One week before the beginning of Women’s History Month, the Southern Baptist Convention, to which I formerly belonged, on February 21 made history by expelling five churches from the Convention for - are you ready? - naming women to their pastoral team.  

Chalk up a win for the patriarchy and a loss for women’s rights.   

One of the ousted churches is the largest SBC church in America, Saddleback Church of Lake Forest, California.  Saddleback, which was launched in 1980, has been on the SBC hot seat since the spring of 2021. Under the leadership of founding Pastor Rick Warren, the church announced it ordained three women — all long-tenured staff members — as ministers.

When Warren retired, Andy Wood was named the new pastor. The church named his wife, Stacie Wood, a teaching pastor.  

I guess that was the proverbial straw. The SBC Executive Committee released a statement, which said, in part, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

“Qualified by Scripture” - The decision by the SBC was, they proudly proclaimed, based on Scripture. I wish they would have admitted that it was based on their understanding of Scripture which, like my understanding, may be wrong. There is, though, a tendency maybe in all of us, to think that our interpretation is the right and only interpretation.  

Yes, there is  “Scriptural basis” for the action of the SBC: “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:12-14).  

But, there is also “Scriptural basis” for Saddleback’s action when, for example, Paul refers to a woman, Junia, as “foremost among the apostles” (Acts 16:7). Surely, if Paul describes a woman as an apostle, a woman should be entitled to be a pastor.   

So, there you go. That’s a bit of a dilemma for those who see the Scripture as their primary guide.  What do we do when one Scriptures says one thing but another Scripture says something else? 

• Because I take the Bible seriously, I don’t take it literally. Remember those “Slaves obey your masters” verses?  

• I see in the Bible a projection from oppression to freedom. Let’s continue that movement.

• Really, Jesus, not the Bible, is my guide (John 5:39; Matthew 28:18). Think about it. Do we really want to elevate the Bible over Jesus?

Want to hear some irony? The theme for this year’s Women’s History Month is “Celebrating Women Who Tell Our Stories.”

Why is the church not letting women tell the stories?