters regarding gender while fully utilizing women and their giftedness in the local church. This is a good thing! Our seminaries are graduating hundreds of bright, well-trained and biblically astute women. Will they only have opportunities to serve in women’s ministry or children’s ministry? While I believe those are two crucial ministries for the local church, surely they aren’t the only ones where women can creatively use their leadership skills and theological education, whether on a staff or in lay leadership.

“[We must] remain firmly tethered to Scripture. We cannot add more to Scripture nor remove anything from it. Like most pastors’ wives, I have worked in just about every area of the church with the exception of RAs! In 45 years I have never known one woman who intended to ‘usurp authority’ from the pastor or male leadership. I hope when women are excluded or passed over for leadership, it is on the basis of the biblical gender parameters (such as being a pastor or elder) or that she is simply not qualified for the position, rather than on a general suspicion of women trying to control men.”

+ S U S I E H A W K I N S AUTHOR, SPEAKER

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016

BIO SKETCHES: COMPLEMENTARIANWOMEN SERVING IN MINISTRY

By Melissa DemingTEXAN Correspondent

NANCY TURNER has served as a pastor’s wife almost as long as she’s been married. Mar-ried for 32 years, Turner and her husband, Terry, have served for the past 25 years at Mes-quite Friend-ship Baptist Church (MFBC), a congregation that welcomes a robust female pres-ence in service, while reserv-ing the role of pastor to men.

“God created man and wom-an as equals but with different roles.” Turner said, referring to God’s design for the home and family. “Male leadership carries over into the church. Women are not allowed to teach men.”

Turner said her heart is to help women and children to draw nearer to God, a passion manifested in her role as the teacher of an adult women’s Sunday school class and a mid-dle school Wednesday night Bible study.

“Our church has women who serve as deaconesses,” Turner said. “It is not a position of leadership but one of ser-vice. Several of the ladies are married to deacons; however, that is not one of the qualifica-tions for being asked to serve as a deaconess.”

Turner said the role of dea-coness at MFBC is simple. “We prepare the communion table, assist the female baptismal candidates, and make sure an adequate supply of baptismal and communion supplies are always on hand.”

“On a personal note, I do not believe the role of a deacon-ess is the same as a deacon,” Turner said, referring to the biblical character of Phoebe in Romans 16:1. “Although the word servant is used in 1 Timo-thy 3:8, 10, 12, 13 to explain the qualifications of a deacon, I do not believe that Paul is recom-mending Phoebe in the exact manner. Whether you are a deacon or a deaconess, your primary attitude should be that of a servant.”

ANITA WOOD has served as director of education and evangelism at Memorial Bap-tist Church in Spring since 2011 and has worked with SBTC’s women’s min-istries since 2004.

“My church is a very conser-vative SBC congregation, and

I am honored to serve them as staff,” Wood said, noting Memorial has two additional female staff members serving children. “There is a distinc-tion among our staff titles, in-dicating their understanding of gender roles. Our church ad-dresses male staff members as pastors and female staff mem-bers as directors.

“Certainly all people are cre-ated by God equally; however, God established a chain of com-mand and authority whereby families and churches remain healthy. Men are to lead their homes and serve as pastors of congregations,” Wood said, adding that if a man held her position, he would probably undertake additional roles ex-cluded from her job descrip-tion such as administering the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s Supper as well as teach-ing men.

“In my particular ministry as director of education and evangelism, I am consciously aware of my role and respon-sibilities,” Wood said. “I serve at the pleasure of my church and my pastor, seeking to hon-or him as the ultimate God-ordained authority for this local body of Christ. I feel free to discuss matters with him, and he listens to my ideas and opinions. Should we ever dis-agree, I willingly submit to his authority and position.”

“For example, in staff meet-ings I have opportunity to share from a female perspec-tive. This offers insight into families and church members that broadens our collective understandings. When I am with our congregation, I inten-tionally address our pastors by their titles—Pastor Cliff or Pas-tor Scott—so as not to dishonor them before our people. I want my speech to be honoring of their role and the godly men they are.”

ANN HETTINGER was called to ministry in a time when few women committed to full-time Christian ser-vice. In col-lege and as a young mar-ried woman, she served a variety of churches in ad-ministrative roles. When her husband’s profession relocated them to the northern U.S., Hettinger served as a church secretary to a medium-sized church, where she was the only full-time staff member.

“The daily run of activities initiated at my desk, and God was my very present help in every moment of that journey,”

Hettinger recounted. When her husband’s job relocated them to the Northwest, she served a small church as edu-cation assistant for seven years teaching children. And when they later moved to Texas, God provided service opportunities in a large church.

Believing Scripture is defini-tive concerning the male-only pastoral role, Hettinger said there are so many tasks wom-en may fill that she cannot imagine “a woman not being able to match up her gift with some need.”

“For over 30 years, God trained, moved, provided over and over again in my life to take all of these experiences and use them for the last 22 years serv-ing families in public policy influence,” said Hettinger, who currently serves as the state di-rector for Concerned Women for America.

Hettinger believes the scrip-tural instructions related to pastoral roles in church do not apply to women serving in government roles.

“Indeed, the Scripture is re-plete with examples of women who bear strong governmen-tal responsibilities,” she said, pointing to Deborah in the Old Testament. “In my view, women bring to the public pol-icy arena experience as unique and necessary as men bring. There is no governmental task that does not involve both genders’ consideration in the same way that we need multi-generational and multi-ethnic considerations.”

DEBORAH PEARLE had the privilege of leading her future husband, Bob, to Christ in high school. “Need-less to say, it changed not only his life but mine as well,” Pearle said, recount-ing her journey as a pastor’s wife.

Looking back over their 44 years of marriage, Pearle says her call to serve alongside her husband was a defining mark in her life. “There’s no joy like serving the people of a local church.”

While Birchman Baptist Church in Fort Worth reserves the teaching of mixed audience roles to men, Pearle said her position as pastor’s wife has af-forded her with countless ser-vice opportunities, including serving as women’s ministry director, playing the piano, lead-ing children’s and youth choirs, teaching Sunday school and Bi-ble studies, leading VBS, taking mission trips, mentoring young

women, and singing in the choir. Pearle considered each of these service roles as acts of love for Christ and her church family as well as a complement-ing function to her husband’s leadership role as pastor.

“We miss the biblical mean-ing that Christ has for our homes when we take the po-sition of equal authority,” she said. “Christ himself, who is the equal part of the God-head, took a position of sub-mission to the Father. His ex-ample sums it up for me. My flesh wants the recognition, but by taking the view Scrip-ture explains, I have found tremendous joy, peace and sat-isfaction I never experienced when I believed the lie that I didn’t have to submit.”

MELANIE LENOW has ful-filled many roles in her life-time—biblical counselor, stu-dent, pastor’s wife, and chiefly, mother to four children.

“I have been incredibly blessed to have the opportu-nity to work alongside many women in my church and c o m m u n i t y for the cause of Christ,” said Lenow, who has a master’s in biblical counseling. “Each of my experiences has one common thread, though. Another very talented woman could step into my place at any given time and do an equally effective job.”

However, Lenow believes dif-ferently of the role of mother-hood. “Each child has [his or her] own personality, gifts, talents and struggles. God places specif-ic children with specific parents purposefully. This means there is no other woman on earth who can mother my children the way God has created me to mother them. I am not saying I am perfect at the job, but in God’s wisdom he has placed me in that role,” she said. “He wants the mother and father to be the primary influence on a child’s life until adulthood. Therefore, if I am absent from my children, even doing other good things, I am missing out on the one job that God has given to me and no one else.”

