Lifeway & Women Pastors...

"Southern Baptists pull cover with women pastors" is the title of an article I just read from the online edition of the Dallas Morning News. If I had just taken the article at "title" value then I would probably disagree with Lifeway for taking them off of shelves in over 100 stores across the country, but after actually reading the article I tend to agree with them. From the quote below you will see the actual reason for the removal of this edition of Gospel Today.

Chris Turner, a spokesman for Lifeway Resources, said the cover was not the
reason the magazine was pulled from Lifeway's shelves. "The buyers said
the statements that were in it took positions that were contrary to what we would
say," Turner said. "It wasn't so much that there were women on the cover."

Of course, we will have to purchase the magazine to find out exactly what Mr. Turner is speaking of when talking about "contrary positions." The magazine can still be purchased from Lifeway if you ask for it. In my opinion though, after going to the magazine's website I don't understand why Lifeway would even offer Gospel Today to their customers. The magazine's website boasts all of the name it and claim it prosperity teacher's they've put on their cover.

The scripture for not having women pastors is found in Paul writing to Timothy in the book of 1 Timothy 2v12. Also, look at the qualifications Paul gives those desiring to hold the office of bishop, elder, and pastor in chapter 3v1-7 of 1 Timothy. In verse 1 notice that Paul makes the office exclusive to men. Then in verse two it's required for a bishop, elder, and pastor to be able to teach. Reference the "able to teach" back to 1 Timothy 2v12 and you'll see that the scripture is clear on this topic.

The article also mentions how SBC churches are independent/autonomous in their individual governing. It also states how a few of the 42,000 churches have women in pastor roles. This topic of autonomy was brought up after I blogged on "Hot Topics in The SBC" by a good friend of mine named JB who is a reformed Baptist. JB just wanted to mention the fact that SBC churches do govern themselves and that's why they are ran in so many different ways. I have no issues with SBC churches being autonomous, but I do believe that the autonomy that we have and use should begin and end with the Bible. The Scriptures are very clear in how the church should be ran and as I know JB would agree, we should stay within the road map that the Scriptures provide. It's when we get away from the map that the church gets lost.

In Christ Alone,

Mr. V.

Hot Topics In The SBC...

An article entitled "Lifeway follow-up poll examines hot topics" was posted Monday on the Baptist Press web-site. The article speaks of a few different topics such as speaking in tongues, baptism, and of course Calvinism. I'll leave the 27% of SBC pastors to worry with the Calvinism topic for now and I'll talk about the portion of the article entitled, "Who Makes Decisions."

The 2007 study was conducted with 405 SBC Senior Pastors and asked the question of, "Which of the following best describes the primary decision-making process at your church?"

The results are as follows:


42% Congregation-led

30% Pastor-led

6% Committee- or team-led

4% Deacon-led

4% Elder-led

3% Board or council other than elders

2% Staff-led

0% Trustee-led

7% Other

Acts 6v1 tells us who should be delegating/directing the congregation in important tasks, initiate ministries, and in charge of being a minister of the Word.
Acts 11v28-30 says who should handle the church finances.
Acts 15v1-7 explains who should discuss/debate the doctrinal issues of the church.
Acts 15v20-23 & 28, 16v4 tells us who should make the decisions that are binding upon the church.
Heb. 13v7 & v17 tells us to remember and submit ourselves to those that rule over us, for they watch for our souls.

These are just a few examples of what the Bible says about who should govern the church. So why do so many options make Lifeway's list? Why aren't SBC churches following the model set forth in the Bible when it comes to the decision making of the church?
The study showed 42% of SBC churches are Congregation- led. Are the above scriptures referring to the congregation? The study says 30% of SBC churches are Pastor- led. Are the above verses a reflection of a pastor? Well, yes they do count as qualities that a pastor should hold. By using our biblical model though, we don't see them in a singular format. We see a group of leaders making the decisions of the church. So, one pastor shouldn't govern the church alone for any long period of time. If you've looked at the scriptures presented above it's very clear that churches should be Elder- led. Yet, the survey shows only 4% of SBC churches are governed by elders.
The SBC wonders why it's having such major problems, but all you need to do is look at how their churches are being led. When we don't follow the Bible's example of leadership we shouldn't be surprised when things go horribly wrong in the church body.

"Actions reflect leadership"

In Christ Alone,

Mr. V.

Legacy...

Over the past several weeks I've seen numerous things and been apart of several conversations dealing with the topic of one's legacy. So of course, the wheel begins to turn in my head of "What is the legacy that I'm building for myself?"
Of course we all want to think that we are doing everything well and building an awesome legacy for ourselves, but we need to think deeper then that. If we want to know what type of legacy we are building then something very scary will need to be done. That very scary task would be to ask those closest to you for an honest answer to your questions. Yes, I'm saying to ask your family and best of friends about how they see and think of you.
Before going to others though, take an honest look at yourself and answer your own questions about what you think your legacy would be. What will you be remembered for? Will people remember how much you spent at work or how you loved to spend time with family and friends? Will you be remembered for your theology over talking to people about Jesus? Will you be remembered by your children as being a doer of the Word rather then just a hearer?
These and others are questions that I've started to ask myself when it comes to building a legacy that my children would be proud to tell.

At this point would your legacy be worth telling?

In Christ Alone,

Mr. V.