The Ordination of Women Leon McBeth

The ordination of Addie Davis in 1964 ushered in a new era in the history of Southern Baptist ministry. Although by no means the first Southern Bap­ tist woman to perform the functions of ministry, Ms. Davis was apparently the first to receive formal ordination to ministry in a Southern Baptist church. Since 1964 perhaps a hundred or more women have received similar ordination in churches affiliated with the SBC. This practice has proven both troublesome and controversial. Opponents and proponents have scrambled for biblical, theological, and practical arguments to buttress their viewpoints. The purpose of this article is neither to defend or deplore the ordination of women nor to advance biblical or any other kind of arguments for or against the practice. Instead, this historical survey is intended to set out recent trends concerning the ordination of Southern Baptist women, and to assess something of their import and consequences. A New Trend Historians are generally agreed that the ordination of Addie Davis on August 15, 1964, represents a new trend in Southern Baptist concepts of ministry and ordination. Although Baptist women were known to preach among early English Baptists and among Separate Baptists in the colonial South, they did so without benefit of formal ordination.1 A brief survey of nineteenth-century Southern Baptist literature confirms that ordination was restricted to men. Women were not forbidden to be ordained; the subject sim­ ply did not come up, and ordination almost always was set in a context of masculine pronouns. Typical is the Dover Association of Virginia, which in 1844 explained that "the church, by her united suffrage, calls a brother to or­ dination" and "by imposition of hands and prayer . . . welcomes him into the sacred office."2 Of the popular Baptist church manuals since 1845, all of which discuss or­ dination at length, none mentions women as eligible for that ceremony.3 They use masculine pronouns and reveal in other ways that to Baptist leaders of the time ordination was for men only. As late as 1958 excellent articles on "Minister, the Southern Baptist," and "Ordination, Ministers," in the widely circulated Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists made no mention of women's eligibility for or execution of these offices.4 Volume III of that same en­ cyclopedia, published in 1971, has no article on the ordination or ministerial 515

roles of women. Volume IV, to be released in 1982, will have articles taking account of the new trends of women in ministry. Two major Southern Baptist confessions of faith adopted in this century, at Memphis in 1925 and Kansas City in 1963, both deal with ministry and ordination, but neither mentions the possibility of women in that role. A booklet on The Ordination of Baptist Ministers,s issued jointly by the faculties of three SBC seminaries in 1946 and intended to represent at least a semi-official position statement by the denomination, does not mention women and uses masculine pronouns throughout. All this evidence tends to confirm the judgment of W. W. Barnes in 1953 that "Southern Baptists . . . were ultraconservative on the question of women taking any part in church life, especially in the matter of women speaking before mixed audiences."6 Having established that the ordination of Southern Baptist women represents a new trend, one must guard against the erroneous assumption that their performing the functions of ministry is an equally new practice. The fact is that women have long been serving in various ministry roles in Baptist churches without ordination. E. Glenn Hinson is correct in his summary statement that Baptist "women have been accorded equal status in terms of service, but they have been denied or, at best, grudgingly conceded the same in terms of recognition."7 Although Southern Baptists have been somewhat late in extending ordination to women, their experience has not been unlike that of other major Protestant denominations. Women were known to preach and exhort in colonial America among Congregationalists, Quakers, Methodists, and Baptists, but without formal ordination. The first official ordination of a woman to ministry in America was that of Antoinette Brown on September 15T1853.8 An Oberlin graduate, Miss Brown (later Mrs. Samuel C. Blackwell) also received one of the first theological degrees awarded to a woman. Her ordination took place in a Baptist church, though not under Baptist sponsorship. Women were among the earliest and most effective preachers among the Quakers, but they, like the Quaker men who preached, disdained ordination. The Unitarians ordained women by the 1860s and Northern Baptists ordained a woman in the 1890s. Women preached among Methodists and Presbyterians in the nineteenth century, but did not receive formal ordination until the 1950s. Presently most major Protestant groups in America ordain women, as do more than seventy member churches of the World Council of Churches. Daughters Who Prophesy The practice of ordaining Southern Baptist women proceeded slowly. After the first such ordination in 1964 it was seven years before a second woman was ^-dained in 1971. In 1972 two more were ordained; in 1973, three 516