For this reason, Lenow be-lieves motherhood to be the highest calling, whether a woman is mothering a biologi-cal or adopted child.

Motherhood also requires making hard decisions about setting aside certain ministries for seasons. “I thoroughly en-joyed acting as women’s min-istry leader at my church, but with the ages of my children, I

have had to lay it down for the season,” she said, appreciating the fact that God has used her circumstances to introduce her to new ministry opportu-nities such as working with the teachers and other par-ents at her children’s school, serving as costume organizer/backstage manager for her church’s musical productions, and helping lead Locals for Life, a pro-life organization based in Fort Worth.

SUSIE EDWORTHY, current IMB missionary, felt called to ministry in the 7th grade—a role she thought would be ful-filled as a pas-tor’s wife. But while working on her mas-ter’s in religious education along-side her husband, Mark, God confirmed their call to the mis-sion field.

“God used many experi-ences from my upbringing as well as current challenges to show me his calling to serve overseas,” she said. “I was ex-cited that I could be a wom-an and have a great role in reaching the world. I heard a missionary woman share her experiences as wife and mom and how that impacted the kingdom. Throughout this time, though, I never felt that my calling was secondary nor limited.”

While noting that Scripture teaches different roles for the genders in both the church and home, Edworthy said, “That’s never really been a struggle for me as I’ve seen how God want-ed me to use my gifts that he gave, and he’s provided ways for me to do that.”

Even as an international missionary, Edworthy said her role as a full-time mother has opened doors unique to her. “During the years, I’ve been able to be active in the schools where my kids attended as well as some other schools.

“I’ve also seen great poten-tial to have impact on the lives of women. I haven’t seen my role limited because I wasn’t a male but always felt it was different. Having a chance to disciple women through the years has been great,” she said, referring to one of the roles she enjoys most—influencing younger missionaries.

“I’ve never seen different as lesser but have tried to enjoy where God has planted me and to take advantage of the opportunities he gives. I’ve seen that there have been times that I’ve had ministry because I was a woman.”

COMPLEMENTARIANISM 15

By Sharayah ColterNews Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Twenty-seven leaders in the evangelical com-munity gathered to address attendees of the Council of Biblical Manhood and Wom-anhood’s (CBMW) Together for the Gospel pre-conference April 11-12 in Louisville, Ky. The conference, themed “The Beauty of Complementarity,” was designed to give attendees a chance to hear from an array of voices on complementarian-ism—the theological viewpoint held by Southern Baptists and many other evangelicals that distinguishes men from wom-en in regard to roles and func-tions while ascribing equal value to both genders.

The conference topic was not without controversy, with a large portion of those post-ing to the official social media hashtag #CBMW16 criticizing CBMW organizers for promot-ing patriarchy and limiting women’s involvement in cer-tain church and family roles. Speakers, however, stood firm in their alignment with com-plementarianism, citing bibli-cal texts that shape the view and noting their recognition that the issue of gender roles is one wrought with controversy.

“As we gather in this room, I am reminded how counter-cultural this very event is,” Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said at the outset of his 15-minute talk.

CBMW tasked Allen with addressing complementarian-ism and the disappearance of men. Allen cited statistics dem-onstrating that men no longer dominate the workforce, that one-fifth of able-bodied men

are unemployed, and that 60 percent of both college- and master’s-level graduates are female. While these statics are telling about society and cul-ture, Allen said what he most wants to examine is the state of the home and church.

“Regrettably … we acknowl-edge and we see around us that practically speaking, many of our churches are practically bereft of male leadership,” Al-len said. “And many churches abide in a subtle fog over what biblical manhood should look like. In many of our churches, biblical men are like corks of testosterone bobbing in ponds of estrogen.

“We have to acknowledge that pop evangelicalism has not done much to help. Even within the church, much of the emphasis on manhood has not been very helpful at all, and it sends us—encourages us— toward two different errone-ous poles. One of these poles has said in essence to be a bet-ter man, to be a better Christian man, men should become more like women: more thoughtful, more caring, more romantic, always mindful of expressions of romance and dutifully car-rying them out. The other pole, alternately, at times sounds much like a beer commercial, frankly, glorifying machismo, gruffness and honoring the strong arm. Through this, the church must recover biblical manhood, Christian masculin-ity—what we might think of as ‘sanctified testosterone.’”

Allen went on to offer five practical ways to foster the reappearance of biblical man-hood in the church and home, including frankly telling a church when a qualified man

is not available for a position rather than playing “word games” in changing titles so that a woman can fill the role out of pragmatism.

Trillia Newbell, a freelance writer and author who serves on staff with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commis-sion, gave her testimony to the group of how she came to leave feminism and embrace comple-mentarianism. Newbell said she grew up a liberal “holiday Christian” who was fully pro-choice and held Oprah as her role model.

Newbell said after she was saved in 1998 at the age of 19, God changed the entire course of her life.

“Something radical happened to my perceived notions of rights when God captured my heart with his gospel. Nothing was the same,” Newbell said. “As my heart began to be trans-formed, so was my worldview.

“I don’t have a strong desire to fight with the world or to fight with feminists or anyone. My desire is to proclaim Christ. He gave me new life, and I know that he can do that for anyone—

anyone listening, anyone out there, anyone you’re reaching out to. He does it. He transforms hearts. He transformed mine.”

Courtney Reissig, author of The Accidental Feminist, also gave her testimony dur-ing the conference, explain-ing how the Lord turned her once-rebellious heart toward a complementarian mindset. She described the journey to complementarianism as a “bumpy one,” and recalled that while her Christian fam-ily practiced the Bible’s teach-ing in that respect, she did not grow up knowing the term. Ultimately, God used her fam-ily and his Word to solidify in her mind an understanding that all humans are created equal as image bearers of God but that men and women have distinct roles.

Heath Lambert, executive director at the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and associate professor of bibli-cal counseling at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, also spoke, reminding attendees of the words of Psalm 119:37: “Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things.” Tying the

verse to the current trends, even among pastors, of looking at pornography, Lambert talked about how counter-comple-mentarian the specific sin is.

“If you look at pornography, you are not a complementar-ian,” Lambert said. “Every-thing about pornography un-dermines everything about complementarity.”

During a panel discussion, Southwestern Seminary’s Candi Finch, a theology pro-fessor in women’s studies, was asked what gender role-relat-ed issues arise in the classroom where she trains women for future ministry.

“I’ve been distressed of late because while I’m excited that we’re encouraging women to do what they are biblically en-couraged to do, I think some complementarians have gone too far,” Finch answered. Ref-erencing 1 Timothy 2, she ad-dressed those who claim that “as long as a woman is not au-thoritatively teaching, she can do whatever she would like in the church.”

“They’re saying as long as she is not the pastor, she’s not the authoritative teacher. That’s not what that Greek word didasko means. There’s not authoritative teaching and unauthoritative teach-ing,” Finch said, adding that such a distinction is unhelpful and unbiblical.

Also speaking during the pre-conference were Gavin Peacock; Thomas White; Dan-ny Akin; Grant Castleberry; Anthony Moore; Sam All-berry; John MacArthur; and John Piper, one of the CBMW’s founders and co-editor of Re-covering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a founda-tional book on complementar-ianism. Video of the sessions can be viewed at http://cbmw.o r g /u n c at e g o r i z e d / 2 0 1 6 -cbmw-conference-media.

