Baptist Faith and Message

I would like to respond to your article titled “Missionary Firings: A Conflict of Values” (5/29/03).  I was privileged to serve on the committee that wrote the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M).  It is my opinion that if we have any Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) employee who cannot in good conscience support what is stated in that document and indicate his support by signing it, he should understand that he has thereby forfeited his right to represent Southern Baptists who have adopted it as their primary statement of theology. Agency heads, seminary professors and missionaries should not expect Southern Baptists to pay their salaries if they are not willing to teach what the majority of us believe.

Regarding women serving as senior pastors, if someone wants to believe that, he certainly can. However, he should not expect Southern Baptists to pay him to believe and teach that. The reason the 2000 BF&M opposes a woman being a senior pastor is twofold: (1) It is not biblical; there were no female pastors in the New Testament, and (2) the vast majority of Southern Baptists do not believe women should be senior pastors. Less than a fraction of all 40,000+ SBC churches have a woman serving as senior pastor.

You said that “The trauma this episode caused among Baptists has been huge.” How has it been “huge” when you also said that the 77 career missionaries who were dismissed because they would not sign the document represent only 2 percent of career SBC missionaries? Two percent is not “huge.” What is “huge” is that 98 percent of our missionaries affirmed the 2000 BF&M.  

I am grateful for the excellent leadership of Jerry Rankin at the International Missionary Board.  You said that as we “go forward, we hope a way can be found through which brothers and sisters in the Lord can resolve conflicts of values without harm to one another or to the cause of Christ.” There is no good “way” to fire someone. People always get hurt when there are personnel changes. Those 77 missionaries made their own decision, and their employment was rightfully terminated.

The 98 percent were right, and the 2 percent were wrong. This was no major, earthshaking event. It was a minor problem, and it has been handled appropriately. Let’s move on.

Steve Gaines
Gardendale, Ala.