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more; and thereafter the tempo picked up with several women being ordain­ ed each year. No exact count is available, but by 1981 it appears that well over a hundred women have received ministerial ordination in Southern Baptist churches. In 1978 there were over 1600 women enrolled in six SBC seminaries, many of whom said they intended to seek ordination upon gradu­ ation. It appears that what began as a new trend in 1964 promises to develop into a major alteration of Southern Baptist concepts and practice of ministry. Most Southern Baptist women in ministry agree that their most serious problem is not in getting ordained but in securing suitable placement in the work of ministry after ordination. Ordination does not remove subordination. Most of the ordained women serve in nonpreaching roles, such as chaplains in hospitals and correctional institutions, teachers, counselors, and non-pastoral church staff positions. For example, Marjorie Bailey, the third Southern Baptist woman ordained (1972), serves as a senior chaplain in the Virginia state prison system. Elizabeth G. Hutchens, ordained in 1973, served as a seminary professor and counselor until her death on February 13, 1980. Jeanette Zachry, ordained by the Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth in 1974, sought that certification to qualify for a military chaplaincy. Kathline Thom, the first Southern Baptist woman ordained in Missouri (1977), sought to qualify for a position in hospital chaplaincy. As recently as 1975 Sarah Frances Anders could write of ordained Southern Baptist women: "In the local church, they are invisible as pastors and decreasing as professional staff members."* Women are, however, no longer invisible in Southern Baptist pulpits. In an increasing number of churches, women preach the eleven o'clock sermon, baptize converts, perform marriage ceremonies, conduct funerals, and perform all the work of church administration, pastoral counseling, and other pastoral leadership. An increasing number of Southern Baptist churches have women as associate pastors, interim pastors, or co-pastors. Two examples will illustrate these trends.10 Janet Garrison, ordained in 1980, was in early 1981 elected interim pastor of the Chamberlayne Baptist Church of Richmond. A graduate of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, the 27-year old Ms. Garrison was serving as a pastoral intern at the church when the pastor resigned. In the interim the church asked her to assume all pastoral duties, including regular Sunday preaching and the leader­ ship of Wednesday prayer services. She has performed marriages, conducted funerals, and baptized about twenty converts, nine of them in one service. She says, "The people have seen me and related to me as pastor. They placed me in that role and it helped me to grow."11 Anne P. Rosser provides another example. She, along with her husband Aubrey, is co-pastor of the Bainbridge-Southampton Baptist Church in Rich­ mond. Described as "one church with two locations," BainbridgeSouthampton is the result of a merger of two congregations which meet 517

sometimes together and sometimes in their separate buildings. Dr. Rosser—she holds the Doctor of Ministry degree—was ordained in 1978 and shares all pastoral functions with her husband. Both of them preach at the eleven o'clock services, he in one location and she in the other. They frequently alternate locations. Usually both preach on the same scripture text and themes, but they have learned that each must do independent sermon preparation. On June 1, 1980, co-pastor Anne Rosser baptized three of five candidates at the Bainbridge location. Fred Anderson, executive director of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, thinks this "may have been the first baptism per­ formed by a woman minister within the Southern Baptist Convention."12 Increasingly, ordained women are being thrust into preaching roles as associate pastors. Since associate pastors often preach in the absence of the pastor and since many women serve in that role, an increasing number of women find themselves with at least occasional pulpit responsibilities. In cases where the pastor resigns, a number of these churches are asking women associate pastors to assume the role of interim pastor, with responsibility for all pastoral duties, including regular Sunday preaching. I am presently aware of several such churches in different states. This kind of temporary pulpit status for women may seem less permanent and therefore less threatening than would a regular pastorate. The role of "co-pastor" for the pastor's wife is both old and new. It is old in the sense that wives of Baptist pastors have always ministered side by side with their husbands as time, opportunity, and family responsibilities allowed. It is new in that recently a few such wives have been ordained to ministry exactly as were their husbands, called by the church, and provided a salary as a regular part of the church ministerial staff. In some cases the husband is named "senior minister"; in other cases co-pastors are defined as equal in status. One such husband-wife ministerial team among Southern Baptists was formed by John Sylvester-Johnson and his wife Joy, co-pastors of the TwentyThird and Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville.13 Ordained in 1977, Ms. Sylvester-Johnson is a seminary graduate, as is her husband, and takes her regular turn at preaching as well as performing her share of all other pastoral responsibilities. In addition to these a growing number of other husband-wife ministerial teams are active in Southern Baptist life. Some observers feel this trend has positive as well as negative potential. Although this new role gives women who feel a call to ministry some outlet for exercising that call without the ob­ stacle of being sole pastor of a Baptist church, it could lead to yet another in­ ferior status for women if Southern Baptists see and accept women only in assistant or secondary roles. 518