EVANGELICALS GATHER FOR TWO-DAY CONFERENCE ON COMPLEMENTARIANISM

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N sbtexan16 COMPLEMENTARIANISM

In Their Own WordsI S C O M P L E M E N T A R I A N I S M R E S T R I C T I V E ?

“I can’t speak to every potentiality in the local church, but I can say this: the idea that complementarians are behind a cultural eight-ball thanks to the teaching of Jesus and his apostles is a non-starter. The design of God for the church is sufficient and glorious. This means Titus 2 ministry; this means calling singles to serve God in a kaleidoscope of doxological vocations (1 Cor. 7); this means training men to be shepherds of their home; this means mothers loving the biblical vocations of child-raising and homemaking, and much more. There’s no new word for us when it comes to these matters. God’s design for men and women in all its particulars is unbeatable. It not only is impressive in design, it is created for experiential joy.”

+ O W E N S T R A C H A N PRESIDENT, COUNCIL FOR BIBLICAL MANHOOD & WOMANHOOD

In Their Own WordsFINDING PLACES TO SERVE IN THE CHURCH

“If our churches would help women look at how they’re gifted—their personalities, their experiences—[and say], ‘Okay, based on this let’s see where you can best minister and fit into the kingdom,’ so that whether you’re paid or not, you get a sense that I am actually a valuable part of this whole church, and I fit my little puzzle piece. Churches [need to] affirm women for who God’s created them to be. We may have a fantastic Bible teacher. Let’s put her in the right place to be able to take women to the deep things of God.”

+ T E R R I S T O V A L L SOUTHWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

Southwestern Seminary women’s studies professor Candi Finch (second from right) shares her views on women in ministry during a panel discussion at CBMW’s pre-conference at T4G. PHOTO BY SHARAYAH COLTER

By Sharayah ColterNews Writer

LOUISVILLE, Ky. Owen Stra-chan, president of the Coun-cil on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood (CBMW), said that instead of a culture thriv-ing thanks to movements of feminism and egalitarianism, society is crumbling because of them. In a message April 11 at CBMW’s conference on “The Beauty of Complementarity,” Strachan pointed to the rise in marital separation and divorce and the effects of “hookup cul-ture” on college campuses as just two areas of society nega-tively impacted by movements of the previous century.

“This is in the age, by the way, of the great social ex-periment that has seemingly triumphed over the kind of viewpoint that we are talking

about in this conference. This is supposed to be when our culture is enjoying the spoils of egalitarianism and feminism,” Strachan said. “Instead, young men and women are experi-encing profound heartbreak, are on all sorts of medication, need hours of counseling. And we have to realize this is not a successful revolution.”

In rapid-fire fashion, Stra-chan offered 10 thoughts on how important complemen-tarity is to human flourishing, juxtaposing things the world says with responses from a biblical worldview.

Of the 10, Strachan first touched on the creation order.

“The world says that there is no such thing as hard and fast manhood and womanhood,” Strachan said. “Complemen-tarity says, in response, the man and the woman are God’s

own invention. We have been taught that the age of creation is the preeminent matter in Gen-esis 1. … But please note this, in Genesis 1, the apex of creation is not [the earth]. It is man and woman. It is male and female. That is the apex of God’s super-intelligent design, his creative work. It’s not the trees. It’s not the Grand Canyon. It’s man and woman. That is God’s mas-terpiece. What does that tell us about whether manhood and womanhood are important? Does that perhaps signal some-thing to us in our theological systems about how we should think about anthropology?”

Strachan gave three specific replies he would suggest of-fering to those who argue that issues of manhood and wom-anhood are trivial and less im-portant in the grand scheme of theological doctrines.

“Now the gospel is para-mount for Christians,” Strachan said. “Christ is our head, but even in speaking of that lan-guage, I’m using complemen-tarian verbiage. Am I not? If somebody says to you within the church that manhood and womanhood are really not that important—‘they’re nice little doctrines that if you want to kind of geek out and focus on those, we can have a club for people who are hopped up on manhood and womanhood, but the rest of us really aren’t going to focus on that stuff’—you tell them these three things:1 No doctrine of the Word

of God is small. No doctrine. None of it is unimportant. God doesn’t give you a ranking sys-tem in Scripture for any doc-trine. You don’t have the privi-lege, you don’t have the right, to rank any doctrine. 2 Humanity is the apex of

creation.

3 If we even say, ‘The gos-pel is foremost in our think-ing,’ which is true, which I af-firm, it is. What is the gospel but the message—the eternal message—the undying truth that Jesus died for his bride? You could say it this way: ‘The gospel has a complementarian structure. Complementarity is not the gospel, but the gospel cannot be vacuumed out of this complementarian structure. It is not possible for us to do if we will hold to what the Word of God teaches.’”

Strachan explained that the church is not formless nor its shape open to interpretation, but Scripture prescribes how it should operate.

“We recognize the teaching from Scripture on church lead-ership as a blueprint,” Strachan

said. “It is not an office that Paul prohibits women from holding in 1 Timothy 2; it is a function. He does not say women can-not be an elder. He says that he does not permit a woman to teach a man or exercise au-thority over him. We need to hold fast to this teaching. Brothers and sisters, hear me clearly: My eyes are wide open. We are battling on this point today. We hold this—it can feel like, ‘Oooo, that’s a bridge too far.’ But it is a function. Go back to the Scriptures. Don’t take my word for it. Search them. Is this what Paul prohibits?

“If this sounds too rough to you, then I fear that you may need to work out your sub-mission to Scripture because this is basic Bible teaching when it comes to complemen-tarity. Of course we also must say this, that if women are not teaching in the church, then it is being unfaithful to God’s plan. Women must train women, right, per Titus 2? Sometimes people say to me, ‘As the president of CBMW, do you support women teach-ing in the church?’ And I say, ‘If women are not teaching in the church, something is ter-ribly misfiring.’ Women are called to train other women, especially in homemaking, discipleship, in building a home, in managing a home—these are things that are high-lighted by Paul in Titus 2.”

In addition to serving as CBMW president, Strachan works as associate professor of Christian theology and church history at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kan-sas City. Video of his session at the CBMW conference can be viewed at cbmw.org.

CBMW PRESIDENT JUXTAPOSES WORLD’S VIEW OF GENDER & ROLES WITH SCRIPTURE’S

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016 COMPLEMENTARIANISM 17

In Their Own WordsR I S E O F “ N E O - C O M P L E M E N T A R I A N I S M ”

“Since the time at which God first gathered a people for himself, there have always been doctrinal ebbs and flows with the rise of a new generation, and sometimes with greater faithfulness than the generation prior. Such is the case in the present as a new generation of evangelicals work to define who they are and what they believe. As is the case with all theological discussions that count, thankfully regardless of generational change, they all boil down to the same question: What does the Scripture say? So, for ‘Neo’ type movements of yesterday, today, or tomorrow, the issue of “what is truth?” remains. For example, regardless of what the culture or one’s personal experience may claim, each generation will need to wrestle with 1 Timothy 2:12-14 and its clear connection to pre-fall creation account in Genesis 1-2. This is why I remain thankful for the work of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and their relentless efforts to present and re-present wonderful engagement on these issues at both the scholarly and basic levels.”

