No… I don’t have any predictions.  But I am thinking a lot of you all do!

What are some predictions that you all have about the SBC for this year?

Any predictions on what comes of the GCR? Or what the GCRTF reports? President predictions? New theological arguments that arise? Any predictions with our seminaries?  Anything!

The SBC is too big for nothing exciting to happen… There will be A LOT that goes on this year- what do you all predict that those things will be?

Les Puryear:

As the GCRTF meets this week to finalize their recommendations before presenting them to the EC in February, I suggest that the Task Force ask the following question of all of their recommendations:

“How is this going to help the average church with 80 people (our median size church) accomplish their part of the Great Commission?”

This post is written by Kevin L. Howard

Should Southern Baptist women use the Scriptures to teach or train men in Sunday school or other settings?  It’s a simple thesis with many implications, so let’s get into it.

The Baptist Faith & Message of 2000 and Scripture

Article 6, The Church, of the BF&M 2000, says, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

I agree with this BF&M statement.  I just wished it went further.  Scripture doesn’t say, “Women can’t pastor or hold the office of pastor.”  It actually says more.  First Timothy 2:11-12, says, “Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness.  But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet” (NASV).  In similar fashion, the ESV says, “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.  I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.”  For those who argue that this is just instruction Paul gave to the church of Ephesus only for their situation, then I’d ask them if we should interpret the rest of 1 Timothy in this manner, too?  Perhaps what we know about the office of pastor from 1 Timothy 3 is also cultural.  How do we know that 1 Timothy 6:10–”For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” (ESV)–isn’t also cultural for only that era?  (For a detailed analysis of the many Old Testament and New Testament texts relevant for this discussion, see my articlesWomen in the Teaching Ministry of the Church (1 Timothy 2:11-15) and Examining Bilezikian’s Book, “Beyond Sex Roles”).

If I’m right in my assumptions that women are limited beyond pastoring a group with men in it, the implications go much further than, “…the office of pastor is limited to men….”  Rather, the Bible says women can’t teach men the Scripture, nor can they exercise authority over a man.  Although I think there could be a lot of value in a denomination-wide discussion on women not ruling over men, in this article I’ll focus on women teaching Scripture to men.

While Article 18 of the BF&M 2000 doesn’t have as much bearing on my thesis, I’ve listed it here because it talks about a woman’s relationship to her husband and the home.  It says, “The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God’s image.  The marriage relationship models 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 protect, and to lead his family.  A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.  She, being in the image of God as is her husband and thus equal to him, has the God-given responsibility to respect her husband and to serve as his helper in managing the household and nurturing the next generation.”

For married SBC women, I’m not sure how a wife can serve as a helper to her husband to whom she’s supposed to submit, while at the same time teaching him Scripture in a Sunday school class or on the mission field.  Any role where she has authority over a man seems to violate the biblical standard.  (This is not to say that a husband can’t learn something biblical from his wife in the course of their daily lives.  He can be a learner without her functioning as a teacher.)

Conforming to Scripture

I’m thankful for our denomination’s stand on this sex-gender issue with the BF&M of 2000.  It was definitely a counter-cultural move.  By God’s grace the BF&M of 2000 marked that our denomination had been (mostly) purified from the moderate and liberal streams that previously polluted it.  And we’ve been spared, again by God’s grace, the battle of over homosexuality that threatens most mainline denominations.

I hope our churches will reflect the true spirit of 1 Timothy 2 and the other passages in Scripture about women serving in their proper roles.  My prayer is that every aspect of our SBC church and mission field structure reflects conformity to Scripture.  Here are a few examples that reflect the biblical model:

• Male Sunday school teachers (for adults with men in the mix),
• Male bosses at every level of the church (except for where women are leading only other women or children),
• Men training adults (with men in the mix on the mission field), whether that involves training IMB personnel or nationals.