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Reasons Behind the Changes That Southern Baptists are undergoing profound changes in their con­ ceptions of the role of women in religion can hardly be doubted. Exactly why these changes are taking place is less clear. The historian can rarely say for sure exactly why anything happened. The most one can attempt is to evaluate changing trends within their historical context and suggest several con­ tributing factors. Probably there are multiple causes for these new trends. In another place,14 I have suggested at least six factors which may have con­ tributed to the changing roles of women in Southern Baptist church life. Presence of Prepared Women One inescapable fact is that Southern Baptist women are better prepared for church service than ever before. Hundreds of women as well as men are graduates of college and seminary and have been trained in all the ministe­ rial skills of biblical exegesis, pastoral ministry, church administration, and preaching. These women are sensitive to spiritual needs and are as highly motivated to Christian service as are men. The question of ministerial roles for such women is no longer theoretical. Southern Baptists seem more ready to embrace a theory restricting the roles of women than to deny a place of service to a real woman who is present, prepared, effective, and needed. One Southern Baptist stateman suggests that the presence of such prepared women may do more to alter Southern Baptist practices than our more theoretical discussions of theology or biblical teachings. Response to Spiritual Need No one can doubt that our society faces devastating spiritual needs. Un­ churched multitudes call for Christian witness, disintegrating families cry out for caring counselors, lonely people in hospitals and other institutions need chaplains, and Southern Baptist congregations need vital ministries of teaching, nurturing, and proclamation. In these latter days the Lord of the Harvest, to whom Southern Baptists have prayed for more laborers, seems to be answering those prayers in unexpected ways. More and more women as well as men, after careful spiritual reflection, say they feel God is calling them to ministry. Amid such crushing spiritual needs a growing number of Baptists seem willing to welcome every voice raised for Christ, whatever its pitch. Response to the Women1s Movement in Society One remembers that Southern Baptist women are Americans, too, and they are acutely aware of what has been called the "Women's Liberation Movement." Millions of women are employed outside the home and know first­ hand the progress and problems of women in modern America. It would be naive to suggest that Southern Baptist women are oblivious to developments affecting the roles of women in other denominations or in society generally. To say as one observer did, however, that "the clamor of 519

Southern Baptist women today is nothing more than a few women libbers who have invaded the church" is grossly misleading.15 Such a statement does not do justice to the serious biblical and theological study on this subject, nor does it take account of the deep religious commitment and sense of divine call which characterizes those women seeking ordination. In his helpful study, "Women and the Ministry," C. Stewart Pétrie insists that "the contemporary plea for the acceptance of women into the ministry of the Church is ultimately bound up with the modern 'emancipation' of women and the general intolerance of restraint." 16 Those who favor the ordination of women generally concede that the issue has undoubtedly been raised at this juncture of history as a result of efforts to emancipate women in all walks of life, but they do not concede that this or any other secular movement provides the basis for the desire of women to serve Christ in additional ways. Response to Other Denominations Whether they approve or not, Southern Baptist women know what their counterparts are doing in other denominations. Though they may not be aware of details, they know that most denominations in America now ordain women on an equal basis with men. This cannot but have had an impact upon Southern Baptist women as well as men. Some Baptist groups, like the Free Wills, have ordained women since the mid-nineteenth century. American Bap­ tists in the North have ordained women since the late nineteenth century. Methodists, Presbyterians, and some Lutheran groups now ordain women. The struggle for full ordination on the part of Episcopal women was voted the number one religious news story of 1974. There is not reason to think that Southern Baptist women, or men either, have consciously sought to imitate other denominations, but the examples of such groups cannot have been without influence. Reinterpretation of Scripture Baptists have always been, and are now, firmly committed to the authority of the Bible. Although that deep commitment to biblical authority abides unchanging, Baptist interpretation of the Bible can vary and has varied at different times and places in our history. In the past more Southern Bap­ tists interpreted the Bible in such a way as to keep women in silence and sub­ jection, making much of the so-called "Pauline restrictions" upon the religious roles of women. In recent years, however, a growing number of Southern Bap­ tist scholars, pastors, and lay persons are reading those same passages in dif­ ferent light. They profess to find in both testaments an emphasis upon human dignity and equality and find new dimensions of biblical truth when passages are interpreted in context and in light of the teachings and practice of Jesus. Interpreting biblical teachings about women is, as William E. Hull says, a "notorious difficulty."17 That difficulty, however, has not prevented Baptists and others from attempting the task. The result is that a growing number of 520

