The SBC and Women. Wade Burleson's Clear Reasoning and Biblical Exegesis

The Southern Baptist Convention has entered it annual event where the individuals and groups try to one-up each other as to how "conservative" they are. For the last three years, the issue of one-upmanship has centered around clearly defining how inappropriate it is for a woman to even come close to doing things that can be mistaken for shepherding. OK. I overstate.

But, seriously, the word pastor, means shepherd. If SBC had any sense, they would make this fight about someone carrying the term Bishop (episkopos) which means "overseer" rather than shepherd. But SBC pastors never or rarely use the title Bishop.

I look for good argumentation; Bible-based exegesis on this issue. When I was a pastor, nearly 35 years ago, I know that I really undermined myself in a private conversation with the chairman of my deacons. He was ranting about how difficult it was to get "qualified" deacons and wanted to push an amendment to the church constitution to eliminate deacon rotation. Somewhere in the conversation, it was mentioned that the previous pastor had talked of having female deacons. I was quite surprised as I had not heard this. His rant became quite animated. He insisted we had to follow the Bible. I mentioned (rather low-key or so I thought .... I really was not advocating for making this change to our church) that Phoebe was a deaconess (Romans 16:1). I really was not advocating for that change, but since this guy was so intent on us "following only what the Bible lays out," I just put that forward -- I thought gently. Nevertheless, on that day, I lost an advocate. We had already had conflict in my short tenure at that church. It was not long hence, that I walked away from that church and from the pastoral ministry.

Some time later, I ran into the Wade Burleson blog. I started low-key following a group of Baptist pastors who blogged on SBC issues. I found Wade to be level-headed, Biblical in every respect, respectful to all others both when they agreed and disagreed, and generally the kind of guy I would want to have as a mentor. Some time after that, I found Wade's Biblical and respectful reasoning on this issue to be both persuasive and sound.

So, here are two posts by Wade on this issue.

I have copied and pasted below, from his Facebook (LINK). I first copied it an pasted it into a document -- just for my own reference -- though I have now chosen to post it here. Since I wanted it as a reference, I thus made minute changes to make it more like a reference piece, but you can find the original link to his post.

Wade also wrote a post entitled, "5 Biblical Reasons Why Gifted, Humble, Female Servants Can Shepherd the Church" on his Substack (LINK).

Finally, just since I am linking to him, here is a link to his ministry page (LINK). I cannot recommend his book FRAUDULENT AUTHORITY highly enough. As SBC becomes more authoritarian, I think that book should be widely read. Anyone reading this might find this post at Baptist News that references the current issue, Al Mohler, and Wade (LINK).

Here is Wade's Facebook Post:

WARNING TO THE SBC:

 Church Leadership Is About Gifting, Never Gender;
Service, Never Status;
Humility, Never Hubris.

In 2007, I stood at a microphone on the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention. I proposed that the Executive Committee create a Database that would identify sexual predators in the SBC who were 'hopping from church to church' without accountability for their past sins and crimes. In the name of 'church autonomy,' the SBC Executive Committee denied my motion.

TIME Magazine called the events of that 2007 SBC "one of the Top 10 most under reported stories in the United States."

Not listening to me cost the SBC millions in lawsuits, public humiliation, and the near-bankruptcy of the SBC's Executive Committee.
 

IT'S TIME TO ISSUE ANOTHER WARNING

Dr. Al Mohler’s Constitutional Amendment, to be proposed at the 2026 SBC Convention in Orlando (June 7-10, 2026), would make official the SBC barring any woman from serving in any local church leadership capacity. Mohler presents his motion as "a defense of biblical authority." In reality, the Mohler Amendment contradicts the Bible. It also diminishes the very principles that gave birth to Southern Baptist life: Soul competency, Local church autonomy, Liberty of conscience, and the Priesthood of every believer. The irony is difficult to ignore.

When Southern Baptists were confronted with the horrific reality of sexual abuse within churches, denominational leaders defended the absence of a national predator database by appealing to church autonomy. We were told the Southern Baptist Convention had no authority to interfere in the affairs of local congregations because each Church stands under Christ's authority alone. However, in 2026, many of the same voices that rose to speak against my Database motion wish to amend the SBC Constitution and dictate to autonomous churches who may or may not lead them. The Mohler Amendment excludes gifted women from exercising their spiritual gifts in the Body of Christ. Apparently, autonomy matters only when it protects institutional liability, but it disappears when gifted women teach Scripture, lead ministries, exhort believers, or administer churches. That contradiction reveals a deeper issue. This Mohler Amendment is not a debate about biblical authority. In reality, it is a debate about male spiritual authority over females. The Mohler Amendment is built on an unbiblical, illogical, and destructive religious institutional hierarchy of male authority over females in the Body of Christ.

