Paul

I’m thinking of joining the Baptist church in San Diego that my friend George is trying to revive.
Maybe it’s my Methodist upbringing, but I was totally astounded that the church’s constitution (which I understand I am to believe without disagreement). It read that I shall uphold (in this order): 1. The Bible, 2. God, 3. Jesus Christ, and 4. The Holy Spirit.
I would think that the Bible should be pushed down to a very weak fourth place. My understanding is that the book, valuable as it is, is a biography of God’s commands and of His relationships with His people but it is NOT God.
So I find it hard to read further and accept this church’s constitution stating that “Women shall not be leaders int he church”. (I guess it is considered an unapproachable subject in a Baptist church…although of the 5 people remaining in the church George has chosen to lead, FOUR are women.)
I was watching an older, very conservative TV pastor speak the other day and he said this: “For all those in an uproar on one side or the other, I went to the original Greek wording and it says, not “Women should not speak in church” but “Women shall not CHATTER in church”. A big difference there.
I would think anyone who says that he speaks with authority on this issue should have done the research that this pastor did. Otherwise all this noise about women not being allowed to be leaders is pettiness (see Jesus speaking about burdens in Matthew 23:4 or Luke 11:46) or a defense of a wordly position.
Perhaps read Baptist theologian Albert Mohler’s thoughts on Hanna Ronin’s article “The End of Men? A Hard Look at the Future” in the Atlantic. If men cannot/will not do the work and the learning needed to become leaders in today’s world, then how can they be counted on to do the work and learning needed to become leaders in today’s churches?

Sad…truly sad that orthodoxy now seemingly requires a complementarion stance.