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Southern Baptists do not find in the Bible final barriers to a more active church role for women. Expanded Concepts of Ministry One cannot account for the increased roles of Baptist women apart from our expanded concepts of ministry. In earlier Southern Baptist life being in "the ministry" meant being a pastor, or possibly a missionary. Those were our only ministry models, but now those models have been vastly expanded. Our churches today call and often ordain ministers of education, ministers of music, ministers to youth, ministers to the aged, and ministers of administration and finance. Other ordained ministers serve as counselors or chaplains in hospitals, schools, factories, retirement homes, correctional institutions, and the military. One college Sunday School department humorously confirmed these expanded concepts by designating the freshmen woman charged with bringing refreshments each Sunday morning as "minister of donuts." Many ordained Baptist women are performing jobs that in earlier times did not require ordination. Increasingly such jobs, especially if related to government or social agencies, require that applicants be ordained. This does not so much represent a change in the actual roles of Baptist women as a change in their formal ecclesiastical status. They have long served as counselors, chaplains, and teachers, but now they must be ordained even to be considered for employment in many such positions. Perhaps the growing custom of ordaining people for non-preaching forms of ministry also influenced the ordination of women. In his excellent article on "Ministerial Certification in Southern Baptist History," John E. Steely says, "The practice of ordaining persons for various functions other than the pastoral ministry, such as education, music ministry, and chaplaincies of various kinds, inevitably raised the question of the propriety of ordaining women who were serving, or would serve, in these capacities."18 Traditionally, Southern Baptist women with a sense of special "call" fulfilled that calling through foreign mission service. Throughout our history women have been prominent in foreign missions, and as recently as the mid70s they still constituted 54 percent of appointees under the Foreign Mission Board.1* Baptists have long debated the ministerial status of missionaries. Are they ministers or not? Most Baptists have at least informally considered missionaries as bona fide ministers. The "commissioning service" by which foreign missionaries are sent out applies equally to men and women and has been rightly regarded as the theological and functional equivalent of ordination. Government agencies have also debated the ministerial status of Southern Baptist missionaries. In the late 1950s the Executive Committee of the SBC engaged in a series of negotiations with the Tax Rulings Division of the In521

ternal Revenue Service about whether "regularly commissioned" missionaries had the same tax status as "regularly ordained" ministers. In an early ruling the 1RS ruled that Southern Baptist missionaries did not qualify as ministers and were thus ineligible for whatever benefits such status might include. This led the Foreign Mission Board to make a clarifying statement, approved by the SBC in May of 1959: Whereas, Title II of the Social Security Act, and Section 1402(e) of the Internal Revenue Act, permit election of O.A.S.I. coverage by duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister of a church in the exercise of his ministry; therefore, be it Resolved, that we declare the fact, in order to clarify the status of our foreign missionaries, that those whom our denominational ter­ minology has termed "commissioned missionaries" are com­ missioned ministers.20 On May 28,1959, the government response said, "It is now our conclusion that your commissioned missionaries are 'commissioned ministers of a church' within the meaning of section 1402 (3)."21 Thus the government recognized that for legal purposes commissioning was the functional equivalent or or­ dination. It is not the purpose of this paper to explore the fascinating governmental ramifications of ecclesiastical ordination. It is of more than passing interest, however, that several years before the first ordination of a woman to ministry in a Southern Baptist church, the SBC had, by official Convention vote on May 20, 1959, in effect declared that its hundreds of women foreign missionaries, as well as men under the same appointment, were regarded as ministers with a status equal to ordination. Baptist Response to Ordination of Women Baptist response to the ordination of women, like their response to every other question, has been varied. A storm of protest greeted the ordination of Addie Davis in 1964, but it quieted after she took a job outside SBC ranks and when no other ordination of a woman took place for several years. By the mid­ dle 1970s, however, when such ordinations had become more numerous, both opponents and proponents became more outspoken. Individuals, local associations, and state conventions debated the issue and spoke out for or against the practice. The ordination of women surfaced in a controversial way at the SBC meeting of 1973 in Portland and tended to be the most dominant and controversial matter before the Convention until the Atlanta meeting of 1978. In the late 1970s a few Baptist associations and state conventions passed resolutions of varying degrees of intensity in opposition to the ordination of women. Although most such groups dealt with the question largely in 522

