It seems a bit inconsistent to me to have on one hand a gaggle of Baptist leaders, past and present, decrying on church-state separation grounds Gov. Abbott’s call for pastors to speak from the pulpit about school choice, and on the other hand a covey injecting themselves into the content of police officer training.

Let me hasten to say no government official at any level should be attempting to set the agenda for any church, association or convention. It’s none of his business.

I also hasten to say I trust the training programs of our law enforcement agencies. I trust them to properly train the men and women who will be administering the law. I trust them to weed out those who might go beyond training parameters. They will miss a few who will blacken the reputation of their fellow officers, but I trust the overwhelming majority to be officers of whom we can be proud.

While I am at it, I want to protest the action of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board in going into executive session during the discussion of the nomination of Julio Guarneri as the new BGCT executive director.

Baptists do their best business and get their best results when they do their business in the open. Executive sessions are the product of timid leaders and leave only questions in the minds of Baptists in the pews who are paying the bills. After all, those in the pews are the convention, not those who sit in executive offices or on any committee or board. If there are questions to be asked of any candidate or nominee for office, let them be aired in public.

Tell the truth and trust the people.

Toby Druin, retired Baptist Standard editor
Waxahachie, Texas

RE: Editorial: How do we regard those outside our borders?

I wholeheartedly agree with you that what we call our own first belonged to God. He gave us all that we have to use and protect and to grow.

Although those who cross our borders illegally—meaning coming without proper permission to cross—do not intend to “take” from us. But, by the very crossing without proper authority, they are. They are taking/using our money, our housing, our food, our schools and more.

Mostly their intentions were/are for good, but collectively their intentions don’t matter, because their collective crossing does do harm to the citizens of America.

Do we as Christian citizens of America just sit back and do nothing, say nothing? Is that protecting or preserving what God gave us? I don’t think God would lead anyone of us to do anything illegal. Or to encourage anyone to do something illegal. I know there probably are Christians crossing illegally right now, but they aren’t doing this with God’s blessing.

God loves every one of them as much as he loves every one of us, even when they break laws. And now that they are here, we will do everything he leads us to do.

Pat Bowlin
San Antonio, Texas

RE: Voices: Women pastors: The title should match the call

Hannah Brown recently penned an article in which she argues if a woman is called to be a pastor, she should not be denied the title of “pastor.” Her premise contains a critical flaw, however.

The problem is not simply one of labeling a particular calling, but whether, according to Scripture, a woman can serve in certain church-related capacities. In other words, are there gender-specific roles that devolve exclusively upon men in Christian church polity?

Hannah’s article cites no scriptural support for her proposition.

Baptists typically lump “pastor” with “elder” and “overseer.” Assuming this is accurate, then 1 Timothy 2:12-3:7 limits this office to male leadership. The actual function in view here is authoritative teaching for the preservation of sound doctrine (1 Timothy 2:12; Acts 20:28-31).

This is not to say women are incapable of teaching or of fully functioning in the gifts with which they are imbued by the Holy Spirit. There is, however, good scriptural support for an office called “pastor” reserved for men only.

As believers, we have a sacred, solemn and at times challenging duty to carefully examine God’s holy word and allow it to inform us regarding matters such as what Hannah has raised. A careful examination of Scripture compels us to refrain from conferring any title, irrespective of gender, if this runs contrary to Scripture.

I have been praying for Hannah and hope, if she reads my response, she is spurred on toward further study in God’s word and not angered or discouraged. More importantly, I want her to develop a biblical framework from which she can defend her beliefs. We may still disagree at the end, but hopefully we’ll walk away more confident of what we know about God and his plans and purposes for us.

Bud Bennett
Bryan, Texas

RE: Voices: Our response to the 2023 BGCT annual meeting

Calvary Baptist Church in Waco is a spiritual place for me. It hired me as a music intern as a Baylor undergraduate (1968), provided a strong home base when I taught at Baylor (1972–1977) and married me (1976). Its beautiful baptistry stained glass matches our wedding flowers of 47 years ago this month.

The beacon of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco continues to light the dark of night in myriad lives and hearts.

“Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

Beam, beacon of Calvary, beam! Amen.

Susan Borwick
Winston-Salem, N.C.

RE: Editorial: We need a new missions story

Thank you for your stirring, inspirational editorial from the Baptist World Alliance. I feel we as Baptists in the Northern Hemisphere have for a long time allowed issues of conflict to draw us away from our life-source commitment to Christ and his mission for the world. The need is more urgent than ever for insights like you brought us from the BWA.

I served both the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and the American Baptist Foreign Mission Society, and did my ministry in areas of this country which were guided by the SBC Home Mission Board. I found in those arenas confirmation of the truth cited to us long ago by our mission professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that the church is mission.

Thank you for helping us remember that reality.

Ron Liesmann
Livingston, Texas

RE: Editorial: Ensure women in ministry is not a test of fellowship here

Sadly, one must search for any discussion of “women in ministry” on the Baptist General Convention of Texas website now. That topic was on the opening page in years past when the BGCT was not concerned about losing churches to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention.

More importantly, I cannot find any mention on the website of women serving as ministers of any kind or of Baptist Women in Ministry headed by Meredith Stone. There is a section called “Women’s Ministry” under the Center for Church Health, but it only talks about churches having ministries dealing with women in the church.

I am reasonably certain earlier websites had specific discussion of women serving as ministers, broadly defined, but did not say directly women could be pastors. It left the issue open, but it did not limit the discussion to ministering to women church members.

One of my favorite stories was when Truett Seminary began including women seminary students in the list of supply preachers.

A small church asked for a preacher to fill in after it lost its pastor. When a young woman showed up, the church leaders huddled to decide what to do and agreed, since she had come all the way to the church to preach, they would let her do so. After her first sermon, they asked if she could come back the next Sunday. She did for several weeks until they finally called her to become their senior pastor.

When a woman is called by God to be a pastor, I think men need not tell her she is mistaken about what God has called her to do. That should be between her and God, and any church who wants to call her to be its pastor.

Bob Coleman
Dallas, Texas

RE: BJC chief links Christian nationalism to white supremacy

Amanda Tyler, who professes to defend religious liberty, seems to me does not defend the liberties of those she opposes. To sit before a government committee and testify against Christian nationalists is not defending their liberty but attacking it.

Few, I’m afraid, may pass her religious test.

It has taken me a while to cool down enough to respond to her insult to my Baptist beliefs and American roots, which she, in my opinion, doesn’t represent.

Dennis Whitfield
Victoria, Texas

RE: Seminary finances deteriorated over two decades

As the vice chair of the Seminary Study Committee for the Baptist General Convention of Texas whose report led to the defunding of the six Southern Baptist Convention seminaries, this report regarding the issues at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is no surprise to me. At the core of our findings was a lack of transparency and integrity in the seminaries.

As the fundamentalist takeover swept over the convention, three things consistently happened. First, enrollment in seminary graduate programs declined.

Second, the SBC breached a long-standing agreement that universities affiliated with state Baptist conventions would provide undergraduate ministry education, leaving the SBC seminaries to provide graduate degree programs. When that breach happened, the seminaries began to set up Bible colleges offering undergraduate degrees.

Finally, the undergraduate numbers were mixed with the traditional graduate enrollment to give the appearance and impression of continued stable enrollment. However, the enrollment figures were consistently unreliable, and gave a rosy picture the seminaries were doing fine amid the turmoil. That simply was not true.

In most educational institutions, enrollment numbers are a vital component of health and fiscal stability.

Frankly, Southwestern Seminary trustees are being generous when they stop at a 20-year mark noting the deterioration of Southwestern finances. The financial issues began earlier as the seminaries absorbed the fallout of the takeover.

I would not be surprised if the current SBC seminaries’ enrollment could be accommodated comfortably within the buildings and campus of Southwestern.

Michael R Chancellor
Taylor, Texas

The revelations in the Baptist Standard’s story regarding Southwestern Seminary are shocking and require both action and answers.

How all those elected trustees could let this continue for 20 years indicates a lack of fiscal oversight and ethical discharge of their responsibilities to the seminary and the Southern Baptist Convention.

Obviously, the trust and faith placed in personalities had something to do with their failure to ask questions. Hopefully, better training of present and future trustees will mitigate a repeat of this debacle.

To see the seminary lose enrollment by such a large amount also should have been a warning signal something was wrong. Apparently, potential students heard rumors and decided the Lord wanted them at a different seminary for their ministerial training, especially considering other seminaries haven’t been experiencing enrollment drops the magnitude of Southwestern’s.

Moving forward, let’s continue to pray for Southwestern President Dr. David Dockery and his team as they right this legacy seminary and sail it into a brighter future.

Rev. Bob Gillchrest
San Diego, Calif.

RE: Editorial: What will the SBC do about churches with women pastors?

Editor Eric Black has put forth a question that deserves answering for Southern Baptist leadership, as well as the general population. The answer goes back to an age-old physics theorem that states, “Objects in motion will tend to stay in motion.”

The same is true for organizational leaders. Poor leadership or management of a company too often will continue its same old practices.

Transformational leadership looks for a dynamic change in direction. Luke 9:50 tells us the disciples brought this same question to the Master Leader when they said, “Others are preaching ‘Jesus’ other than our group, Lord.”

His answer still stands for the ages: “Do not stop them, for whoever is not against you is for you.” Wisdom sounds simple.

Southern Baptist Convention leadership somewhere, somehow lost sight of God’s big picture. Galatians 3:28 is still valid: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male nor female, for you are all one in Christ.”

I never could understand why men would treat their daughters differently than their male children. We all still are God’s children. If the pulpit is preaching salvation and Christ is the only way, leave them alone.

J. Owens
Kensington, Ohio

RE: Commentary: What is centrist?

Leading as a centrist? Why saddle a brother or sister with a disabling label? Are labels a cop-out from theological integrity and courage? I think they could be utilized in such a manner.

Ask me what I believe about, and I will tell you. My “yes” will be “yes,” and my “no,” “no.”

Bob Stanford
Seguin, Texas

RE: Editorial: Dump the toxic brew creating gun violence

Thank you so much for taking on the difficult task of addressing gun violence. To add specifics to the “toxic brew,” law enforcement has a specific list of ingredients:

Poverty; moving around a lot (no time to make friends); no parent or guardian at home; no significant adult mentor in their lives; presence of alcohol or drugs in the home (though they may or may not use them); encounters with law enforcement (though not necessarily jailed); being (cyber)bullied, and more.

Basically, no one cared about them. The church really can step in here and make a huge difference in these broken lives.

Other information:

• 80 percent of those who struggle with mental illness are the victims of bullying. We are not the source of gun violence.
• Texas ranks dead last in funding to address mental health of children, adolescents and their families. Gov. Abbot is basically lying about what he and the state of Texas are doing to address the social sources of gun violence.
• Fighting over Second Amendment gun rights versus gun restrictions is not the problem. Our communities and relationships to each other are. But addressing the social aspects of mass shooters—such as poverty and social isolation—do not enhance politicians’ careers nearly as much as endless public fights over guns.

So why wait on government to do something? We are to minister to “the least of these,” and this is exactly the situation where our faith and love can be the hands and feet of Jesus. That’s how you change the world.

Lynette Bowen
Plainview, Texas

You found one solution to the problem of gun violence in your column: harden up schools just like it’s done in the Capitol—armed guards.

We have many trained veterans who happily would work to protect our children. It is a deterrent for the Capitol and places of business, and even churches with armed security. Why not schools?

There are not enough mental health providers to start with. Maybe funding and educating more people in this field—paying for their education—to serve in our schools and to have at least one in every school would help. It is a start.

But we have allowed ourselves, as a society, to be sloppy in our expectations of our children and our own responsibilities as parents. America has gone “woke,” to the detriment of our children and our country.

Target—the store we all love to shop—revealed it gave more than $2 million over 11 years to an organization who puts books in K-12 grades about explaining gay and/or transgenderism. These things cause confusion in our children, who grow up to fight back against those who didn’t stand up for them. We have to do better.

Pat Bowlin
San Antonio, Texas

Thank you for your provocative piece on the toxic brew of inane conversations about gun violence.

We are retired public school teachers. Both of us are graduates of Texas Baptist universities, and both of our daughters have earned degrees at Texas Baptist universities. We have been active in First Baptist Church of San Angelo for many years and have served on the board of trustees of our universities.

We support strong gun safety measures and have shared our views in person and in writing with our congressmen and legislators. We gladly would support Baptist initiatives to stop gun violence.

As I recently told our congressman, clearly what our country is doing is not working. It is past time to enact measures to save innocent lives. We feel if we as individuals fail to make our views known, we appear to be permissive and therefore complicit. We do not want that same criticism leveled at churches. But sadly, too many churches have been silent too long.

If you create a database of volunteers or develop a plan of action, we would appreciate being included in such an initiative.

Again, thank you for expressing your views. Hopefully, your essay will inspire many to join forces and save lives.

Jim and Louise Jones
San Angelo, Texas

Texas Scorecard reports H-E-B Grocery’s CEO Charles Butt is sponsoring Temple Pride’s LGBTQ+ block party and drag queen show on May 27. To attract children, the event is offering free Kid Zone activities; story time; a Tap, Tap Art Bus; ring toss; bubbles and chalk.

Texas Scorecard also reported last year, H-E-B sponsored Austin’s Rainbow on the Creek Pride event. It included a Pride parade, drag queen story hour and a vile “family-friendly all ages” drag show.