+ J A S O N D U E S I N G MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

In Their Own WordsA P P LY I N G C O M P L E M E N TA R I A N I S M I N T H E C H U R C H

“I am aware of some debates as to how exactly complementarianism should be fleshed out when it comes to the appropriate roles that women may fill in a local church. The bottom line for me is I will speak definitely where the Bible speaks, and I will show grace and allow for differences where the Bible does not speak. I do think the Bible speaks very clearly that men are to be in a leadership position in the church, and there should never be any question about that. I also think that men should be instructed by men. I do not think it wise to have women teaching mixed classes. I also think it is unwise, and unbiblical, to ever have a woman fill the pulpit in an authoritative teaching posture that one would connect with the pastor. However, 1 Corinthians 11 is in the Bible! Therefore, are there appropriate times where women can speak in the gathered congregational setting? The answer is absolutely yes. I would have no difficulty with a woman praying, sharing a testimony, serving the Lord’s Supper or even baptizing another woman or a girl. I find nothing in the Bible that reserves the latter two to men. I think the issue is one of the authoritative teaching positions in the local church. That is something that a woman should not do.”

+ D A N N Y A K I N SOUTHEASTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N sbtexan

BOOKS1 Biblical Womanhood in the Home edited by Nancy DeMoss (Crossway, 2002) | This book calls women to return to godly womanhood with insight from Nancy DeMoss, Susan Hunt, Mary Kassian, Carolyn Mahaney, Barbara Hughes, P. Bunny Wilson, and Dorothy Patterson,

2 Divine Design: An Eight-Week Study on Biblical Womanhood by Nancy DeMoss and Mary Kassian (Moody, 2012) | A study-style book written to challenge and encourage women to understand and embrace the design for who God created them to be.

3 Mixed Ministry by Sue Edwards, Kelley Mathews, and Henry J. Rogers (Kregel, 2008) | Two Dallas Theological Seminary professors team up with a corporate chaplain to explore common and thorny issues, advising how staff and lay leaders can develop healthy working partnerships in their ministries.

4 Womanhood Revisited: A Fresh Look at the Role of Women in Society by Anne Graham, (Christian Focus Publications, 2002) | With consideration of how expectations of women have changed throughout history, the author considers current challenges to living in cooperation and not competition with men, equal in value, yet different in purpose.

5 Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood edited by Wayne Grudem (Crossway, 2002) | A layperson’s guide to understanding gender role differences.

6 50 Crucial Questions: An Overview of Central Concerns about Manhood and Womanhood by John Piper and Wayne Grudem | This booklet is available as a free PDF download online (cbmw.org/topics/complementarianism/50-crucial-questions) and covers the main points of the popular and lengthy volume, 7 Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, in a concise manner.

8 Ministry in the New Marriage Culture edited by Jeff Iorg (B&H, 2015) | Worth the introduction alone, Iorg pulls together experienced ministers to address biblical and theological foundations on marriage and sexual ethics, with models and methods to guide pastors and laity to address problems they face in a today’s culture.

9 Women in the Church: Interpretation and Application of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 edited by Andreas Köstenberger and Thomas R. Schreiner (Crossway, 2016) | The book offers a definitive statement of the complementarian interpretation of the passage on the role of women in the church.

q Jesus and the Feminists: Who Do They Say That He Is? by Margaret Köstenberger (Crossway, 2008) | This survey of feminist scholars reveals how they interpret Scripture related to Jesus and his view of women.

w God’s Design for Man and Woman: A Biblical-Theological Survey by Andreas and Margaret Köstenberger (Crossway, 2014) | With an academic approach and practical application, the authors tackle current issues and accompanying hermeneutical fallacies.

e Women Leading Women, the Biblical Model for the Church by Jaye Martin and Terri Stovall (B&H, 2009). The book addresses the biblical paradigm for women’s leadership in the church and encourages women as they lead and train other women, engage the culture and involve other women in ministry.

r Radical Womanhood: Feminine Faith in a Feminist World by Carolyn McCulley (Moody Press, 2008) | Drawing from her experience in the feminist world, the author explains the three waves of feminism to show how they hindered God’s vision for women.

t Women on Life edited by Trillia Newbell (Leland House Press, 2016) | In chapters by women from all walks of life, many of them Southern Baptists, the contributing authors make personal application of complementarian principles in their daily lives as mothers, wives of pastors, and activists in the pro-life movement.

y Women’s Evangelical Commentary on the Old Testament and uWomen’s Evangelical Commentary on the New Testament both edited by Dorothy Kelley Patterson and Rhonda Harrington Kelley (B&H, 2011 and 2006) | Comprehensive foundational commentaries on every book of the Bible written and edited by women for women with practical explanation of the complementarian view to equip lay teachers and Bible learners.

i The Accidental Feminist: Restoring Our Delight in God’s Good Design by Courtney Reissig (Crossway, 2015) | This book recounts the journey of a wife, mom and writer from “accidental feminisim” to a biblical view of womanhood.

o The Role of Women in the Church by Charles Ryrie (B&H, 2001) | Revised edition of a classic resource combining background on the status of women in early times and offers biblical exegesis related to marriage, celibacy, divorce and ministry in the local church.

p The Grand Design by Owen Strachan and Gavin Peacock (Christian Focus Publications, 2016) | In a culture where confusion about what it means to

be a man or a woman abounds, Strachan and Peacock explore the Scriptures to help readers understand God’s grand design for manhood and womanhood.

a Men and Women, Equal Yet Different, A Brief Study of the Biblical Passages on Gender by Alexander Strauch (Lewis & Roth Publishers, 1999) | This short book was written with those in mind who would like to know more about biblical teachings on gender roles but who don’t have time to read lengthy volumes on the subject.

s Fierce Women: The Power of a Soft Warrior (True Woman) by Kimberly Wagner (Moody, 2012) | The author explains how women can use their strength to honor the Lord by honoring their husbands and cautions against the temptation to use strength destructively.

WEBSITESbiblicalwoman.com | Biblical Woman, the online home of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s Women’s Programs, offers a website including a blog, a host of resources and information about education and events pertaining to women.

flourish.me | Flourish is the home of the North American Mission Board’s equipping community for ministry wives. Their website is a blog that focuses on family, ministry and spiritual growth through the lenses of a variety of writers.

womenslife.sebts.edu | Women’s Life is the online home for all things woman at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. The website includes blog articles as well as information about education, events and mentoring.

cbmw.org | The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, founded in 1987, is the flagship organization for the complementarian movement. It exists to help guide individuals and churches in understanding God’s design for gender, family, marriage and church.

JOURNALScbmw.org/journal | Produced semi-annually by CBMW, The Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood is an academic journal that facilitates scholarly conversation on a variety of issues surrounding gender, family and church as they relate to aspects of Christian faith from church history and biblical study to systematic and practical theology.

9marks.org/journal/complementarianism-the-local-church | For its Winter 2015 issue, the 9Marks Journal focused their articles on ‘Complementarianism and the Local Church.’ The issue, which is 75 pages in length, can be found online in PDF, Mobi or ePub formats.

Resources for further study of complementarianism and related issues

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Learn more about complementarian viewpoint from Criswell College

President Barry Creamer by tuning into Coffee with Creamer on Monday,

June 20, at 6:30 p.m. or 10:30 p.m. on 90.9 KCBI-FM (Dallas-Fort Worth).

Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes by searching "Coffee with Creamer," or visit barrycreamer.com.

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016 TEXAS 19

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N20 SBC sbtexan

EDITOR’S NOTE: The TEXAN conducted interviews with each of the candidates for SBC Presi-dent. The following is the second of a two-part series. Part 1 is available at texanonline.net and printed in the May 2016 edition where candidates discussed their priorities, tent-broadening, eth-nic and generational diversity and religious liberty.

By Tammi Ledbetter and Bonnie PritchettTEXAN Staff

ST. LOUIS In interviews with the Southern Baptist TEXAN, three pastors nominated for Southern Baptist Convention president offered their view-points on issues such as fund-ing Southern Baptist causes, the role of state conventions, the use of alcohol, and their views on soteriology.

The TEXAN asked direct questions of David Crosby of First Baptist Church in New Orleans, Steve Gaines of Bel-levue Baptist near Memphis, and J.D. Greear of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, after reviewing information available on their church and personal websites as well as in-terviews with SBC Voices.

Messengers to the annual meeting in St. Louis will vote June 14 on new officers, with the possibility of additional nomi-nees being offered when that item of business is considered on the afternoon of June 14.

MISSIONS STRATEGIESMissions and money were

frequent concerns in light of funding challenges that trig-gered the severe downsizing of the International Mission Board. All three men pastor churches that are engaged in stateside and international missions strategies through Southern Baptist entities.

“My commitment to mis-sions is both cooperative and community-oriented,” Crosby said. “I hope I can give greater visibility to the necessity for community involvement by our churches,” he said, pointing back to the life-changing expe-rience of hurricane relief.

“[Hurricane] Katrina washed us out of our pews and into the streets and lanes of our city. If churches are interested in be-coming relevant to their com-munities, we can show them how it is done,” citing ministry in prisons, nursing homes, and public schools, extending their reach to hungry children, re-cent immigrants, foster families and even strip club employees.

The New Orleans church sponsors NOLA Baptist Church, a NAMB church plant and sends teams to Ghana in conjunction with its adoption of an unreached people group through IMB.

Similarly, Gaines’ church has embraced Memphis by strategically partnering with 50 churches, parachurch and

civic organizations to serve in schools and hospitals, as well as offering free dental care and ministering in pris-ons, senior facilities, fire sta-tions and apartments.

“I hope to encourage all our SBC members and churches to 1) pray for missions, 2) give finan-cially to support missions, and 3) go on a mission trip,” he said.

Bellevue partners with NAMB’s Send North America church planting efforts in Seattle, with other efforts in New York, Massachusetts and Las Vegas, and Native Ameri-can church planting in New Mexico, South Dakota and Montana. Internationally, the church sends teams to Nicara-gua in partnership with IMB, as well as conducting ministry in Haiti, Honduras, Uganda, Guatemala, and Guatemala, networking with additional mission organizations.

“Southern Baptists should be known for their excessive love toward their neighbors and nations,” Greear said on his website. “We must, like Christ, enter into the world that God loves, with the courage to speak the truth and the com-passion to do so with grace.”

The Summit Church where Greear pastors connects mem-bers to minister with neigh-bors who are homeless, or-phans, prisoners, single moms and disconnected youth. Other examples of outreach include ministry to single moms, inter-

national students, trafficking survivors and assistance with refugee resettlement.

Last year The Summit Church supported a network of 21 churches spread across North America. They also net-work with several mission or-ganizations, including IMB, to deploy short- and long-term missionaries internationally, some of whom are fully fund-ed by the sending organiza-tion. Strategic partners include NAMB, North Carolina Bap-tists, Acts 29, IMB and Fellow-ship Associates.

FUNDING MISSIONSThe manner in which Cros-

by, Gaines and Greear lead their churches to finance lo-cal, stateside and international missions varies—as does the way they’ll motivate Southern Baptists to be more generous.

“I really believe in coopera-tion, and I believe the Southern Baptist Convention exists pri-marily to facilitate cooperation among our churches for the world mission of the gospel,” Crosby told Baptist Press.

“Cooperation, to me, has a financial component, and my churches have always been deeply invested in the Coop-erative Program and the special missions offerings.”

He observed that many churches do independent mis-sions, stating, “There is nothing distinctive about it. What is dis-tinctive about Southern Bap-

tists is that they do missions together. That can and should remain our heart and our repu-tation,” Crosby said.

Gaines believes CP is the financial lifeline of the SBC. “While it might need tweaking, it does not need to be tossed. We do not need to abandon it and digress to an independent form of supporting missions.”

He draws the line at dictating percentages at any level. “Just as we must not impose on our churches a specific percentage to give to the CP as the ideal, neither should we impose on our state conventions a certain percentage as the ideal to for-ward to the SBC.

Greear said he hopes his church has been a model in increasing both CP and Great Commission Giving, reiterating his call for the next generation of Southern Baptists to increase giving to cooperative efforts.

“I believe we in the conven-tion need to recognize that God is doing new things in our generation, and we need to create new pathways for new generations of Southern Bap-tists to get engaged.”

COUNTING THE COSTCrosby’s church leads in the

percentage of undesignated receipts given through the Co-operative Program with 7 per-cent—higher than the average amount of 5.47 percent that SBC

SBC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES ANSWER QUESTIONS ON MISSIONS FUNDING, ALCOHOL USE AND CALVINISM

See Q&A, 21

“Cooperation, to me, has a financial component, and my churches have always

been deeply invested in the Cooperative Program and the special missions offerings.”

—DAVID CROSBY

“I hope to encourage all our SBC members and churches to 1) pray for

missions, 2) give financially to support missions, and 3) go on a mission trip.”

—STEVE GAINES

Steve Gaines preaches at the SBTC’s 2014 Bible Conference. PHOTO BY ALLEN SUTTON David Crosby (red shirt) visits with Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers following Hurricane Katrina. PHOTO BY KAREN L. WILLOUGHBY

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016 SBC 21

churches typically give, accord-ing to 2013-14 records. Gaines’ church is set to give 4.6 percent this year while Greear’s church is committed to 2.4 percent.

In 2010, Southern Baptists approved a new funding cat-egory known as Great Commis-sion Giving, one of several ini-tiatives advanced by the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force. It includes all monies channeled through the causes of the SBC, state conventions and associations.

Crosby’s church allocates at least 10% of its budget to GCG, including gifts to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Associa-tion, Baptist Friendship House and a local seafarer’s ministry—all of which have ties to South-ern Baptist ministry.

Gaines’ church anticipates giving 6 percent of undesig-nated receipts to Great Com-mission Giving in 2016, includ-ing direct gifts to SBC entities, associational giving and state convention ministries.

At Greear’s church, GCG has been at or around 10 per-cent for the last several years, including direct gifts to SBC entities as well as the local association and state conven-tion ministries.

“We all have things we fa-vor, things that are exciting and have local connections,” Crosby said. “But it is the unrestricted money that funds the strate-gies and visions of our entity boards and leaders.”

Gaines stressed the need to encourage increased giving “so we can put an additional 1,000 missionaries back on

the field instead of bringing them home.”

Greear notes the Cooperative Program is his church’s prima-ry means of funding the Great Commission. But, he said, “The SBC has recognized the catego-ry of Great Commission Giving as a legitimate way to support Southern Baptist mission. We

need to respect the autonomy of churches in deciding where and how to allocate their re-sources between these.

