FIRST BAPTIST BREAKS WITH TRADITION TO ORDAIN WOMEN

When members of First Baptist Church in Cape Girardeau decided to ordain women as deacons, they knew the church would be in a minority.

The congregation on May 10 ordained six women to serve as deacons. It is the first Southern Baptist church in Southeast Missouri to do so.

The women join a group of 24 men who serve the varying needs of church members.

"We thought it was more Christlike to include women than to exclude them," said Dr. John Owen, pastor. "Christianity is about being in the minority and understanding that right is not determined by might, by numbers or even by tradition."

Southern Baptist churches don't commonly ordain women as ministers or deacons. But a number of churches in St. Louis, Columbia and Kansas City have women serving as deacons.

Some questions have been raised about the practice of ordaining women, said the Rev. Roy Jones, director of the Cape Girardeau Baptist Association.

Because no other churches in the history of the association have ordained women, a credentials committee has begun reviewing the doctrine of First Baptist Church.

"They want to get all sides," Jones said. Normally, the committee checks to see that a church is committed to being a part of the Southern Baptist Convention and is sound doctrinally.

However, each Baptist church is autonomous. "The local church can follow the direction that God leads them," Jones said.

In Missouri, no statistics are available on the exact number of churches with women serving as deacons, said Tim Yarbrough, public relations director for the Missouri Baptist Convention.

Deacons usually serve a three-year term, but the job is strictly volunteer. The deacons serve in many ways, from attending funerals when a relative or church member dies to celebrating a birth or graduation. The church membership is divided between the 30 "active" deacons so that each deacon has about 15 to 20 families to serve.

In the New Testament, deacons were chosen to care for the widows and orphans in the community. "It was the prototype of ministry in the Jerusalem church," Owen said. "A deacon's job is what one makes of it."

In many cases, women can do a better job of ministering to a need than a man could, he said. Owen said a woman is sometimes better equipped to care for another woman who is ill.

Pat Foster, a newly-ordained deacon, said that women have always been servants in the church, so becoming a deacon doesn't really change things. "It's just the same as if the men were serving."

Foster has been a member of the church since 1952.

For years women have been able to serve in nearly every other church role except deacon. They have taught Sunday school classes and organized missions groups.

At the turn of the century, women weren't allowed to vote at the polls, but they could teach children in the church. They weren't allowed to teach if men were in the same room, so they organized a group that sent missionaries around the world, Owen said.

When the stock market crashed in 1929, the women of First Baptist Church even found a way to save the building -- by having a bake sale.

"Women have always found a way to make a contribution in spite of the fact that they have been kept out of some circles," he said.

Now that the women of First Baptist are able to serve as deacons, they will continue their ministry.

The decision to ordain women isn't really going to change the church, said Denise Lincoln. It only changes a tradition.

Lincoln was recently ordained as a deacon but had served as minister of activities and youth in the early 1980s.

"I think we are just being honest about who we are," she said. "Women have always ministered alongside men. Now we aren't so concerned about gender in our ministry."

But there has been some negative reaction to the ordination. Some members of the church opposed the decision and left the congregation.

"We have taken our share of criticism," Owen said. "We are not on a crusade or putting down other churches in any way."

Owen said the church doesn't want to be judgmental of other Baptist churches in the area that are not ordaining women. At the same time, First Baptist doesn't want to be judged for its action, he said.

WOMEN IN MINISTRY

Ordaining women as deacons in the church is not a traditional practice for most Southern Baptist churches. However, it is not uncommon.

*In 1964, Addie Davis of Durham, N.C., was the first woman ordained into the ministry of a Southern Baptist church.

*By 1973, fewer than 12 womer were ordained in Southern Baptist churches.

*In 1975, the number of ordained women grew to nearly 75.

*Estimates ranged to nearly 175 ordained women by 1982.

*The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution opposing the ordination of women in 1984.

*In 1986, statistics showed that more than 230 women were ordained as chaplains, ministers, deacons and church leaders within the Southern Baptist Convention.

*In 1993, more than 1,000 Baptist women were serving as ministers in Southern Baptist churches. Nearly 900 of them were ordained.

Source: Baptist Women in Ministry