Election Forum reports the “+” in the LGBTQ+ alphabet includes MAP—“minor-attracted persons,” or pedophiles.

Brazen lyrics to a 2021 San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus song include: “You think we’re sinful … You think that we’ll corrupt your kids if our agenda goes unchecked. Funny, just this once, you’re correct. … We’ll convert your children. … We’re coming for your children.”

The Bible describes such people as:

• “evildoers that are corrupters” (Isaiah 1:4),
• “enticers” (Proverbs 1:10),
• “abusers of themselves with mankind,” “effeminate” (1 Corinthians 6:9),
• “them that defile themselves with mankind” (1 Timothy 1:10),
• having “vile affections” “against nature” (Romans 1:18-27),
• “wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly” (Genesis 13:13),
• “abominations unto God” (Leviticus 18:22; Deuteronomy 22:5), and
• “sons of Belial”—the devil (Judges 19:22).

“Saith the LORD” it is a “horrible thing” to “strengthen the hands of evildoers.” “They are all of them unto me as Sodom and Gomorrah” (Jeremiah 23:11,14).

Are there 10 righteous people in Temple who will cry like Lot, “Do not so wickedly” (Genesis 18:20-32)?

Michael Ellis
Belton, Texas

RE: Texas Senate wants Ten Commandments in classrooms

I totally agree the Texas Senate bill is a bad bill.

1. It does not respect separation of church and state
2. The specific language is unbelievable. Do they think God spoke to Moses in King James English?
3. It’s disrespectful to our Jewish and Catholic friends.
4. Modern language Bibles have helped to reach unbelievers for decades.
5. This will be a negative witness to all who are not far-right Christians who seem to think being Republican and being a Christian are synonymous.
6. This would cost school districts millions of dollars when money is already tight.
7. It will cost opponents and proponents legal fees.
8. What’s the penalty for not doing posting the Ten Commandments in one’s classroom? Will teachers be fired for not displaying the commandments as directed?
9. Will we allow other religions to display their beliefs about proper human behavior?

Larry J. Thomas
Retired, Baylor University and Texas Baptist Missions Foundation
Fairview, Texas

The Christian ethics of imposing our rules on everyone is a vexed one. We clearly believe our God’s way is by far the most excellent way for humans to live. So it’s tempting, when we have the political majority needed, to impose our way on others.

But we forget, God did not seek to impose his will on everyone. He prefaced his commands with the statement, “I am your God; I’ve rescued you from Egypt,” and the commands were directed only to his people.

Sometimes, we really do think we are more important than our God. Please, Lord, forgive me.

Reg Munro
Capetown, South Africa

RE: Voices: My position on Law’s list of SBC churches

Thank you for publishing the thoughtful and well-referenced article on Rev. Law’s list of churches with women in roles as pastors.

Many years ago, I wrote another letter to the Baptist Standard in regard to this same issue of women in ministry. It matters not what title or job you assign them; women are vital, yea essential, to ministry in our churches.

As I said many years ago, I knew the names and impact of Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong and Mary Hill Davis long before I ever heard the names B.H. Carroll, George Truett or Billy Graham. And the most formative years of Sunday school in my life were overseen by godly women who literally loved me into the kingdom.

It is beyond presumptuous to believe anyone can understand better a calling from God than the person who heard the call. Who am I, or any man, to say to a woman: “You are mistaken; God does not call women to be pastors!”

I thank God for the teachers, choir directors, youth leaders, deacons and pastors—both women and men—who have blessed my life in the name and cause of Jesus.

Barry L. Moak
Abilene, Texas

The original article published April 3, 2023, was revised by the author to provide additional references and clarifications. Additionally, Editor Eric Black transposed the Greek terms diakonon (referring to Phoebe) and apostolois (referring to Junia) in the original published article. That error has been corrected (April 13, 2023).

RE: Voices: My position on Law’s list of SBC churches

Nathan Patzke’s article contains terribly basic Bible errors, most notably him saying the word diakonos —deacon/servant—is the noun form of didasko —to teach. These are totally distinct words. He also writes that the word “apostles” in Romans 16:7 is the word diakonos, which is incorrect and does not even appear in that verse.

Perhaps an editorial correction would have served the author and his seminary—Truett—well.

David Rhoades
Senior Pastor, Broadview Baptist Church
Lubbock, Texas

The original article published April 3, 2023, was revised by the author to provide additional references and clarifications. Additionally, Editor Eric Black transposed the Greek terms diakonon (referring to Phoebe) and apostolois (referring to Junia) in the original published article. That error has been corrected (April 13, 2023).