THE PLACE OF SEMINARY EDUCATION

The most recent debate in SBC blogdom about women in the ministry was precipitated by the Klouda/Patterson debacle. Honestly, did anyone really think that a judges ruling in this matter would settle anything for either side? Cynicism or realism? You make your choice. It rather much depends upon which side of the fence you stand upon. But in this debate has been tossed around the concept of the relationship between the 5 SBC seminaries and the local church. Some argue that women can teach men on the seminary level, just not the local church. Others contend that a woman cannot teach men at the church level OR the seminary level. There is a rainbow of variations between these two hotly contested positions. Here is how I see it.

I view the 5 6 SBC seminaries as EXTENSIONS of the LOCAL church. The seminaries are not an end unto themselves but exist as an arm of the church in preparation of people for ministry. I do not mean to suggest that I believe that a man MUST have a seminary education in order to be able to teach. But in the work of the seminary in preparation for the students to participate in ministry, I see the seminary as an extension of the local church.

Specifically, in the area of the schools of theology, pastors are being trained to be pastors. Teachers are being trained to be teachers. Even in secular schools, it would not make any sense for a person unqualified to teach elementary school to be training elementary school teachers. As such, I contend that it makes no sense for a person unqualified to be a pastor to teach pastors. Is a person unqualified to be a heart doctor the person you want to be teaching how to operate on the human heart? Is a person unqualified to be an auto mechanic the person you want to be teaching future mechanics how to work? I would certainly hope not.

So we are talking about what it means to be qualified in regards to training/teaching future pastors. While gender may not be a necessary qualifier in the secular realm, it IS listed as a qualification in the religious realm. Paul's first letter to Timothy addresses this issue and make no mistake about it, Paul is addressing how we ought to behave in the house of God(I Tim. 3:15) When we look back at chapters 2-3, we see how Paul instructed that the church should be. OUR problem is that we would rather let our present culture interpret the Scripture rather than let Scripture shape our culture. If you buy into the "culture shapes Scripture" thought, then nothing that you teach as truth today can be held as truth for tomorrow. You have no foundation on which to make such a stand. But if you hold to the concept that Scripture does not change no matter how much culture changes, then you do have a foundation from which to argue. Secular cultural shifts and recedes with the tides of human capriciousness but Scripture neither shifts nor recedes on human whims but stands on God's faithfulness to all that He has spoken. Thus, Paul's words on who can teach a man, chapter 2:12, is not subject to cultural whims but is steadfast. Paul qualifies who can teach just like he qualifies who can fill the office of bishop or deacon. Your ability to accept this depends though on your philosophy of church and present culture. Make no mistake in understanding what I am saying, a woman is not qualified to teach a man regarding theology, pastoring, deaconing and the likes. This goes for Hebrew interpretation which involves exegesis as well. WHY? Because the woman herself is not qualified to be a pastor thus she is not qualified to teach pastors. Now, she may teach women all day long. That does have its foundation in Scripture. Women are to teach the women. But I think the Word of God addresses that as well. Paul clearly speaks in his letter to Titus, the second chapter and verses 3-5. Of course, many women raised by contemporary culture feel like this degrades them but it has nothing to do with the ability of a women to perform any work that a man can do, it has rather to do with the standards of the Word of God and the organization that God gave to His people. Cultures change, the Word of God changes not. The grass withers and the flower falls away, but the word of the Lord endures forever.

The place of seminary education? In regards to training men for the pastorate, the teachers need to be pastor qualified themselves.

And this is how I see it.

FEMININE GENDER AND THE PASTORATE

There is a stir amongst the wagons and it is a struggle that has affected many a denomination. This issue has been tied to racism as well as homosexuality by those arguing for and against women pastors. There are those who say that the restriction against women pastors is simply a cultural issue and the opposing view which states that the Bible restricts the position solely to men in spite of cultural tides. The pastoral epistles have been dissected by both sides of the issue and not surprisingly, both sides claim that theirs is the right interpretation. Here is how I see it.

Jesus chose twelve MEN to be His disciples. If Jesus was going to dismiss all gender distinctions through the cross, then why did He NOT pick six women, or three women or even just one woman to be a disciple. Jesus, for certain, was not afraid to break cultural traditions that were not biblical in foundation. He spoke to a Samaritan Woman when it was not proper to address either a Samaritan or a Woman(especially an adulteress) as taught by His contemporaries. Jesus was not afraid to challenge the cultural/popular notions of Sabbath keeping. Jesus was not afraid to challenge the cultural/popular notions of piety. Certainly, He was not afraid of addressing any issue that He faced. He reminded His listeners in the Sermon on the Mount that marriage was intended by God to be a relationship between one man and one woman. Why, then would He be afraid to challenge the cultural norms/popular notions then that only men could be elders/priests/Scribes etc.?

The cross did not erase any gender distinctions, socio-cultural distinctions or governmental distinctions. What the cross did erase is the fact that salvation was not afforded to a single race and gender but rather the Gospel was freely offered to all races, genders, social levels and governmental rankings. The Mosaic Priesthood was limited to the male gender. Apostleship was limited to the male gender. Paul, in his letter to Timothy, limited the office of elder and pastor to the male gender. This does not make the modern appreciation of this truth any more sexist than it was in Moses day, Jesus' day or Paul's day. It was simply a difference of role. It makes no distinction about who had the ability, but rather to whom the office was made available. This no more makes women second class citizens than it does a man who is not able to teach. It simply is the way that God designed this portion of the ministry. Please understand reader, that holding to the view that the pastorate is reserved for male gender only does not imply that I think of women as lesser vessels. The body is made of many parts. Each has a design and each has a role. The heart is no more capable of surviving without blood than the blood is capable of surviving without the heart. Yet, each has its role and design and cannot usurp the role of the other. Women are in fact instructed to teach. The older women are to instruct the younger women. Rather than seeking to take the role of the man, perhaps the woman ought to focus on that which was given to her.

And this is how I see it.

WHY ANOTHER BLOG?

I have my normal blog in which, for the most part, I try to be encouraging, challenging, informative and instructive. I have no desire that Search Me Oh God become anything other than that. Therefore, I am starting this blog that will allow me to interact with anything within the SBC parenthesis. This means being able to discuss polity and politics. This means being able to address Southern Baptist news and express my own opinions/thoughts on such news and issues. This means that all things SBC are considered legit to be discussed here, including other bloggers.

May the SBC truly be the feet that bring Good News!