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theoretical terms, the historic South District Association in Kentucky set a new precedent by actually dismissing a church from fellowship for ordaining a woman.22 In February, 1977, Suzanne M. Coyle was ordained by the Beech Fork Baptist Church near Gravel Switch, Kentucky. The only child in a devout Baptist family, Suzanne grew up in Sunday School, Girls' Auxiliary mission groups, revival meetings, and of course attended church regularly. As a high school student she became interested in ministry and later changed her college major accordingly. After her graduation from Princeton Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Theology, Miss Coyle requested or­ dination by her home church. By then she was already active in ministry, ser­ ving as chaplain-pastor of the Center City Baptist Chapel in Philadelphia, a work sponsored in part by the Home Mission Board. After much prayer and consultation the Beech Fork church affirmed the reality of her call and gifts and so ordained her. Opposition developed at once in the association. The Executive Board notified the Beech Fork church, which had enjoyed fellowship in that association for more than a century, that unless they rescinded the ordination they would be disfellowshipped. Months of conversation and negotiations failed to bring peace. Pastor Mike Jamison and the Beech Fork church refused to acquiesce to associational pressures to rescind the ordination. At the annual meeting in October, 1977, the associational messengers voted to exclude the Beech Fork church.23 The association had agreed to con­ duct its business by the familiar Roberts' Rules of Order., which requires a two-thirds majority to exclude. The vote of 98 to 64, though a clear majority, was not sufficient for legal exclusion. No one challenged the vote, however, and the church was and is regarded as excluded. This by far the most stringent response of any Baptist body to the question of ordaining women. Because the Coyle case was widely publicized and because her ministry was at least remotely connected with a SBC agency, the incident triggered widespread Baptist response. Several associations in Arkansas passed resolutions against ordination for women. On November 10, 1977, the Arkan­ sas state convention adopted the following resolution: WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that the Home Mission Board is giving financial support to an ordained woman; and Whereas, This is contradictory to the past practice of the Home Mission Board; and now be it THEREFORE RESOLVED, That the Arkansas Baptist State Con­ vention meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas this November 10, 1977, go on record as looking with disfavor toward this practice.24 Earlier the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma had gone on record as opposing ordination of women as deacons or ministers. In Kentucky, 523

however, where the Beech Fork church was ousted, the state convention refused to go along. In November, 1978, a "Resolution on Ordination of Women" was changed to a "Resolution on Ordination," and the state con­ vention used the opportunity to reaffirm the autonomy of the local church in the matter of ordination. They concluded: "Churches ordain. Conventions do not."26 Other associations and state conventions have gone on record as ap­ proving ordination for women or at least as urging an attitude of openness to the idea that God may call whom he wills. Individuals have embraced and published similar views. Perhaps many Southern Baptists would identify with Duke McCall, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who after exposition of relevant scripture passages concluded that the New Testament "leaves us with no biblical precedent for the ordaining of women to the role of bishop or its equivalent and no specific prohibition against doing so."28 Several times the issue of female ordination has been discussed on the floor of the SBC, but the Convention has never taken a specific stand on the question. Several times the Convention has specifically refused to become in­ volved in ordination, reaffirming that it is a local church issue. In the Atlanta meeting of 1978 the messengers refused to allow even an unofficial straw vote or opinion ballot on the question. Although votes by associations and conventions register the judgments of messengers present and voting, they do not necessarily reveal an authentic cross-section of Southern Baptist opinion. It is difficult indeed to assess the opinions of over thirteen million Southern Baptists on any question. Three sur­ veys of limited scope have measured, however, at least the rudiments of Southern Baptist response to ordination for women. In 1978 Clay L. Price, em­ ployed by the Home Mission Board, submitted to the graduate faculty of West Georgia College as his master's thesis the study, "A Survey of Southern Bap­ tist Attitudes toward the Role of Women in Church and Society."27 By far the most extensive and scientific survey on the subject, Price's work reveals that 24 percent of the Baptists surveyed approved of ordination of women as chaplains, 34 percent approved ordination of women as deacons, and a sur­ prising 75 percent approved ordination of women to such ministries as education, music, and youth. Only about 17 percent, however, approved or­ dination of women to preaching ministry, and about the same number said they believed a woman could be called of God as a preacher and could ef­ fectively fulfill that role. Another survey, more limited in scope, was conducted by Minette Drumwright, who surveyed the attitudes and beliefs of Southern Baptist women at­ tending WMU weeks at Ridgecrest and Glorieta in the summer of 1977. Mrs. Drumwright, wife of the executive director of the Arkansas state convention, 524

