I write today to express support and gratitude for the congregation and leaders of First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Va., considering their recent public dismissal from the Southern Baptist Convention.
First Baptist Alexandria has been a beacon of gospel ministry and a faithful congregation in the evangelical, global orthodox family for decades.
In the complex ministry environment of our nation’s capital, they also have not capitulated to the winds of progressive ideology as have many other “tall-steeple” churches, nor have they bowed the knee to country over kingdom in an effort to lift up party over the person of Jesus Christ.
They have served the kingdom faithfully both locally and globally and have been a catalyst for gospel expansion.
Gratitude for First Baptist Alexandria
I and the ministries I serve have benefited from their generosity of spirit. I can attest that thousands of people in North America have found new life in the gospel and a renewed engagement in the church family because of First Baptist Alexandria.
When the Lord opened the door to launch the Fresh Expressions movement in the United States nearly 15 years ago, First Baptist Alexandria was by our side. From 2012 to 2016, they hosted what would be foundational gatherings for our movement and set the course for gospel work that eventually would spill over into nearly 100 regional or national denominational families in North America.
They gave of their time, talents and treasures to seed that work, have done the same for others and will continue to do so in the days ahead.
I remember quite distinctly when the leadership of more than 30 denominational bodies gathered in 2016 to lay hands of blessing upon an evangelical charismatic Anglican, Bishop Graham Cray, who had been pivotal in working with us to develop Fresh Expressions work in America.
Afterward, someone remarked to me, “That kind of thing doesn’t happen in a typical Baptist church.”
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Indeed, that is true of most. We owe a debt of gratitude to First Baptist Alexandria.
A vast fellowship
It is not surprising SBC messengers would oust First Baptist Alexandria, as doing so is consistent with the doctrinal stances and theological culture evident in the SBC.
After all, they made the same motion last year toward Rick Warren and Saddleback Church—other stalwarts of the global evangelical movement—for having a female teaching pastor who preaches roughly 25 percent of the time.
Now apart from the SBC, First Baptist Alexandria and churches like them need to know they are not alone.
In associations like the Ascent Movement, of which I am part, and other evangelical fellowships around the globe, there are thousands upon thousands of leaders and churches that support women in the life of church leadership in pastoral roles.
In fact, the Capetown Commitment of the Lausanne Movement, widely recognized as the global evangelical family of faith, makes room for such in their Confession of Faith and Call to Action.
In many parts of the globe, it is the movements that embrace the gifts and calling of women where the gospel is growing in power. FBC may have lost the SBC, but the truth is, they may be gaining much more.
My expectation is, in time, First Baptist Alexandria will experience growth in gospel vitality and power as a result of these circumstances.
A biblical witness
As was made clear in the public written response to the SBC, as well as Pastor Robert Stephens’ remarks during his opportunity to address the messengers in Indianapolis, the posture of First Baptist Alexandria is based on sound scriptural reasoning provided within the written witness of the Bible.
Throughout the world, the Holy Spirit clearly is blessing such approaches, and there is no “grievance” of the Spirit in taking such stands.
As I stated in reference to a person’s written response and Pastor Stephens’ remarks, “If you are going to go out, at least go out with good exegesis.”
In fact, it’s the same conservative interpretive method any of us who attended evangelical Bible colleges or seminaries were taught.
A few weeks ago, in response to Al Mohler’s continued perspective that the lifting up of women in ministry is a slippery slope into other progressive postures, Andy Miller III of Wesley Biblical Seminary—which holds to inerrancy—offered the perspective that if you consider the dialogue of Scripture instead of just the monologue of Scripture, you can see why solid evangelicals exegetically arrive at the support of women in ministry.
Or, as Julio Guarneri noted in a recent written update to the Baptist General Convention of Texas: “We do not believe the topic of women in ministry is a matter of scriptural authority. We believe it is an issue of scriptural interpretation.”
Women in ministry is not an issue such as current debates on human sexuality, where one clearly must import evidence into the text of Scripture. Scripture contains support for women leading in ministry, even if it does not contain such support in every circumstance.
This also is not a matter we should lay at the feet of the “autonomy of the local church.” Autonomy itself is a slippery slope and is a weak tie in binding a people together. After all, how compelling is a vision to “join one another” in “doing what you want?”
An opportune time
Applying nonlinear dynamics and chaos theory to the ouster of First Baptist Alexandria, as much as the SBC may wish for these exits to serve as a warning, they likely are to do the opposite.
Already, I am aware of more churches who will be more emboldened in their affirmation of women leaders.
I also suspect even some soft complementarians now will determine we are not in an age when we can afford to separate from fellow evangelicals over an issue many solid, Scripture-affirming leaders, theologians, missionaries and others around the evangelical world support.
For those of us coming from an SBC heritage of some kind, we are in an opportune moment of sorts. Saddleback may have signaled the beginning of this moment. First Baptist Alexandria has demonstrated the intensity of this moment.
Now is the time for those of us who believe women are called into ministry and those of us who believe this is a matter of scriptural interpretation to step into this moment.
Will we carry out the mission of God with only half the people of God fully engaged, or will we move forward, re-center the Great Commission and invite all those who are faithful to the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ into carrying out the call of the gospel in a time when the need for the gospel to go forth and go deep is as important as ever?
Chris Backert serves as the senior director of Fresh Expressions North America and the Ascent Movement.
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