North American Mission Board trustees on Feb. 4 approved a policy change that will end the endorsement of women as military chaplains.
The change in NAMB’s chaplaincy policy will end endorsement of women to positions requiring a “fully qualified member of the clergy” or that have a “role or function similar to that of a pastor” — including, primarily, chaplains in the military and a few other federal institutions.
Chaplains currently serving would not be affected unless they changed to a different category of service.
The change came at the recommendation of a special task force appointed by NAMB President Bob Reccord in response to a motion at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting last June.
The motion was related to NAMB’s 2002 decision to stop endorsing all ordained women — while still endorsing women who are not ordained.
Two senior U.S. Navy chaplains moved at the 2003 SBC that the board require all military chaplains seeking endorsement be ordained, based on a concern that NAMB’s refusal to endorse ordained women could result in unqualified military chaplains.
Chaplains mimic pastors
NAMB chairman Terry Fox, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan., said the Feb. 4 policy change was based on the realization that military chaplains — more than those in other categories of service — often function in the role of pastor.
Consequently, he said, it is appropriate not only that they be ordained, but also that they be men — in accordance with the current Baptist Faith and Message statement of faith.
Currently 196 women are among approximately 2,500 chaplains endorsed by NAMB. Of those, 20 are military chaplains, and seven others serve the Federal Bureau of Prisons and Department of Veterans Affairs, which have policies requiring a “fully qualified member of the clergy.”
Most women chaplains under NAMB endorsement serve in health care and counseling roles.
The eight-member task force dealing with this issue was chaired by Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Kansas City, Mo.) President Phil Roberts.
Other members included retired U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Dick Abel; Sherry Blankenship, a hospital chaplain; Capt. Ralph Gibson, a U.S. Navy chaplain; Barry Holcomb, a NAMB trustee from Andalusia (Ala.) and pastor of Bluff Springs Baptist Church, Ashford; Jaye Martin, NAMB’s national missionary for women’s evangelism; Capt. Raymond Moore, a U.S. Army chaplain; Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas; and Tim Patterson, a NAMB trustee from Glen Saint Mary, Fla. (BP)
Share with others: