Caught in the Act of Changing His Mind?!? *Gasp* (Mohler)

Ethics Daily is out with a story that SBC President Frank Page was once a proponent of women as pastors. The story points to Dr. Page’s 1980 doctoral dissertation written at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. In that dissertation (which I have read), Dr. Page argued for the abolition of all distinctions in the role of men and women in the church. The dissertation is clear in making this argument — and it bears all the marks of a doctoral dissertation submitted on this subject back in 1980. I will explain that comment momentarily.

Now, Dr. Page affirms The Baptist Faith and Message [revised 2000] which clearly states that the office of pastor is limited to men as authorized by Scripture. He has affirmed this statement on his SBC President’s Web page [go here].

Has Dr. Page been caught in the act of changing his mind? Apparently so. For some, this fact is something of a scandal. After all, this is a significant and controversial issue — and one which was a major factor in the SBC controversy and the conservative resurgence. The fact that Dr. Page “switched sides” on this issue is enough to draw fire from any number of directions — but mostly from those who firmly support women as pastors [at least in theory]. I phrased that statement intentionally to remind all readers that the support for women as pastors, even among those who present themselves as avid proponents of women as pastors, has yet to translate into any significant number of women serving as pastors — even among those churches. Has any large and historic church identified as “moderate” in the SBC struggle called a woman as senior pastor?

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