By Paul Baxley

In 1983, Baptist Women in Ministry was established to advocate for the biblical truth that has been confirmed time and time again in our lives, namely that God calls women as well as men to all places of leadership in the Church. In the 40 years that have passed, the staff and volunteer leadership of BWIM have elevated the gifts and callings of women, celebrated women and men alike who have acted courageously to affirm women serving in ministry, offered support and encouragement to women across their lives in ministry, established transformational mentoring initiatives to connect women from different generations and taken important steps to encourage congregations to be more receptive to the leadership gifts of women.

Many of the Baptists who established BWIM 40 years ago participated actively in the establishment of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship almost a decade later. A significant number of our Fellowship’s founders professed a strong conviction regarding the equal call of women and men. Over the years, that affirmation has become more prevalent among Cooperative Baptists.

In listening sessions and written surveys throughout the Toward Bold Faithfulness process four years ago, commitment to women’s leadership was expressed as an “identifying marker” of our Fellowship and its congregations. That same process led us to agree that one of the most powerful gifts available in our Fellowship was that of women leaders. We are coming more and more to a shared stated conviction that God equally calls women and men to church leadership.

We believe the words of the prophet Joel that “sons and daughters will prophesy.” While we are well aware that not all Baptists everywhere share this faith confession, we strongly believe that it is established in the Scriptures and confirmed by all the ways the Holy Spirit is at work among us.

At the same time, we are facing undeniable evidence that there is still too much space between these convictions stated with our words and the reality we are living in our congregations and Fellowship. “The State of Women in Baptist Life,” published by BWIM in 2022, reported that only 105 CBF congregations (or 7.4 percent) were being led by a woman senior pastor or co-pastor. That number has been essentially “flat” for a long time.

The report also offered painful testimony of the reality that women who do serve in ministerial roles experience abuses that their male colleagues do not. Search processes, along with congregational and denominational structures still privilege men. Transforming those structures so that they are equally receptive of women who are called requires honesty and intentionality. We have work to do together if we are going to be a Fellowship where women as well as men flourish in equal callings.

This summer, CBF is pleased to join with BWIM in releasing a new congregational resource named Equally Called: Celebrating Women’s Leadership in the Church. This four-session study includes guides for children, youth and adult participation. It clearly establishes the biblical and theological foundations for our convictions about the equal calling of women and men, makes space for the important testimony of women and offers encouragement to congregations seeking to live more faithfully into our convictions about the leadership gifts of women.

Together, we are inviting all our congregations to use this resource. We believe it will equip us with deeper understandings of needs and opportunities, and that the Holy Spirit will use it to catalyze a more significant transformation. I strongly encourage all CBF congregations to make space as soon as possible for this resource. Work toward the development of this resource began last fall. Many have invested time, energy and gifts to bring it to life, and I am profoundly grateful to all who have been involved.

We also learned in the Toward Bold Faithfulness process that more than 80 percent of the respondents to that online survey in winter 2020 were in a congregation where a woman served on the ministerial staff. Nearly 5,000 Cooperative Baptists responded to that survey, representing 761 of our congregations. More of us are calling women to serve in ministerial roles. There are gifted women already serving in ministry and more are preparing. Today, women who are serving as senior pastors are offering remarkable and transformative leadership and the congregations they serve are thriving in faithfulness. As a Fellowship, we have encouraged all of these women to respond to God’s call. Now it is imperative that we take the necessary steps to make sure our lives together demonstrate the faith we have professed.

Will you join us in responding to God’s call to be a Fellowship that embodies the equal call of women and men? What steps can you take? What steps can your congregation take? May this be a season of honest conversation, deep reflection and transformative action.

Rev. Dr. Paul Baxley is Executive Coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.

This column will appear in the summer issue of fellowship! magazine.