While calling for the kind of generosity he said C.S. Lewis described as “to give away more than we can spare,” Greear also expects Southern Baptist institutions at all levels to ask how they can get more money to the mission.

“We believe the Spirit of God is leading us to take radical mea-sures in response to the press-ing needs of the hour, and that if we put his kingdom first in all things, he will take care of us.”

FUNDING CHALLENGESIn SBC Voices interviews, all

three candidates agreed sup-port of missions is directly tied to an individual’s personal mis-sions experience, as going en-courages giving.

“Nothing so inspires mission work like going yourself and lending a hand and a voice in a cross-cultural presentation of the gospel,” Crosby said. “I encourage our people to go as well as pray and give.”

But managing the shortfall is the immediate challenge at hand. Crosby said the best way to do that is through the Co-operative Program. “Southern Baptists got this right back in 1925, and it is still right today.”

Crosby said, “We must for-get turf wars. This cannot be a power struggle. Lording it over one another is how the world

operates, not the church of Je-sus Christ. All we do together must be placed on the table as we seek to evaluate our effectiveness and develop a strategy for the deployment of our resources going forward,” Crosby added.

In his appeal to pray, give and go, Gaines said, “We need

more people to pray for the spe-cific needs of our SBC missionaries. We also need to encourage church members to have a personal stew-ardship revival and get their own financial house in order so they can give more to their churches, and en-able their churches to give more to missions.”

Gaines said, “We also need to en-courage more of our people to go on short-term mission trips.” Such ven-tures will be used by the Holy Spirit to call more people to full-time missions or as bivocational missionaries.

“There are two sides to the current struggle we’re see-ing when it comes to Cooperative Pro-gram giving and the IMB downsiz-

ing,” Greear said. Both involve the younger generation of Southern Baptists, who he said must take personal responsi-bility for the funding and op-erations of missions.

“The next generation needs to sacrificially give, support and serve in these entities, boards and institutions,” Greear said.

As churches give away more money to missions than they feel they can spare, Greear said, they can trust when seeking the kingdom of God first that “he’ll supply to us the rest of what we need,” citing Matthew 6:33.

STATE CONVENTIONSState conventions also play

a role in asking hard ques-tions and making sacrifices to get more of the money they receive from churches to the mission field, Greear said. “We need to be willing to ask un-comfortable questions. For the sake of the Great Commission, we have to ask what we most need to accomplish the task the Lord Jesus has given us and direct the lion’s share of our re-sources to that.”

Crosby favors state conven-tions becoming specialists in planting churches among the dominant people groups and cul-tures in their particular region.

Gaines noted that associa-tions and state conventions are able to minister to the needs of churches in ways that the na-tional convention is not able to

do. Similarly, seminaries and other SBC entities help church-es in ways the local association and state convention do not.

“The SBC will self-destruct if we digress to a society mod-el of doing missions where every level is aggressively competing financially with the others,” he added. “We do not need to compete. We need to cooperate with each other and complement each other,” Gaines concluded.

ALCOHOL USEAsked for their perspective

on the interpretation of “free-dom in Christ” in regard to the consumption of alcoholic beverages, candidates gave dif-ferent responses in light of in-creasingly varied convictions within SBC churches.

“I am a teetotaler,” Crosby said. “I don’t drink a drop. I think that is the best answer and the best position,” he add-ed. “We do not need alcohol for medicine anymore. We have many better choices. We do not need it to purify water. Our wa-ter is pure. We do not need to consume alcohol. Its negatives far outweigh any imagined benefits,” Crosby said.

He hopes churches will con-tinue to teach abstinence as the best approach in regard to alco-hol, adding, “I have always in-cluded warnings and sometimes prohibitions concerning alcohol use among church leaders.”

Gaines said he doesn’t be-lieve Christians should drink alcoholic beverages. “It is not a matter of ‘freedom/liberty,’” he said, adding, “I believe it is a matter of wisdom.”

Noting that neither he nor his wife drink alcoholic bever-ages, Gaines said his reasoning is based on several points, in-cluding “the fact that it doesn’t take much alcohol to become intoxicated,” skewing a per-son’s ability to respond men-tally and physically; and the abundance of other legitimate and less dangerous choices as compared to a time when wine was more sanitary than water and sometimes served a me-dicinal purpose.

Furthermore, he said, Christians should not be “mastered” by anything, ac-cording to 1 Corinthians 6:12, citing the addictive nature of alcoholic beverages. “What one does in ‘moderation,’ someone else might do in ex-cess,” Gaines added, warning against setting a bad example for others people.

Gaines said he has asked his congregation how they would react if they saw him and his wife drinking wine with their meal at a restaurant. “Every time I’ve asked that question over the last 33 years, the majority of the people in our churches raised their hands, indicating they would be high-ly offended if we drank alco-holic beverages.”

He added, “Frankly, I’m shocked at how many pastors say that drinking alcoholic bev-

erages is okay. It’s not wise, and it’s not okay. I pray that South-ern Baptists never capitulate in this area.”

Greear said he knows “sincere, godly Christians on both sides of the alcohol ques-tion.” He explained, “I know many who believe that this is an area where we should re-spect one another’s ‘freedom in Christ,’ and others who be-lieve that while we are indeed free in Christ, considerations of wisdom and witness com-pel us to abstain from alcohol altogether.”

As for him, Greear told the TEXAN, “All things considered, I choose to abstain from con-sumption myself.”

INFLUENCE OF CALVINISMAsked how the ongoing de-

bate over Calvinism will affect presidential appointments, all three men offered assurances that the Baptist Faith & Mes-sage provides the theological parameters for selecting com-mittee members.

Crosby said he believes God is sovereign and humans are free and therefore accountable for their choices. Noting that the Southern Baptist tent has included both camps since the beginning of the convention, he added, “We have not consid-ered these views as heresy.”

“We can resolve to work together and love each other for the sake of the gospel.” Crosby stated.

Gaines said he is not a Calvin-ist but has friends who are and can fellowship with any Chris-tian who believes salvation is “by grace alone, through faith alone and in Christ alone,” that the Bible is the inerrant Word of God, and that in order to be saved one must “repent of sin, believe savingly in Jesus and re-ceive Jesus as Lord and Savior.”

“As long as a man believes these biblical doctrines and is an avid soul-winner, I can work with him,” Gaines said.

Greear said he has never been comfortable with “the neat and tidy Calvinist or non-Calvinist labels,” but believes God’s work in salvation is “always prior, and that no man can say that ‘Jesus is Lord’ except by the Holy Spirit.” Observing much in Scripture about “whosoever will may come,” he believes “we are to spread the gospel promis-cuously and that our prayers and evangelistic efforts have real effect.”

He said his church staff includes people “who lean more reformed and others who lean the other way,” and would personally prefer to be known for the gospel and the Great Commission than a particular stance regarding Calvinism. “The majority of Southern Baptists just want to love Jesus, believe and teach the Bible, and see people saved. That and the doctrinal confession of the BF&M 2000 should be our point of unity and our evaluative tool for leadership,” Greear said.

Q&ACONTINUED FROM PAGE 20

“The next generation needs to sacrificially give, support and serve

in these [SBC] entities, boards and institutions.”

—J.D. GREEAR

J.D. Greear converses with locals in the courtyard of an Indonesian mosque. BP FILE PHOTO

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N22 SBC sbtexan

By Ronnie FloydSBC President

SPRINGDALE, Ark. When I was elected president of the Southern Baptist Con-vention in June of 2014 in Baltimore, little did I know God would take me through the open doors of addressing racial challenges in America.