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is a popular speaker and writer. Her questionnaires revealed that over 50 per­ cent of Southern Baptist women in some age groups agreed with the statement that "women should be ordained to the ministry if they feel God has called them."28 Not surprisingly, more Ridgecrest than Glorieta women agreed with that statement. What might be surprising to some is that more older women agreed with the statement than did younger women. The Drumwright survey also confirmed that there is a definite correlation between attitudes of Southern Baptist women toward the roles of women in society and in the church. In early 1978 Charles V. Petty, then director of the Christian Life Council of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, sent a questionnaire to 80 directors of missions in that state. 29 Results showed that two associations had voted in favor of ordination for women, while one had voted against. The others had not addressed the question. Forty associations reported that churches in their fellowship had ordained women as deacons, with a total of 128 churches known to have done so. Twelve associations reported that churches in their fellowship had ordained women to ministry, with a total of 18 such ordinations reported. Thirty-eight Mission Directors thought atti­ tudes were changing in their area, of whom 36 reported that the change was toward more openness and acceptance of women as deacons and ministers. Ten directors reported no change of attitudes, thirteen had no opinion, and one reported a shift toward more opposition to women. Although limited in design and scope, these surveys show overwhelming support for ordination of women to non-pastoral ministries such as music, education, youth, and chaplaincy. Support for the idea of ordaining women to pastoral ministry is quite small, probably less than 20 percent, but it appears to be growing. An observer notes a distinct difference in Southern Baptist attitudes toward the idea of ordaining women and in reactions to the actual ministry of such women. Many find it far easier to reject the concept than the person who embodies the concept. Most observers, opponents and proponents, agree that ordained women have done and are doing effective work. Out of her experience, one ordained woman advised others as follows: "Don't argue or defend your ministry. Just minister. People may reject your arguments; they will rarely reject actual ministry that is caring and effective." Implications for Baptists The ordination of women raises far-reaching questions for Southern Bap­ tists. Perhaps some of these would have surfaced anyway out of the crises of culture in our time, but the role of women in ministry has accelerated or in­ tensified them or both. At least three questions are posed by women ministers among Southern Baptists. First, we must face the question of who has authority to ordain. 525

Throughout our history ordination has been primarily in the hands of the local church. As early as 1609 John Smyth, generally recognized as the founder of the earliest Baptist church of modern history, insisted that "the Church hath power to Elect, approve & ordeyne her owne Elders, also; to elect, approve, & ordeyne her owne Deacons both men & women."*0 The influential Second Lon­ don Confession of English Baptists in 1689 declared that "a particular Church gathered, and compleatly Organized, according to the mind of Christ" can do all gospel acts including ordination. This confession specifies that "the way appointed by Christ for the Calling of any person, fitted, and gifted by the Holy Spirit, unto the Office of Bishop, or Elder, in a Church, is, that he be chosen thereunto by the common suffrage of the Church it self."31 That has been the pattern followed for the most part among Baptists in this country as well. Gaines S. Dobbins calls ordination "recognition and con­ firmation by a church" of God's call.32 Herschel H. Hobbs writes that "in Southern Baptist practice the local church is the ordaining body."33 All the popular Baptist church manuals confirm that the local church, and only the local church, has power to ordain. Nevertheless, Baptist associations in the South have exercised some in­ fluence in ordination. In 1851 for example, the Pamlico Association in North Carolina insisted upon its right to approve or reject the ordination of any can­ didate active in its boundaries.34 Another association in 1845 amended its con­ stitution to add the following article: That the churches within our bounds be requested to send their can­ didates, for the Gospel Ministry, to the Association for examination; who, if approved, shall receive a certificate of the same from the Moderator, to be ordained when and where the Church with which he holds his membership may select.35 A few Baptist associations in England and America not only examined candidates but actually conducted ordinations. However, that has not been the primary pattern among Southern Baptists. Although some associations still play a role through their Ordination Committee, clearly the primary authority rests within each local church. The ordination of women may challenge this view and require its reexamination. At least one association has excluded an affiliated church for ordaining a woman. The church argued, and many Baptist observers agree, that this in effect gives the association power over the ordination practices of the local church. Does a local church really have the right to ordain those per­ sons whom it feels are truly called of God without forfeiting its status as a cooperating Southern Baptist church? If the SBC should ever adopt a resolution or confessional statement condemning the ordination of women and disfellowshipping churches that ordained them, would that violate the freedom of the local church? To the present time most denominational bodies, 526

