CBFV, BTSR urge women pastors

by    T. C. Pinckney                                                                                                                                Vol. XVIII, No. 2, February 2005

The liberal “Cooperative Baptist Fellowship” has a Virginia state branch, the CBFVirginia or CBFV. The head hired hand of CBFV or Coordinator, is Richard Clore.

In a recent issue of the CBFV newsletter, CBFVirginia, Vol. 11, No. 4, 2004, Robert A. Fox, Director of Admissions at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, approvingly quoted Richard Clore in the following paragraph:

“Rick Clore, Coordinator of CBF of Virginia, implored Virginia Baptists to consider female ministers for all ministry positions in the church. Clore said, ‘The most holy bequest of CBF of Virginia is to assist churches in finding their next ministers. When our churches won’t consider female ministers you are impeding CBFV from doing its job.’ Clore pointed out that when churches receive resumes from male ministerial candidates, those candidates receive calls; but not female ministerial candidates with the same or better qualifications.”

The next paragraph in Fox’s article adds to the picture:

“Dr. Thomas H. Graves, President of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, gave further evidence that God is calling women in to ministry and theological training. ‘Half of the students now in BTSR’s Master of Divinity program are female,’ Graves pointed out, ‘women are accepting the call to ministry, they are being trained for ministry, but now the decision is in your hands.’”

Contrast the above with the following quote from the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, Article VI, The Church: “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” For the biblical guidance upon which the BFM statement rests, turn to I Timothy 2:9-3:13.

If you agree that God assigns the function of pastor to males only, you now have clear evidence that CBF and BTSR directly oppose God’s Word on this subject.

In another CBFV matter, the Virginia state Moderator, Nancy Stanton McDaniel, sent a December letter regarding a “shortfall in funding.” She writes,

“The shortfall is due to a combination of factors. Across Virginia church contributions are down which affect their partners in ministry life CBF of Virginia. Our current budget anticipated an increase in giving that did not materialize. Churches and individuals are confused about all the Baptist groups in Virginia, and where confusion exists funds do not flow.”

One year’s results do not make a trend. We will watch with interest.