Dear Keepers of the Faith:
Last week the Southern Baptist denomination voted to change its constitution in order to fully codify that the office of Pastor could only be held by men. Congregations who deign to use the title Pastor for someone without a Y chromosome will be expelled from the denomination. Closely intertwined with the amendment’s rhetoric was a conservative political pushback related to debates over gender identity. It was not coincidental that former VP Mike Pence addressed the conference in person, and candidate President Trump provided pre-recorded video remarks to the assembly. Affirming the masculine prerequisite for congregational leadership, the vote was seen as a thumb-in-the-eye to political progressives who the Southern Baptists believe are destroying Biblical categories of male authority. Ironically, President Biden, who is running for reelection if you didn’t notice, almost daily attends worship at a church that has doggedly defended male hierarchy for so long that there isn’t even the consideration of a vote on the issue.
What the decision states about the authority of women is clear. Any notion of female equality ends at the threshold of the church. Good Christian ladies are welcome to serve the church in any capacity, but if they hope to speak as full-throated leaders, they are told to quiet down. Those endorsing the policy claim their hands are tied because that’s what the Bible says, so they can do no other; who could even think of thwarting the Word of God?
While most of the attention has been focused on Southern Baptists hamstringing female leadership, I’ve been musing about the strange thing this decision communicates about pastors. Somehow, among all the qualifications for religious leadership, the requirement to possess particular anatomical equipment is for them the least negotiable. One doesn’t have to dive deeply into scandal or abuse allegations to question if this standard has served the church well; several substantial liability settlements may suggest otherwise. But beyond that I wonder what is it about pastoring that implies such particularity regarding gender assignment? I must confess there has never been a moment in my nearly four-decade pastoral career that I have thought, “That was so much easier because I’m a guy,” or “Good thing I’m a man because that made me a much better session moderator, pastoral care giver, preacher…” (fill in the blank).
Of course, that’s not what the Southern Baptists are saying. They’re communicating to their flocks something special about ministers that requires they be male, that pastoral ministry is an act of dominion and hierarchy necessarily reinforced by masculinity. The same logic is affirmed by Roman Catholic ordination requirements, a model that requires pastors to be dominant. This for me is the crux of the problem. God does not call people to be pastors so they may dominate or lord authority over congregations; God calls pastors to serve a capacity given without respect to gender. As Christ put it, “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.’” (Matthew 20.25-28, NASB)
Once a biological characteristic is introduced into qualifications for ‘leadership’ because this chromosomal marker is perceived to be associated with authority, it becomes a justification for the wielding of power in ministry. It is important to note, the Pharisees too were all required to be men. As our own denomination’s (PCUSA) 1991 Brief Statement of Faith articulates, “We trust in God the Holy Spirit… who… calls women and men to all ministries of the church.” Curiously, Roman Catholic reviewers of the statement cried foul on that line, claiming the Presbyterian church to be anti-ecumenical.
There are obviously many other reasons why excluding non-cisgendered males from the pastoral office is, I believe, a misreading of both Scripture and ministry, but what do I know, I’m just a guy.
Striving to be faithful as a pastor and not “that guy”, I remain,
With Love,
Jonathan Krogh
Your Pastor