I call this belief of male spiritual authority over females, based on my studies of the sacred Scriptures, an unbiblical Fraudulent Authority (see See the Book, FRAUDULENT AUTHORITY by the author of this piece, (Link to Amazon).
 
 

THE NEW COVENANT DESTROYS ALL HIERARCHIES

The New Covenant does not erase biological distinctions between male and female any more than it erases ethnic distinctions between Jew and Greek. However, the GOOD NEWS (e.g., the Gospel) in the New Testament absolutely destroys status hierarchies based on those distinctions.  The Apostle Paul wrote: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” - Galatians 3:28.  That verse is not about anatomy. It is about access, standing, privilege, gifting, inheritance, and participation in the Kingdom of God. 

Under the Old Covenant, access to God depended on tribal, genealogical, ethnic, and gender distinctions. Under the New Covenant, the Spirit falls on “all flesh.” Sons and daughters prophesy. Male servants and female servants receive the same Spirit. The New Testament never once qualifies spiritual gifts by gender. Let me repeat: THE NEW TESTAMENT NEVER ONCE QUALIFIES SPIRITUAL GIFTS BY GENDER.

I'm sorry for the CAPS. I don't know why people can't grasp this.

• Teaching is never called a male gift.
• Exhortation is never called a male gift.
• Wisdom is never called a male gift.
• Administration is never called a male gift.
• Prophecy is never called a male gift.
• Mercy is never called a female gift.

The Spirit distributes gifts “to each one individually just as He wills.”  Not according to gender. According to God's grace.
 

PASTOR IS A VERB OF SERVICE, NOT A NOUN OF STATUS

The modern evangelical world transformed “pastor” into a status title. But the New Testament treats shepherding as service. The Greek word translated “pastor” means shepherd. Shepherding is something believers do. 

• Fathers shepherd children.
• Mothers shepherd families.
• Elders (those who are 'older') shepherd congregations.
• Believers shepherd one another.

The obsession with titles is foreign to Christ. He told us: “The greatest among you shall be your servant." - Matthew 23:11. Jesus repeatedly condemned religious systems built on hierarchy, titles, prestige, and authority structures. The Spirit of Christ moves organically through the Body. Institutional religion prefers organizational control. That is why the New Testament emphasizes function over status, service over office, humility over hierarchy, and giftedness over gender.
 

THE FIVE SO-CALLED PROBLEM TEXTS

There are five primary passages repeatedly used to silence gifted women in the Church. Ironically, when understood in context, each passage actually supports New Covenant equality in gifted service.

1. 1 TIMOTHY 2:12 - “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man.”

This is the verse most often quoted. But context matters.  Ephesus was saturated with false teaching. Women in that culture were largely uneducated and particularly susceptible to deception through the cultic influence of Artemis worship. Paul’s concern in 1 Timothy is false doctrine, not female chromosomes. The Greek word translated “exercise authority” is authentein, a rare term carrying the idea of domineering or abusive control. Paul prohibits abusive usurpation, not Spirit-gifted teaching. Otherwise, Paul contradicts himself, because elsewhere women prophesy publicly in church gatherings.

Priscilla helped teach Apollos, one of the greatest preachers in the New Testament. Phoebe served as a deacon and likely carried Paul’s letter to Rome. Junia was called “outstanding among the apostles.” The restrictive interpretation demanded by the Mohler Amendment collapses under the weight of the New Testament itself.

2. 1 CORINTHIANS 14:34 - "Women are to keep silent in the churches.”

If taken absolutely literally, women could not sing, pray, confess Christ, or speak at all in worship. Yet only three chapters earlier, Paul explicitly acknowledges women praying and prophesying publicly (see 1Corinthians 11:2-16). So what does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 14:34? The context is disorder. People were interrupting one another. Tongue speakers were chaotic. Prophets were talking over each other. Questions were being shouted during worship gatherings.

Paul commands silence repeatedly in the chapter, not only to women but also to tongue speakers and prophets when appropriate. The issue in I Corinthians 14:34 is orderly worship, not permanent female muteness.

3. 1 CORINTHIANS 11:3 - “The head of a woman is man.”