While racial unrest already existed in our nation, it was not until Aug. 9, 2014, and the tragic death of a black teenager named Michael Brown, shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., that we began to see this racial unrest erupt like a volcano across our nation.

God adjusted my path of understandingFrom my very first press confer-

ence as the newly elected president of the SBC, I began calling upon Southern Baptists to join me in pray-

ing extraordinarily and passionately pursuing the next Great Spiritual Awakening in America. When the Ferguson tragedy occurred, God bur-dened my heart immediately, adjust-ing my path of understanding.

Politicians, corporate leaders, educators, religious leaders and pastors in America rarely initiate and move for-ward a positive agenda that leads to ra-cial unity. We should seek to change this.

While this path is still toward the next Great Awakening, God revealed clearly to me and anyone else that has been spiritually alert in America that one of the greatest sins in our nation to-day is the sin of racism.

Jerry Young, Marshall Blalock, and the racial unity panelImmediately following my presiden-

tial address on June 14, we will move into our National Conversation on Ra-

cial Unity. Jerry Young, president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, and Marshall Blalock, pastor of the First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C., will begin the conversation.

Dr. Young will speak on “Where we are today and where we must go in the future,” and Pastor Blalock will speak on “The tragedy and triumph of Charles-ton, South Carolina.”

From this foundation, I will lead a pan-el conversation on racial unity in Amer-ica. During this 55-minute section of our Southern Baptist Convention, we will be joined by the following 10 pastors:

u Marshal Blalock, pastor, First Bap-tist Church, Charleston, S.C.

u Jerry Young, president, National Baptist Convention, USA

u H.B. Charles, senior pastor, Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church, Jackson-ville, Fla.

u Joe Costephens, pastor, First Baptist Church, Ferguson, Mo.

u Timmy Chavis, senior pastor, Bear Swamp Baptist Church, Pembroke, N.C.

u D.A. Horton, church planter, Reach Fellowship, Los Angeles, Calif.

u Fred Luter, senior pastor, Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, La.

u Gregg Matte, senior pastor, First Baptist Church, Houston, Texas

u Kenny Petty, senior pastor, The Gate Church, St. Louis, Mo.

u David Um, senior pastor, Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, Mass.

The entire Tuesday morning session will be powerful, so please do not miss any of it. All scheduled luncheons will oc-cur following the dismissal of the morn-ing session. You won’t want to be late!

Tuesday morning will help set up Tuesday nightOne of the areas we will pray about

on Tuesday night of the convention in our “National Call to Prayer for Spiritual Leadership, Revived Churches, and Na-tionwide & Global Awakening” is the ra-cial crisis in our nation. How do we not do this when we are meeting within 20 minutes of Ferguson, Mo.?

Pray now for this national conversationWould you begin to call out to God daily

by name each of us who will be participat-ing in this conversation during our con-vention gathering? See graphic (included with this article) and put in a prominent place and join me in this prayer initiative.

The sin of racism is a spiritual strong-hold in this nation and now is the time this wall must come down. As we re-pent of it personally, repent of it in our churches, and repent of it in our nation, we will perhaps see the next Great Spir-itual Awakening in our generation.

RACIAL UNITY & THE 2016 SBC ANNUAL MEETING2 0 1 6 S B C A N N U A L M E E T I N G H I G H L I G H T S

C A N ’ T M A K E I T T O S T . L O U I S ? W A T C H L I V E S T R E A M A T S B C A N N U A L M E E T I N G . N E T

By Erin RoachTEXAN Correspondent

AUSTIN High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin has imple-mented a church planting strategy that has yielded new congregations in a growing area of Austin in need of a strong gospel witness.

A decade ago, when Juan San-chez became pastor, High Pointe was not healthy financially, but the church decided that if God allowed them to grow, “we would no longer build auditori-um space, but instead we would plant churches.”

High Pointe committed to give at least 10 percent of its receipts to causes outside its walls to ensure they were not keeping all the money for themselves but by faith—de-spite financial difficulty—were modeling for the congregation sacrificial giving, Sanchez told the TEXAN.

Their first church planting venture grew out of the hand-ful of Hispanics that Sanchez was preaching to each Sunday before the morning service. They hired someone to lead the group, and it became an inde-pendent Spanish church.

As High Pointe continued to grow, the church realized a large number of members were driving from Elgin and from Cedar Park and Leander, all of which were a half-hour’s drive from the church.

“If we had people coming from those distances all the way to High Pointe, then clear-ly there was a need for gospel churches there,” Sanchez said. “So in order to care for our members well and plant gospel churches where our members felt there wasn’t one they could attend, we just started long-term deciding we need to plant

churches where our people are coming from so they don’t have to drive so far.”

The leadership developed a church planting strategy that includes bringing someone on staff in a pastoral assistant role to learn who they are, what they’re about, how they’re structured, how they govern and what their philosophy of ministry is—“just getting to know our DNA,” Sanchez said.

In the second year, the church planting resident develops a core team of members who will agree to help start a new congregation. The team studies what it means to be a church, studies a statement of faith and church covenant, studies how to live together as a church, and studies how to develop a culture of evangelism and discipleship.

“It’s really just equipping them to understand what this might look like and the com-mitments that are going to be expected of them,” Sanchez said.

In year three, they launch. In 2011, High Pointe launched Cov-enant Life Fellowship in Elgin, sending 30-35 people on a core team, and that church was self-sustaining by its second year.

Then, for the church mem-bers who were driving from

northwest Austin—mainly Cedar Park and Leander—High Pointe turned to Ben Wright, who had served on staff for several years as an associate pastor.

“Ben already knew our DNA, so we jumped right to year two, which was developing the core team,” Sanchez said. “The next step was planting the church. They were planted in Febru-ary (2016), had their first pub-lic meetings in early March, and the Lord has really blessed them already.”

Wright, now pastor of Cedar Pointe Baptist Church in Cedar Park, said the population in that area is growing significantly as people move from around the world to Austin’s technology sector. “Church planting hasn’t even begun to keep up with that need,” he said.

The nations are coming to northwest Austin, Wright told the TEXAN, and “there’s an op-portunity to reach people with the gospel who will have ways to spread that gospel back to countries that are very difficult to reach.”

“I’m grateful for High Pointe’s leaders taking the risk of send-ing out a bunch of solid, faith-ful people for the sake of the

gospel,” Wright said. “High Pointe isn’t a rich church by any means, and I have tremen-dous respect for Juan leading his church to act in faith for a cause infinitely bigger than his own church’s interests.”

Wright said he has read in church planting literature that many, if not most, of the initial launch team members tend to leave the plant within three to five years.

“By God’s grace, that didn’t happen in the plant High Pointe launched five and a half years ago, and we pray it won’t happen with us,” Wright said. “People who’ve already been part of the same church know what to expect from the pastor, and they know what to expect the church will be like. There aren’t nearly as many surpris-es, and that creates stability.”

Sanchez compared church planting to getting married and having children. People want to wait until they’re ready, but they’ll never be ready, he said.

“If you’re waiting until you’re ready to plant a church, you’ll

never plant a church,” Sanchez said. “It does require faith. It re-quires wisdom. You don’t want to do this foolishly. You have to count the cost.”

