KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Midwestern Seminary President Jason K. Allen submitted a resolution to the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) Resolutions Committee with the endorsement of more than 95 SBC leaders. The title of the resolution is “On Affirming the Dignity of Women and the Holiness of Ministers.”
“Though I am responsible for the resolution and its submission, in order to speak as loudly as possible, I invited my fellow SBC entity heads to participate, as well as SBC president Steve Gaines. In order to heighten awareness going into Dallas, I elected to make it public now,” Allen wrote in an article published on his website, jasonkallen.com.
Allen said the resolution is “a statement of public accountability.”
“Before God,” Allen explained, “we are first and foremost covenanting with ourselves anew to be people of integrity, to honor, protect, and to serve women, and to guard our hearts, minds and marriages in Christ Jesus. If we do not have the courage of our convictions to speak with clarity on these issues, we have no credibility to speak to our culture on other issues.”
Allen repeatedly stressed in his article, “This is not difficult,” regarding three specific issues: to the treatment of women, to abused women and to the minister’s holiness. He stated, “Yes, God through our prayers and the power of the Gospel can change even the vilest abuser, but wives aren’t called to endure suffering from his hand in the meantime.”
Allen also said, “The character qualifications for ministry as outlined in 1 Tim. 3:1-7 are not a onetime threshold to cross. They represent an ongoing accountability to God’s Word and God’s people.”
The SBC Annual Meeting convenes in Dallas, Texas June 12-13. Resolutions are regularly presented at annual meetings and described by the SBC as “an expression of opinion or concern, as compared to a motion, which calls for action. A resolution is not used to direct an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention to specific action other than to communicate the opinion or concern expressed. Resolutions are passed during the annual Convention meeting.”
Allen acknowledged the Resolutions Committee may respond in different ways to his submission, including a redraft, but expressed his confidence in the committee members and the process. “Annually, the Resolutions Committee has a difficult job without others, including me, complicating it all the more,” he said.
Hance Dilbeck, executive director-treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, was among the 32 state executives who endorsed Allen’s resolution. All current SBC seminary presidents endorsed, as well as both SBC presidential candidates, J.D. Greear and Ken Hemphill, and six former SBC presidents.
To read Allen’s resolution in its entirety and to see the full list of endorsers, visit jasonkallen.com.