The Greek word “head” does not necessarily mean ruler or authority. In many Greek contexts, it means "source" or "origin," like in English, "the head of the river" is the "original SOURCE of the river." Paul immediately grounds his argument in creation order, then astonishingly balances it by declaring:

“In the LORD, neither is woman independent of man, nor is man independent of woman.” - I Corinthians 11:11.

Mutual dependence destroys hierarchical supremacy. This passage in 1 Corinthians 11:3 actually moves Christ's Church toward male/female reciprocity, never male domination.

4. EPHESIANS 5:22 - “Wives, be subject to your own husbands.”

The verse before it (Ephesians 5:21) says: “Be subject to one another in the fear of Christ.” Mutual submission is the controlling principle given by the Apostle Paul. Christian marriage is not male domination. It is a reciprocal sacrifice modeled after Christ, who laid down His life for His Bride. A husband who uses Ephesians 5 to establish power over a woman understands neither Christ nor Paul.
 
5. QUALIFICATION FOR ELDERS in 1 TIMOTHY 3: Paul says an overseer should be “the husband of one wife.” 

Some insist this settles the debate permanently. However, by that logic, unmarried men could never serve. Paul himself would be disqualified. The phrase is an idiom that means "morally faithful and above reproach." Literally, it is character language ('a one-woman man'), not a universal female exclusion formula. The New Testament consistently emphasizes spiritual maturity, character, humility, and gifting for servant leadership. Never gender.
 

THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST VS. INSTITUTIONAL FEAR

One of the saddest realities in modern evangelicalism is that many men fear gifted women.

• A woman who teaches effectively threatens systems built on male-centered authority.
• A woman who leads exposes insecure leadership.
• A woman who handles Scripture carefully embarrasses men who rely on titles instead of substance.
• And thus institutions create rules to preserve power.

But the Spirit of Christ moves in the opposite direction.

• Jesus elevated women in a culture that marginalized them.
• Women were first at the tomb.
• Women funded Christ's ministry.
• Women traveled with Jesus.
• Women testified publicly to the resurrection.
• Women labored alongside Paul in Gospel work.

The New Covenant unleashed the Spirit upon all flesh. The Southern Baptist Convention now stands at a crossroads. It may choose institutional control or New Covenant freedom. It may choose constitutional restriction or congregational autonomy. It may choose fear or trust.
 

BUT SCRIPTURE IS CLEAR

The Kingdom of God advances through gifted servants, not protected hierarchies. The Church of Jesus Christ is healthiest when every believer is free to exercise Spirit-given gifts under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the discernment of the local Church. Not the authority of Nashville. Not under the authority of seminary presidents. Not under the authority of denominational machinery.

We, His Bride, are under the authority of Jesus Christ alone. And wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. As the grandson of an SBC evangelist, the son of a successful SBC pastor, and serving myself as an SBC pastor for 40 years (and twice-elected President of the state SBC Convention where I served), I find that the current problem in the SBC is an infatuation with 'male (spiritual) authority' over 'female followers of Jesus.'

"Be quiet and learn from us (males)" is what seems to be meant.

I'm a conservative Christian, a biblicist who knows both Hebrew and Greek and has written over 20 books, a few of which are bestsellers (over 10,000 copies). Truth be known, this entire man-made artificial issue (pun intended), negates half the gifted Body of Christ (females) in service to the Kingdom. And sadly, its proponents commit the same sin that homosexuals commit. "We reject Christ's design, and we desire to do it our way.'  Those who say, "But the Bible says women are to be silent and can't lead men," are lying to themselves like homosexuals lie to themselves. You can't take one or two verses out of their context and negate the overall teaching of the sacred Scriptures.

I stand amazed that a quote 'conservative Convention' can advocate a 'same-sex' principle in Christ's Church and not see their sin of intentionally violating the New Covenant standard of Kingdom leadership based on gifting, not gender; service, not status; humility, not hubris; and organic operations of the Spirit, not ordained offices of the organization.

I would not do justice to my young granddaughters, Sophie and Sloane, both of whom attend SBC churches with their parents, if I didn't speak out for the egregious, non-biblical error promoted by Al Mohler. I was right in 2007 because I believe the Bible. Once again, I'll be proven right in my opposition to the 2026 Mohler Amendment because I believe the Bible.

It's a matter of time before the SBC awakens to Mohler's unbiblical error.

For more insight on this issue, download and read this FREE PDF my late father and I wrote a few years ago: