As the Southern Baptist Convention continues its infighting over women preachers, popular author and speaker Beth Moore stepped into the fray to encourage peace.
“There are no women trying to take over SBC pulpits, least of all me. It’s a straw woman. One woman speaking on Mother’s Day 2019 does not a takeover make. PEACE,” she tweeted, as The Christian Post reports.
“This infighting over women preaching in the SBC is a distraction & an enormous waste of energy. Be honest about what these fights are over. Perhaps my memory fails me in old age but I thought we were gospel people, all sent out to share the good news of salvation through Christ,” she continued.
This infighting over women preaching in the SBC is a distraction & an enormous waste of energy. Be honest about what these fights are over. Perhaps my memory fails me in old age but I thought we were gospel people, all sent out to share the good news of salvation through Christ.
— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) February 16, 2020
Much of the controversy was sparked earlier last year when Beth Moore preached during a Sunday morning service at an SBC church.
In her most recent tweets, Moore emphasized the role that women can play in the church and encouraged them to keep going. “I will indeed speak occasionally in services on Sundays when asked by a church, depending upon the occasion & pastor’s request. If that’s a deal-breaker, hold me responsible. Don’t hold my gender hostage over it. These women are brilliant. Gospel carriers. Make a place for them,” she encouraged.
“Truly, that’s the last thing I hope to say as an insider. As I watch the devil tear apart a denomination I loved so much & served so long, witch hunting, & so in need of a fight they have to make infidels out of Jesus loving, Scripture-believing people, it’s hard to be silent.”
Truly, that’s the last thing I hope to say as an insider. As I watch the devil tear apart a denomination I loved so much & served so long, witch hunting, & so in need of a fight they have to make infidels out of Jesus loving, Scripture-believing people, it’s hard to be silent.
— Beth Moore (@BethMooreLPM) February 16, 2020
Moore has not been shy about bringing the conversation to the forefront. In June last year, she stirred more discussion with several tweets detailing her experience with misogyny in the church.
“I had the eye-opening experience of my life in 2016,” she said. “A fog cleared for me that was the most disturbing, terrifying thing I’d ever seen. All these years I’d given the benefit of the doubt that these men were the way they were because they were trying to be obedient to Scripture…Then I realized it was not over Scripture at all. It was over sin. It was over power. It was over misogyny. Sexism. It was about arrogance. About protecting systems. It involved covering abuses & misuses of power.”
She continued to defend the SBC and her role in it. “Here is what you don’t understand. I have loved the SBC & served it with everything I have had since I was 12 years old helping with vacation Bible school. Alongside ANY denomination, I will serve it to my death if it will have me. And this is how I am serving it right now.”
Since then, the SBC has grown more vocal in its disapproval of women preachers. Late last year, pastor John MacArthur told Moore to “go home” and likened her to a jewelry saleswoman peddling the gospel. And, as Christian Headlines previously reported, several SBC pastors have voiced concern and threatened a boycott over a planned performance from a female spoken word artist.
Related:
John MacArthur Tells Beth Moore to ‘Go Home,’ Says Bible Does Not Support Woman Preachers
SBC Pastors Threaten to Boycott Conference over Planned Spoken Word Performance by Female Pastor
For Now, Southern Baptists Stick by Hosanna Wong, Spoken Word Artist and Pastor
Photo courtesy: Living Proof Ministries Facebook Page
Mikaela Mathews is a freelance writer and editor based in Dallas, TX. She was the editor of a local magazine and a contributing writer for the Galveston Daily News and Spirit Magazine. She blogs at mikaelamathews.com.
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