Part of counting the cost is financial, he said, and anoth-er part is letting go of valu-able church members to start new growth.

“If we were to wait until we thought we were ready finan-cially and leadership-wise, we would never do it,” Sanchez said. “So we have to pray about it, the church has to come to an agreement, and by faith we have to step out and do the Lord’s work.”

Sanchez emphasized that no congregation has to plant a church alone.

“I would encourage people not to reinvent the wheel but to get help that’s already avail-able. The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has a lot of good people who have wisdom and experience. So you don’t have to be an expert in church planting to plant a church,” Sanchez said.

HEALTHY CHURCH PLANTING STRATEGY REACHES GROWING SECTORS OF AUSTIN

T E X A N O N L I N E . N E TJUNE 2016 TEXAS 23

“SO IN ORDER TO CARE FOR OUR MEMBERS WELL AND PLANT GOSPEL CHURCHES WHERE OUR

MEMBERS FELT THERE WASN’T ONE THEY COULD ATTEND, WE JUST STARTED LONG-TERM DECIDING

WE NEED TO PLANT CHURCHES WHERE OUR PEOPLE ARE COMING FROM SO THEY DON’T HAVE

TO DRIVE SO FAR.”

— JUAN SANCHEZ, PASTOR, HIGH POINTE BAPTIST CHURCH IN AUSTIN

Members of Cedar Pointe Baptist Church, a church plant of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, gather on their launch Sunday, March 6. PHOTO COURTESY OF CEDAR POINTE BAPTIST CHURCH

S O U T H E R N B A P T I S T T E X A N24 TEXAS sbtexan

By Jane RodgersTEXAN Correspondent

RICHARDSON As nurse sonog-rapher Laura Tatum employed the handheld Doppler, an in-fant heartbeat reverberated through the small room. The client’s boyfriend, sitting in a corner and scanning his smart-phone, ignored the sonogram projected on the large screen despite his girlfriend’s attempts to get his attention.

Upon hearing the heartbeat, the boyfriend suddenly looked up. Staring at the monitor, he exclaimed, “That’s a life!”

That day, another abortion-minded couple made a decision for life, one of 42,000 pregnan-cies preserved since the found-ing of the Prestonwood Preg-nancy Center (PPC) in 1991.

“A baby was saved that day,” said Leanne Jamieson, director of the center since October 2015.

“We try as much as possible to do a same-day sonogram because that is often where a changed view happens. Sta-tistics [confirm] that between 70 and 80 percent of abortion-minded women, if they have a sonogram, will change their minds and choose life.”

Jamieson’s route to the PPC was circuitous. After serving in women’s ministry at Houston’s Second Baptist church, Jamie-son served in a similar role at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas. Following the death of PPC director Michelle Thames last year, Jamieson was invited to step in.

“I bring a fresh perspective to the pregnancy world. I didn’t come up through the system. I asked a lot of questions,” Jamie-son said, adding that her ex-perience in women’s ministry has helped her take a “different look at things.”

“We deal not just with wom-en here but sometimes with the men that join them, so it’s more of a family ministry than a women’s ministry.”

The center’s focus is not just on being “pro-life,” Jamieson said, but rather also “pro-love.” This philosophy permeates the organization, as does intention-ality about reaching the millen-nial generation.

“Pregnancy centers need to evolve. The millennials are changing how they want to intake information. If they can YouTube it, they are not going to come to us for it. We want to develop a relationship. We want to be there and walk with them. And so that means we are here for the long haul if they will allow us to be.”

Part of walking with mil-lennials means still offering classes in parenting, but also digitizing publications, giving clients the ability to make and confirm appointments by text, continuing rewards programs for free car seats and diaper coupons, implementing down-loadable computer apps and even installing a 24/7 crisis phone line.

Jamieson said she expects the crisis phone line to be op-erational this summer. A new prayer app, Friends of Preston-wood Pregnancy Center, be-came available in early May.

To address client needs, PPC has begun a mentoring program for young mothers involving career counseling, assistance in pursuing higher education, resume writing and interview coaching, including a partnership with Upscale Resale to help clients acquire outfits for job interviews. PPC is also in the process of devel-oping partnerships with child care centers.

“We want to help the young mother more holistically,” Ja-mieson said. “We are not here just to give, but we want to help her with those tools … so that she can successfully man-age life and this child.”

The center also offers re-ferrals to medical profession-als, adoption agencies and other resources.

The pregnant woman has three choices: abortion, par-enting, and parenting by giv-ing up the child for adoption, Jamieson said, noting that one in four pregnancies also ends in miscarriage.

“Women will say, I cannot have this change my life. Well, your life has changed the mo-ment you got pregnant. The question becomes, in what way is it going to change? We will talk to them about options.”

One option is adoption. “We try to provide clients with the true picture of what adoption looks like. We will refer to sev-eral different adoption agen-cies,” Jamieson said.

For women who choose to keep their babies but lack sup-port systems, PPC has begun a new program called the Cud-dlers, women sent out in pairs to visit clients after the baby is born.

With a paid staff of 9, the center depends upon its 80-90 volunteers who commit to serve weekly at the main cen-ter or with a mobile sonogram unit. These volunteers, mostly client advocates, “are the hands and the feet of the ministry,” Jamieson said. “Without them, we would not be able to see the number of clients that we do.”

That number is growing. In 2015, 2,800 clients received services and counseling at the main location and the two mo-bile units, the latter deployed to socio-economically under-served areas. Thus far in 2016, Jamieson reported, that num-ber is on track to reach 4,000. Since 1991, the center has seen 62,000 women.

Part of each client visit in-cludes a gospel presentation by staff or trained volunteers. Not only does the client hear the gospel, but so does everyone who comes in with her. These “divine appointments” have re-sulted in more than 2,300 sal-vations since 1991, including 78 so far in 2016.

PPC also offers an abor-tion recovery program called Hope Restored, involving a confidential small group Bible study lasting several months and meeting in the safe and

neutral location of the center. “The woman [who has had an abortion] needs to know that Christ died for her and that he forgave her, if she knows him,” Jamieson said. “Often her big-gest issue is that she needs to forgive herself.”

Prestonwood pastor Jack Graham, whose vision it was for the center, said in a May 6 radio interview on KCBI’s “Cof-fee with Creamer,” that the PPC is part of Prestonwood’s com-mitment to “engage the vital issues of our time: poverty, in-justice, abortion.”

Graham called PPC the “child” of a pregnancy center started at his former church in West Palm Beach, Florida. Re-membering an occasion when he had preached against abor-tion, Graham recalled feel-ing God speak to him: “What are you going to do about it?” Thus the West Palm center was founded.

“Prestonwood Pregnancy Center is an outgrowth of that,” Graham said, referring to the fact that he brought the minis-try idea with him to Texas.

On Mother’s Day, May 6, a yearlong celebration of the silver anniversary of the PPC began at Prestonwood. The stage of the worship center was adorned with blue, pink and white flowers represent-ing babies and souls saved during the PPC’s 25 years. Pew envelopes provided the congregation with opportu-nities to give. A mobile sono-gram unit in the church park-ing lot provided a glimpse of the work, as did the airing of a 25th anniversary video.

For more information, visit prestonwoodpregnancy.org and download the free “Friends of Prestonwood Pregnancy Center” app at prestonwood.org/apps.

PRESTONWOOD PREGNANCY CENTER CELEBRATES 25 YEARS OF SAVING LIVES