In a blockbuster vote, the Southern Baptist Convention expelled two churches — including a megachurch with 23,000 members — from the denomination because they had female pastors. The SBC also approved an amendment stating that churches can affirm, appoint or employ “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.” All of this is based on interpretations of a few minuscule pieces of the Bible.
Simultaneously, the SBC claims to support the dignity and worth of women and condemn the denomination’s long history of sexual and verbal abuse.
The Bible says a lot of things — some of which we’ve wholeheartedly disregarded. There are plenty of passages that point to the equality of all genders. Ultimately, the core message of the Bible is to love, affirm and care for all people, especially those who are vulnerable and marginalized. It’s simply impossible to abide by this overarching commandment and treat women as inferior.
First, a look at the Bible. Members of the Southern Baptist Convention often cite a couple of sentences of scripture to justify the subservience of women to men. They extrapolate these fragments to allege that women and men have clearly defined roles based on God-given gender characteristics.
But there are also plenty of passages that show the opposite. For example, Galatians 3:28 states, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” In other words, all creatures of God are divine and worthy, regardless of individual characteristics. Furthermore, there are women in leadership and ministry roles throughout the Bible. For example, a female leader named Deborah served as a judge in Israel. And in Romans 16:1, in some translations, a woman named Phoebe is introduced as a deacon.
There are also sections of our Bible that we question or plainly reject. For instance, the Bible warns against wearing clothing with two different kinds of material — a message that Christians overwhelmingly ignore today. Mark 9:43 states, “And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell.” We know that many SBC leaders have sexually abused women and children, and yet they all still seem to have two hands.
Ultimately, regardless of the myriad of passages and interpretations of the Bible, scripture consistently calls upon us to treat people with love and dignity. That is impossible if women are expected to be submissive to men — or if they can’t access the same opportunities.
After all, how can women’s opinions be respected if the ultimate decision-making authority lies with men? How can a woman report abuse by a man if men are supposedly closer to God? How can a woman possibly claim to be raped by her husband if she’s supposed to acquiesce to his needs?
In many ways, the Southern Baptist Convention’s beliefs about gender roles are flat out sexist, oppressive and deeply unjust. No debate needed.
Ultimately, the SBC can’t affirm the worth of women in one breath and exclude them from leadership in the next. It’s simply impossible to have it both ways. If the church wants to share God’s overwhelming message of love, then the inequality needs to end.
Rev. Dr. Serene Jones is president of Union Theological Seminary, a globally recognized graduate school of theology where faith and scholarship meet to reimagine the work of justice.