Woodmont pastor addresses ties to SBC and CBF

  |  Source: Baptist Press

Nathan Porter is seƱor pastor of Woodmont Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn. (Screen Capture Image)

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NASHVILLE (BP)ā€”After the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, many people at Woodmont Baptist Church in Nashville, Tenn., were upset, Pastor Nathan Parker said.

ā€œThey had heard press reports coming out of the convention and asked if we could face it,ā€ Parker told Baptist Press. ā€œSome members were calling for us to withdraw from the SBC.ā€

So, Parker called a town hall meeting.

Woodmont Baptist Church wasnā€™t the only one holding such talks after SBC messengersā€™ approval of the first step toward a constitutional change limiting the office of pastor to men.

But in the case of Woodmont Baptist, the churchā€™s history cannot be ignored as it provides context for that family meetingā€”as well as why Woodmont is being discussed among Southern Baptists now.

As listed on the churchā€™s website, Parker earned degrees from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University and Lipscomb University. The executive pastor is a graduate of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The other two ministry staff members are women and listed as ministers, holding degrees from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

The staff all support the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message, Parker insisted.

Those details are important, as Woodmont is currently part of the broader SBC discussion, particularly online.


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Historic role in forming CBF

Bill Sherman

Bill Sherman, Woodmontā€™s pastor for 30 years, led the congregation when the church was instrumental in forming the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. CBF broke away from the SBC in the early 1990s in response to what CBF characterized as the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC and what supporters in the SBC call the conservative resurgence.

Shermanā€™s brother, Cecil, was a key leaderā€”arguably the key leaderā€”among that group that formed CBF while serving as pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C.

Fast forward to 2023. On Aug. 17, interim SBC Executive Committee President and CEO Willie McLaurin resigned from that role after acknowledging he falsified information on his resume. He was removed by the president and CEO search committee as the likely candidate to fill the position.

The next day, Executive Committee Vice President for Communications Jonathan Howe was announced by Chairman Philip Robertson as the new interim president and CEO.

In recent days, social media posts and articles reported on Woodmontā€™s CBF connection while pointing out Howeā€™s wife, Beth, serves at Woodmont as minister of students and discipleship.

Writers on social media noted the SBC debate over women serving in pastoral roles on church staffs.

ā€œIā€™ve told my church that I see a lovingly designed, spiritual male headship in Scripture, but itā€™s not a make-or-break issue,ā€ Parker said. ā€œOriginally, we wanted Bethā€™s position to be for a male pastor.

ā€œBut when she emerged as the best candidate, we changed the job description to remove some of the 1 Timothy elder-qualification [language] because sheā€™s not an elder and doesnā€™t want to be an elder. None of the women on our staff want to be elders or pastors.ā€

At the town hall meeting, Parker taught for 30 minutes from Genesis 1-2 about the ā€œGod-given, lovingly designed, spiritual male headship to be exercised in the church and the homeā€ as he sees it.

Parker said he did not see it as a gospel or salvific issue ā€œas long as we are still submitting ourselves to the authority of Scripture.ā€

Wounded by the SBC conflict

Parkerā€™s congregation consists of many who remember the division of the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s and early 1990s differently than the majority of the SBC today.

ā€œThere are folks who were deeply wounded by those on the SBC side,ā€ said Parker, a Nashville native who became Woodmontā€™s pastor in January 2017. ā€œThereā€™s real trauma there, from both sides. Mud was thrown in both directions.ā€

According to the 2022 Annual Church Profile, Woodmont designated 1.6 percent of its budget to be given through the Cooperative Program, the highest in eight years.

Members are free to designate the denominational giving portion of their regular budget giving to either the SBC, CBF or both as well as above their regular tithe at Christmas for international missions efforts.

The ā€œvast majorityā€ of those gifts go toward the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, Parker said. Woodmont gave $42,134 to that offering in 2022.

The church also financially supports the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions, the Tennessee Baptist Mission Boardā€™s state offering, the Nashville Baptist Association, Tennessee Baptist Childrenā€™s Homes and Tennessee Baptist Adult Homes.

COVID dealt Woodmont, like churches everywhere, a financial hit in 2020. Since then, the church has steadily increased giving to Southern Baptistsā€™ signature missions offerings by 35 percent.

‘We’re better together. But some days it’s hard.’

Accusations over a lack of commitment to Southern Baptist causes can have an impact, Parker admitted.

ā€œI like to believe that weā€™re better together,ā€ he said. ā€œBut some days itā€™s hard.ā€

The front steps of Woodmontā€™s sanctuary are only a few minutes away from the SBC building in downtown Nashville.

ā€œWeā€™re focused on being the healthiest church we can be to the glory of God,ā€ he said. ā€œMy job as pastor is to shepherd the flock, to fulfill the Great Commission and the Great Commandment as faithfully as possible. Those denominational power struggles are not necessarily part of that mission.ā€

At that church town hall meeting this summer, a 92-year-old Bill Sherman approached Parker, thanking him for the leadership displayed at that moment.

The two are friends, Parker said. They see eye to eye on what they deem to be faith essentials. Tertiary issues, not as much, and they believe thatā€™s all right.

ā€œHe has been nothing but encouraging and kind to me,ā€ Parker said. ā€œHe said we can agree to disagree on this, and we walked out of that meeting as a family of faith. No one was upset. No one cried.

ā€œWe disagreed on something, and it was really healthy. It exhibited a lot of Christian maturity and love for one another.ā€


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