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from the association to the national convention, have steadfastly refused to pronounce on ordination questions, insisting that all such questions belong to the local church and to that body only. A second question raised by the ordination of women concerns the basic meaning of ordination itself, whether for men or women. Instead of asking, "Why women?" some Southern Baptists are asking, "Why ordain anyone?" Are the biblical and theological evidences sufficient to support our complex or­ dination practices? H. E. Dana, biblical scholar of another generation, admitted that New Testament teachings on ordination are "meager and obscure." He affirmed that "the scriptural basis for this practice is not as specific and extensive as one might wish," and concluded that "the chief guide in this matter has been ecclesiastical tradition." 3 · The 1946 booklet on ordination by SBC seminary faculties admitted that "there is surprisingly little said in the New Testament about ordination."37 One Baptist writer questions whether ordination is taught in the New Testament at all.38 Although most would probably not go so far as Charles Haddon Spurgeon, who refused all ordination, dismissing the practice as "laying idle hands on empty heads," scholars are driven to acknowledge that neither the New Testament nor the primitive church reflects all our modern ordination practices. In what is perhaps the definitive study of the subject to date, Wilburn T. Stancil concludes: The term ordinatio was first coined by Tertullian for ecclesiastical purposes. Clear examples of ordination do not appear until the third century. The term is not found in Scripture, and in fact the evidence for ordination is very meager... .Ordination as known today has no parallel in either the ministry of Christ or in the New Testament. The term has taken on a technical meaning today which is not found in the New Testament.39 The most one can claim is that the New Testament, especially in Acts and the Pastoral Epistles, reflects the principles if not the exact practices of our or­ dination today. Therefore, some are asking not whether the New Testament allows the ordination of women, but whether it prescribes the ordination of anyone in the modern sense of that word. A third question thrust before Southern Baptists by the issue of or­ dination for women concerns the nature and authority of the "call" to ministry. In present practice, such a "call" comes to the individual in what Lumpkin calls "a subjective self-authentication."40 In many cases the church has little to do with such a "call," its role being reduced to issuing credentials solely on the basis of a person's testimony of an inner call or impression. Lumpkin says that "in the Baptist tradition, self-authentication is never sufficient."41 He shows that in earlier stages of our history Baptist churches 527

were much more objectively involved in such calls, testing and approving a candidate's gifts for ministry, often to the extent of discerning a call to ministry before the person involved knew of it. Baptist precedent shows basically a "dual call," both to the individual and to the church. On the frontier a Baptist preacher was not merely called, but was "raised up" by the church. In 1856 Francis Wayland wrote: We believe that there is such a thing as a call to the ministry; that is, that a man is moved to enter upon this work by the Holy Spirit. This call is manifested in two ways; first, in his own heart, and secondly, in the hearts of his brethren.42 Wayland thought it dangerous to depend only upon the testimony of an in­ dividual as to the call. For that call to be considered authentic, it required the confirmation of the Christian community, the church. He insisted: [The candidate] must exhibit such evidences of his call to this work as shall secure for him the approbation of his brethren. Of his own feelings he must be the judge; of his qualifications they must be the j u d g e s . . . Neither of these evidences alone is sufficient; the union of them is alone satisfactory.43 In the nineteenth century Southern Baptist churches for the most part exercised their half of this "dual call" concept. In the twentieth century, as one observer has written, "Southern Baptists are dangerously close to losing the dual aspect of the call which is so clearly a part of their tradition." 44 The role of the church has gradually been diminished. Many Baptists have begun to consider the inner call to be the final authority, with ordination little more than a token ceremony. The ordination of women may force Southern Baptists to face the question of the nature and authority of the subjective call and possibly to recover some of their earlier practices. In present; practice the unsubstantiated inner call is usually accepted without question when professed by men. Shall the same be true of women? When a woman says, "I feel that God is calling me to the work of ministry," what shall we say? Under present practices Southern Baptists can do little more than simply take her word for the reality of that call. When such women seem to have the gifts for ministry, the deep commitment and high motivation for service, accompanied by sincerity and dedication, the church by present practices has no basis on which to deny their call. The same standards must be applied to women as to men. If Baptists take men at their word when they profess a call of God, must they not do the same for women? If the church exercises its right, as Baptist churches did in the past, to make its own judgment and evlauation of gifts and promise for ministry, then the same standards must be applied to women as to men. This might mean refusing ordination to the unqualified, whether men or women, a thing rarely heard of today. 528

The Ordination of Women Review and Expositor

Conclusion The ordination of Southern Baptist women to various forms of ministry may signal fundamental changes in our attitudes and interpretation of the ministry. The growing number of women ministers, their effectiveness in the work as acknowledged by opponents and proponents alike, and their growing acceptability among Southern Baptists apparently represent a new day for Southern Baptist ministry. A senior Baptist editor recently wrote that "ordaining women as preachers and deacons is another trend among Southern Baptists. It is only a trickle now but looks more and more like the beginning of a stream."" In the half-decade since those words were penned, that stream has grown far beyond a mere trickle and shows no signs of abating. 1