The simple fact is, our methodology says what we really think about the Bible and God.  My suggestion is that Southern Baptists soon modify the current BF&M to reflect a more accurate picture of what Scripture says on the sex-gender issue.

• Can a woman pastor?  Yes, as long as she pastors only women or children.  Ministry is something that all believers enter into once Christ brings them into the kingdom.  Thus, God may grant some women the gift of shepherding, but it must be used in the right context that Scripture outlines.
• Can a woman serve in such a way at a church where she’s leading men or ruling over them?  Scripture says no.
• What about on the mission field where workers are few and the harvest is great, and men seem less likely to sign up in the number that women do?  I’m grateful to the many godly women who’ve served our Lord faithfully through the years in a variety of ways, but we’ll always stand on safe ground when we honor all that Scripture teaches rather than trying a plan that God didn’t set up.

The Issues at Stake

1. The furtherance of the gospel matters.  By gospel, I don’t mean merely the simple plan of salvation.  Rather, the complete gospel is about the joy that the triune God has in being God.  It’s about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit bringing fallen humans into fellowship with him so they too can taste and see the goodness of God–and thus glorify him forever.  God has ordained that men teach men (and where appropriate, men may teach women and children) and that older women teach younger women (Titus 2:3-5), and, presumably children.  If a man isn’t available to teach a man or a group of men, like in a Sunday school class or on the mission field, perhaps we’re sometimes too ready to allow women to teach rather than to wait for God to raise up the right man for the task.  Getting the gospel to the lost and discipling the saved are important, but methodology matters, too.  Reproduction in church planting needs the right methodology to be scriptural.  We can’t talk about the importance of accurate doctrine, as with, say, the Trinity and the trustworthiness of the Bible, but ignore Scripture’s methodology for how the gospel spreads and how discipleship takes place.

2. The integrity of our witness is on the line.  Integrity means standing where Scripture stands.  No one except God can truly say that the growing feministic influences in the evangelical church will always lead to liberalism regarding the cardinal doctrines like reliability of Scripture, divinity of Christ, the Trinity, etc., but we should avoid blatantly ignoring the teachings laid down for us in Scripture on the sex-gender issue, even if such obedience flies in the face of our culture.

3. The generations to come need our help.  The present and future generations need the biblical picture modeled.  Without following the biblical model, we’ll end up with an abundance of weak men and a plethora of strong-willed women in our churches and on the mission field.  Such isn’t what Christ wants for his church and we shouldn’t want it either.

My suggestion to modify the BF&M is controversial, but we’re Southern Baptists, no strangers to controversy.  We should avoid unnecessary controversy when we can but not at the expense of Scripture.  By God’s grace, we can navigate through more discussion on these issues, and stay focused on the main thing–savoring the glory of God and taking that joyous delight to those who haven’t heard.

It has been decided… SBC Voices is going to give away some books!  Through my Twitter account- @matthewsvoboda and in the comment section of the last post I heard from you all on what books you would like to be given away.

Here are the results:

John Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Meaning of the Pentateuch- John Sailhamer

The Trellis and the Vine- Colin Marshall and Tony Payne

The total is right at $100.00.

Here is how you get in the running for the giveaway:

You have three different ways to get in the contest:

1)  List your full name, first and last, in the comment section

2) Tweet this- “RT @matthewsvoboda RT for a chance to win: $100 Book Giveaway http://sbcvoices.com/kicking-off-2010-right-100-book-giveaway/ ”

3) If you have a blog, write a post telling people about the Giveaway. (it doesnt matter how long the post is as long as it is linked back to this post.

Your name will be put in the drawing according to how many of those 3 things you do!

The giveaway will end next Wednesday 1-20!  Good Providence!  ;)

We are going to give away some books to kick off the new year… In fact we are gonig to give away $100 worth of free books!!!!!

I want you all to be involved in picking what books you would like to see given away.

