The Bigger Picture

Like many pastors across our convention, I don’t get the opportunity to attend the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in person. Being bi-vocational, serving our local church, running a business, and raising four children means I have to be intentional about how I spend my time. While I may not be in the room, I do try to keep my ear to the pulse of what is happening because Rocky Valley Baptist Church is an SBC-affiliated church, and these discussions matter.

The issue receiving the most media attention this year has been the vote regarding the office of pastor and the reaffirmation that Southern Baptists believe the role of pastor is reserved for qualified men as outlined in Scripture. Personally, I believe the convention reached the correct conclusion.

That conviction does not come from a diminished view of women. Quite the opposite. Some of the most influential people in my life have been godly women. My mother, my wife, faithful Sunday School teachers, ministry leaders, and countless women of faith have shaped who I am today. Scripture itself highlights the incredible importance of women in God’s redemptive story. Jesus entrusted women with the privilege of first proclaiming the news of His resurrection. Throughout church history and throughout our churches today, women have served in invaluable and indispensable ministry roles.

The question is not whether women are important. The question is whether we will submit ourselves to God’s design. Scripture appears clear that the office of pastor is reserved for men, while women are gifted and called to serve in countless other vital ways within the body of Christ. Whenever we begin redefining roles that God has established, we move from submitting to God’s Word toward substituting our own preferences for His authority. That is always a dangerous path.

While that issue has dominated headlines, there are other developments worthy of celebration.

Baptisms across the SBC have increased again, marking what I believe is the fifth consecutive year of growth. That means lives are being transformed by the Gospel. Families are being changed. Churches are seeing people come to faith in Christ. That should excite every Southern Baptist.

In addition, more than 51% of Cooperative Program dollars are now being directed toward international missions. Through those efforts, missionaries are being sent to places where the Gospel has never been proclaimed, churches are being planted, and people are hearing the name of Jesus for the very first time.

We have also commissioned and deployed new missionaries this year, continuing a long-standing commitment to take the Gospel to the nations.

So while media coverage may focus on disagreement surrounding one issue, don’t miss the bigger picture. The Southern Baptist Convention is not a perfect organization because it is made up of imperfect people. But a divided house does not continue sending missionaries, funding church planting, supporting seminaries, and seeing increasing numbers of baptisms year after year.

There are certainly issues we must continue to discuss, but there is also much to celebrate. The Gospel is being preached. Missionaries are being sent. Churches are being planted. People are being baptized. Lives are being changed by the power of Christ.

Let’s pray for our convention, our churches, our leaders, and our missionaries. And most importantly, let’s stay focused on the mission Jesus gave us—to make disciples of all nations until He returns.