Woman’s role in the church

I heard the other day that my pastor who is currently the President of the Southern Baptist convention, the largest Protestant organization in the world, is/was being interviewed for the television show “20/20”.
When I heard this, I immediately thought that the article would have to be about some controversial subject, and not about the enormous amount of good the Southern Baptist convention is doing worldwide. Sure enough the subject is about why women are excluded from being pastors in Baptist churches. Apparently it is not fashionable or politically correct in the year 2000 to exclude women, or gays, from the ministry.
Baptists are being portrayed as radical-narrow
minded-ultra-conservative-right-wing- fanatics. The liberals are howling. Liberal minded Texas Baptists are withholding $5 million dollars support for the Southern Baptists, Jimmy Carter has renounced his membership. (Oh my God, what if Hillary and Bill do likewise?)

What is all the fuss about? The Bible plainly states that women cannot pastor churches. They can work within the church, but not lead it.
Anyone who can read, can pick up a Bible and read it for themselves.
This isn’t about women’s rights, bigotry, discrimination, or anything as ridiculous, the Bible plainly states God’s commands about this subject and the Southern Baptist leadership interpret it to mean what it says.
Don’t “kill the messenger because you do not like the message”. My guess is that God, who does not change with public opinion polls, had a good reason for doing this. It certainly is not my place to question HIS wisdom and guidance in this matter. For the record though, I believe in the Bible, not the Southern Baptist convention or any other organization and/or preacher. The pastor of the church that I attend, interprets the Bible and preaches as close to the way that I interpret the Bible as anyone I have ever heard and that is why I attend the church that I attend, which coincidentally just happens to be a Southern Baptist church.

In the end we have to put our faith in something. I put mine in the Bible. I believe that it is divinely inspired and is the infallible Word of God. I do not see how anyone can believe part of it, and not other parts. I do not believe that God allows us to “redline” and edit out the commands of which we do not agree. I was an atheist, agnostic at best, until I read the Bible for myself. I have read the Bible so many times now that I have lost count and when I hear someone preaching it, I have a very good feel for whether or not they are preaching fact or fiction. I do not understand everything in the Bible and many things are subject to varied interpretations. That is why we have different denominations. I disagree with some relatively minor things that my pastor believes. He undoubtedly has a far greater knowledge of the Bible than me, having earned a PHD. attended a seminary, and devoted enormous hours of his entire life to Bible study. Nonetheless I can read, I can pray for guidance, and I can use the intellect that God gave me to reason to interpret it for myself. If I am wrong, it is not because I have not read what the Bible says about the subject and made an honest effort to correctly interpret what God intends for a command to mean.

I ask everyone to read the Bible for yourselves. Perhaps you could start with this controversial subject of just exactly what a woman’s role in the church should be. I’m not referencing a single scripture about the subject; look it up for yourselves. The Lord will help us to understand it, if we ask Him to help. The Bible has withstood the test of time and is still the number one best selling book WORLDWIDE. Isn’t it time for us all to see what is inside of it and not have to rely on “20/20” or someone else to tell us what to believe? Remember God is the same today, as yesterday, and will be the same tomorrow. His laws have been solidly imbedded since the beginning of time and will never end.
They are not subject to politics and will not change because of public
opinion.

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Mal. 3:6
For I am the Lord, I do not
change.

Hebrews 4:12
For the word of God is living and
powerful, and sharper than any
two-edged sword, piercing even to
the division of soul and spirit, and
of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.


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