One Sunday, while a first-year seminary student, I preached at a small rural church. After the service, one of the saints, thanked me for my “talk.” If someone could confuse my sermon for a talk, I suppose someone could confuse Beth Moore’s talks for sermons.
Beth Moore recently announced she was leaving the Southern Baptist Convention. The popular Bible teacher and author explained her departure by pointing to the continuing support given to Donald Trump by certain key figures in the denomination. Such support, she believes, evidences an indifference to women’s concerns.
In recent years, Moore has been criticized, not only for opposing Trump (and supposedly supporting Hillary Clinton), but also for allegedly preaching. Moore does not call herself a preacher, but her critics apparently believe she has crossed the line from teaching to preaching. Almost certainly, that dear lady from the rural church could explain to me why I was merely giving “a talk” while Moore is preaching. But I digress.
What finally prompted Moore to break with the Convention was its response to the sexual abuse of women by pastors and other leaders. Although, the Convention has issued statements condemning such abuse, Moore and others feel the response lacks the commitment to do the difficult work of removing offenders from places of influence, large and small.
It is hard to deny this charge. Paige Patterson was removed from the presidency of Southwestern Seminary for failing to act on accusations made by a female student against a fellow student, whom she said raped her at gunpoint. Moreover, Patterson allegedly attempted to coerce the student to keep silent and portrayed her as a willing participant in the sexual activity. Yet, even after the trustees dismissed Patterson, they wanted to give him the title of president emeritus and appoint him (and his wife) as “theologians in residence,” a status that would provide a nice residence on the campus. The revelation that Patterson apparently had a treated another female student the same way while he was president of another school, prompted the trustees to terminate him with no plans to appoint him to any other position.
In response, over two-dozen wealthy Southern Baptists, all donors to the seminary, insisted Patterson be kept as part of the school’s leadership team. Using a tactic familiar to every Baptist pastor who ever dealt with furious members united in a coterie, they threatened to end their support of the seminary.
In an angry letter to the trustees, they wrote, “Dr. and Mrs. Patterson continue to have our absolute and unwavering support. They are both esteemed scholars and were stately ambassadors for the Seminary. Your treatment of them is a travesty that must not go unaddressed.” (Julie Zaumer, “Angry donors threaten to withhold money from seminary that fired Paige Patterson,” The Washington Post, 4 July 2018. Emphasis added.) Only a nationwide protest kept trustees from acting on the demands. Reportedly, Patterson was later hired as an adjunct professor at another seminary. His job: teaching ethics.
From my standpoint, it is easy to understand why Moore and many other women were angry.
Now, I am not writing about sexual abuse. Rather, I am addressing the matter of unintended consequences. But before I do so, I need to briefly define a couple terms. First, hierarchicalism. This notion says God intends men to play the role of leader in any relationship with women. Those who hold this position insist it does not demean women, nor does it suggest women are less intelligent or somehow inferior to men. It simply insists this is God’s plan. A simple analogy comes from the US Constitution. A naturalized citizen has the same rights and status as a native-born citizen. However, according to the Constitution, the naturalized citizen may not serve as President of the United States. (Hence the unfounded “Birther conspiracy.”) In the same way, despite not being in anyway inferior, women are barred from leading churches. In contrast, egalitarianism is the notion that men and women are equal in every way. If there are innate differences in the genders, they do not diminish the value of either. Significantly, egalitarians believe women may have any role in the church, including deacon, elder, or pastor. A third important term is “complementarian,” which will be clarified later.
Fairness demands I admit the hierarchical position has supporters among women. Dorothy Patterson has a Doctor of Ministry degree from Luther Rice Seminary and a Doctor of Theology degree from the University of South Africa, so she is sometimes called “Dr. Patterson.” Dr. Dorothy Patterson, who has been described as "one of today's leading scholars on the topic of biblical womanhood” (The Christian Post, 12 May 2013), helped prepare the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message which raised hierarchicalism to confessional status for Southern Baptists. She is an editor of The Women’s Study Bible, which promotes the hierarchical interpretation. Her popularity reminds me that a surprising number of women are content with this viewpoint, believing it provides God-given protection from the challenges men face in church leadership. Not every woman agrees.
Many women believe hierarchicalism leads to attitudes that foster abuse. Beth Moore does not believe this, but writers like Ruth A. Tucker (Black and White Bible, Black and Blue Wife) and Kristin Kobes DuMez (Jesus and John Wayne) apparently do. If their assessment is correct, I hope it is an unintended consequence. In truth, any man who wishes to physically, emotionally, or sexually abuse his wife needs no theological justification. However, that man’s pastor may find hierarchicalism a hinderance to counselling the abused wife or correcting the abusive husband (if you’re the “head” how can you tolerate defiance). In the same way, the pastor might, for example, find it difficult to tell the woman to defy her husband and leave.
This may be why some who embrace hierarchicalism prefer the term “complementarian” for their perspective. It is a promising term but a little confusing. Many egalitarians would insist that they, too, are complementarians, believing that whatever—spiritual, emotional, or intellectual—it is that makes a woman a woman and whatever—spiritual, emotional, or intellectual—it is that makes a man a man lie behind the words of the Creation story: “So God created man in his own image, . . . male and female he created them.” (Genesis 1:27 NIV) Each half of humanity stands alone while completing the other half.
I know men and women with hierarchical convictions; they would be incensed at the suggestion they endorse spousal abuse. I’ve seen no reason to doubt their commitment to the safety of women. Even so, this does not mean the position cannot be misinterpreted or distorted. I’ve concluded those who do not listen very carefully (or humbly) to the explanation of the hierarchical position will almost inevitably suspect (or insist) there is something lacking in the female, spiritually, emotionally, or mentally. This deficiency precludes their serving as leaders in the church. While more sophisticated hierarchicalists might speak of “the order of creation,” that suspicion of innate female inferiority will persist among many who hear them. Convinced of this, they may find a license to treat women with disdain.
Those who believe the hierarchical view is thought in scripture have the responsibility to insist the view allow no room for bullying or abuse in any form. Honesty demands the admission they have often failed.
During this Women’s History Month, it seems appropriate to challenge some of ways women are being treated, ways that should be history. Maybe someday