See Thomas Edwards, Gangraena: or a Catalogue of Many of the Errours, Heresies and Per­ nicious Practices of the Sectaries of This Time (London: Printed for Ralph Smith, 1645 and 1646) and William L. Lumpkin, "The Role of Women in 18th Century Virginia Baptist Life," Baptist History and Heritage, VIII (July, 1973), 168-167. * John E. Steely, "Ministerial Certification in Southern Baptist History: Ordination," Bap­ tist History and Heritage, XV (January, 1980), 23. * See J. M. Pendleton, Church Manual Designed for the Use of Baptist Churches (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1867); Edward T. Hiscox, The New Direc­ tory for Baptist Churches (Philadelphia: American Baptist Publication Society, 1894); McConnell, McConnell's Manual for Baptist Churches (Philadelphia: Judson Press. 1926); Franklin M. Segler, The Broadman Minister's Manual (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1968); Howard B. Foshee, Broadman Church Manual (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1973). 4 Dotson M. Nelson, Jr., "Minister, the Southern Baptist," and H. H. Hobbs, "Ordination," in Encyclopedia of Southern Baptists, ed. Norman W. Cox (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1958), II: 158,1056. ' The Ordination ofBaptist Ministers (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1946). * William Wright Barnes, The Southern Baptist Convention 184&1953 (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1954), p. 140. 7 E. Glenn Hinson, "The Church: Liberator or Oppressor of Women?" Review and Expositor LXXII (Winter, 1975), 19. ' Phoebe A. Hanaford, Daughters ofAmerica (Augusti, Maine: True Company, 1882), p. 417. * Sarah Frances Anders, "Women's Role in the Southern Baptist Convention and its Churches as Compared with Selected Other Denominations," Review and Expositor, LXXII (Winter, 1975), 39. 10 See "Women Preachers: Are They Preaching Up a Storm?" Western Recorder, CLV (April 22,1981), 12. » Ibid. " Fred Anderson to Lynn E. May, Jr., June 4,1980. " "A Southern Baptist First." Maryland Baptist, LX (June 9,1977), 1. " Leon McBeth, Women in Baptist Life (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1979), pp. 19f. "> Ibid.. p. 20. " C. Stewart Pétrie, "Women and the Ministry: Some Guidelines from S. Paul," Reformed Theological Review, XVIII (October, 1959), 84. ". William E. Hull, "Women in Her Place: Biblical Perspectives," Review and Expositor, LXXII (Winter, 1975), 5.

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18

Steely, op. cit., p. 29. " Anders, op. cit., 38. 20 Cited in Porter Routh, "Ordination: Contemporary Problems," Southwestern Journal of Theology, XI (Spring, 1969), 77. 11 Ibid., p. 79. ί! McBeth, op. cit., pp. 159f. "Minutes, South District Association, 1977. " Annual, Arkansas Baptist State Convention, 1977, p. 4. 25 As reported in Western Recorder, November 23,1977, p. 6. " Duke K. McCall, "On Ordaining Women Bishops," The Tie (July-August, 1974), p. 3. 2 ' McBeth, op. cit., pp. 175f. "Ibid., p. 179f. »Ibid., p. 178. 30 John Smyth, Paralleles, Censures, Observations, 1609, in W. T. Whitley, ed., "The Works of John Smyth" (Cambridge: University Press, 1915), II: 509. 31 William L. Lumpkin, ed., Baptist Confessions of Faith (Philadelphia: Judson Press, 1959), p. 287. " Cited in Steely, op. cit., p. 28. 33 Ibid. 34 Minutes, Pamlico Association (North Carolina), 1851, p. 5. *' Minutes, Union Association (North Carolina), 1845, p. 5. 36 H. E. Dana, "Ordination in the New Testament," The Baptist Program, XLVIII (April, 1970), 7-8. " Ordination of Baptist Ministers, p. 2. 38 Herber F. Peacock, "Ordination in the New Testament," Review and Expositor, LV (July, 1958), 262. 39 Wilburn Thomas Stancil, "The Practice of Ministerial Ordination Among Southern Bap­ tists: A Theological Analysis," Ph. D. dissertation, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas, 1979, p. 8. 40 W. L. Lumpkin, "The Baptist Doctrine of the Ministry," Review and Expositor, LV (July, 1958), 257. 41 Ibid. 42 Francis Wayland, Notes on the Principles and Practices of Baptist Churches (New York: Sheldon, Blackman & Co., 1856), p. 103. 43 Francis Wayland, The Apostolic Ministry: A Discourse (Rochester: Sage and Brother, 1853), pp. 36-37. 44 Stancil, op. cit., p. 144. 46 C. R. Daly, "Current Trends Among Southern Baptists," Western Recorder, CL (August 5, 1976), 2.

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