We get to do this because of our WTS blog partners program- so all of the books you suggest have to be available at the Westminster Book Store or your suggestion is pointless…

So lets hear it- What books would you like to see given away?  Calvins Institutes? Meaning of the Pentatuech? Give me multiple suggestions, but realize we will not exceed $100… Also, people will be suggesting to me on Twitter @matthewsvoboda so some of the books we get might not be seen in the comment thread.

Here is your chance?!

Abstain from those things which are ungodly. Abstain from that which appears ungodly. Abstain from specific things scripture clearly defines as sin–gossip, talebearing, strife, pride. Abstain from foolish and unwise things. Abstain from impurity–in thought, word, or deed.

Can you manage that? Hmmmn. I tried for ten minutes and couldn’t get past the “thought” portion. For instance: while I was writing that first paragraph I thought of all the folks who’d assign particulars to each sentence. I thought of arguments it may provoke. I thought irritating thoughts about irritating people.  I considered barbs and heat I might encounter.  Yet, think about it. Is anything in that first paragraph I said hateful? offensive? untrue?

Some folks think that just because one person abstains from some particular action, and posits himself with reason, rationale, evidence, and biblical principle, that the “one person” condemns all those with an opposing position to eternal death. That is simply not true of all people who seek to live out the faith-walk the Lord gives.

Wonder why God had Paul tell us to abstain from even the appearance of evil. Think God meant it to make us miserable? Wonder why God tells us to love the unlovely. Think God wants us to perform the impossible? Wonder why God tells us not to become unequally yoked with the world? Think God believes we are better than the world? Abstaining.

Abstaining from things that are unseemly, or could cause another to stumble or falter in their faith, should not bother us. Should it? I figure it only bothers us when we want what we want when we want it. Our desires supercede any good God can bring about because of our obedience. Does our liberty in Christ supercede any harm that our actions or inaction could cause another seeker? I don’t think so.

Holiness isn’t all about abstaining.  Holiness is living out the life of Christ within us; it separates us from the world. Holiness is the Holy Spirit within our spirit hungering and thirsting for the best of life. He seeks the newness of life for us. He seeks to transform and renew our minds to habitually walk in Christ, everyday, all day. He does not lead us in the way of any temptation…not one. He leads us away from temptation. He guides us and steers our thoughts to the purity of life. The devil has us focus on our own desires, our own enjoyments, our own pleasures and comforts. The devil doesn’t want us to suffer any inconvenience for the sake of the gospel. He tells us God will understand why we do or do not do something. He tells us we need not bother ourselves with living as Jesus lived, or is calling us to live. Do you think Satan even reminds us that God is merciful and what we do is covered in the liberty of God’s grace? I think he does. Just as he used the goodness of God to entice Eve to eat of the tree in the midst of the garden of Eden. The reminder Satan gives comes before the act, not after.

Grace fills the crevices of our faults and weaknesses, yet gives what we need to close those gaps in our walk with Christ as they are revealed to us. Grace is second chances. Grace is patience in our immaturity. Grace covers our deficiencies and creates in us a desire to correct them as we grow in it’s shadows. Grace even makes allowances for our stubborn refusal to give all to Christ. It lets us go our own way until we fall flat on our faces, and then grace is the cushion beneath the hard pavement of consequence. Grace covers our sin and picks us up. Grace cradles us in its arms till we are healed to walk again. Grace is sufficient to meet all our needs. All means all. Every single thing we need is fulfilled in the grace of God. We won’t be kicked out of the kingdom because we fail a test, or lose a battle with our flesh. We will be given more grace to meet the challenges before us. We will be given more grace to drop our nets and follow Him immediately. We will be given more grace to pick up our cross. We will be given more grace to deny ourselves and live for Him, with Him, in Him.

Well, at least that is grace as I understand it. How about you?

Hariette Petersen (a.k.a. SelahV)

Question 1- What were some of your favorite books in 2009?

Question 2- What books are you most looking forward to read in 2010?