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Article: SBC moves to limit office of pastor to men.(Southern Baptist Convention)(Brief Article)
- Article from:
- The Christian Century
- Article date:
- June 7, 2000
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 The Christian Century Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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A Southern Baptist committee favors changing the denomination's "Baptist Faith and Message" doctrinal statement to affirm that women should no longer serve as pastors of local churches. According to the committee's proposed statement of belief, which was made public on May 18, "While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by scripture."
Women who are now serving as pastors or co-pastors in the SBC--estimated at around 100--would not be forced to surrender their clergy credentials. The new statement also is not binding for individual SBC congregations, which remain free to make their own ...