A Quadrant Pertaining to Roles in Ministry
A straw man argument (1886) “a weak or imaginary opposition (as an argument or adversary) set up only to be easily confuted” (Inc Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 2003). According to Adam Groza and J. P. Moreland, “the straw man fallacy is another way that arguments can violate the informal laws of logic and reason. This fallacy is committed when a person argues against a position that their opponent does not hold” (Groza and Moreland, Unraveling Philosophy: An Interactive Guide, 99).
Much online chatter is occurring online about the recent amendment passed at the Southern Baptist Convention. Along with the chatter is value posturing via straw man argument.
Southern Baptists do not allow women to speak in church.
Southern Baptist do not value women.
Southern Baptists do not allow women to serve in any position of the church.
First what are the different categories of gender roles in ministry? Complementarianism and Egalitarianism are the two main camps that can be subdivided into two camps each. To be overtly brief, egalitarianism holds that men are women are the same with very little to no differences, but complementarianism holds that men and women are different but enhance (a.k.a. complement) one another.
4 Compartments of Thought:
Complementarian - unbalanced / unidentical / restrictive - This view holds to male dominant role with a female subservient role. All pastors are men and all preaching/teaching/speaking/praying are for men only. Women are not allowed to serve in vocational ministry nor talk in church gatherings.
Complementarian - balanced / unidentical / restricted- This view holds that only the pastor role is occupied by men but all other roles can be held by men or women with the possibility of title specifications. Men and women are not identical but created differently for different tasks. Men and women are equal in the fact that they are treated equally. Men and women are allowed to serve in vocational ministry outside of the office of Pastor.
Egalitarian - balanced / identical / some rules. Men and women are allowed to serve in any position in vocational ministry include Senior Pastor.
Egalitarian - unbalanced / identical / no rules. Men and woman and those that live as the opposite gender can hold any position in the church including Senior Pastor. Unrepentant peoples can serve where they desire without repentance.
As it pertains to the “Mohler Amendment” during the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention, nothing has changed. The amendment provided a further detail/qualifier to a long held doctrine of Southern Baptists. For a long time, Southern Baptists have been complementarian. Now to do the degree of complementarian that each church holds, is quite another story, but in general Southern Baptists are complementarian. Many of our SBC churches hold to the stance that the Senior Pastor position is reserved for men and many other positions are mixed. Many of our SBC churches hold to the stance that the Senior Pastor and a few other pastoral “like” positions are reserved for men, but all other roles are mixed. I am unaware of any Southern Baptists that hold to the stance that women cannot serve in vocational ministry (which is part and parcel of online chatter and considered a straw man argument).
Why do we believe that God has set up the role of pastor for men?
1. The words for the role “pastor” are only masculine. Poimen” Shepherd or pastor => responsible for feeding and protecting “Presbuteros” Elders => Spiritually mature. “Episcopos” Bishops or overseers => Manage the church. Elder — a name frequently used in the Old Testament as denoting a person clothed with authority, and entitled to respect and reverence (Gen. 50:7). The “elders” of the New Testament church were the “pastors” (Eph. 4:11), “bishops or overseers” (Acts 20:28), “leaders” and “rulers” (Heb. 13:7; 1 Thess. 5:12) of the flock. Episcopal - 7x in NT - bishop - noun/masculine. Prebuteros - 67x in NT - elder - adjective. Poimen - 18x in NT - shepherd - noun/masculine
2. The examples of pastor in the Bible are only men: Timothy, Titus, etc. Phoebe - Romans 16 - patron of church. Priscilla - vital ministry partners. Lydia - successful businesswoman and merchant. Tabitha - a devout disciple.
One final though: During the Greaco - Roman period, there were severe limitations given to women, but Paul wrote groundbreaking material for an oppressed group. Paul wrote such books like Galatians. Galatians 3: 28 states, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians was countercultural. Although, God holds us responsible for different roles, at the cross, we are all equal and one in Jesus.