05/30/2026
Great article from Michael Clegg:
“I have had the honor of becoming close friends with a few Southern Baptist professors and leaders who reviewed Life Beyond Denominations before its release.
And I want to say this clearly: not all Southern Baptists are blind. Not all Southern Baptists are cruel. Some are grieving. Some are questioning. Some are quietly preparing to walk away.
I recently learned that some are planning to reconsider their membership with the SBC after the convention next week in Orlando, Florida. The 2026 SBC Annual Meeting is scheduled for June 7–10 in Orlando, and Albert Mohler has announced that he plans to bring a constitutional amendment dealing with women serving in pastoral leadership.
That matters.
Because the SBC already has the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which says that “both men and women are gifted for service,” but then limits the office of pastor/elder/overseer to men.
Do you see the contradiction?
“Women are gifted” — but not fully trusted.
“Women can serve” — but not lead.
“Women can teach children” — but not speak with authority.
“Women can carry the church” — but not stand in front of it.
That is not the heartbeat of Scripture.
When God gave Torah at Sinai, He told Moses to speak to the house of Jacob (women) and the children of Israel (men) — women and men together. Exodus 19:3.
When Israel crossed the sea, Miriam led worship. Exodus 15:20–21.
Deborah judged Israel. Judges 4–5.
Huldah spoke the word of God to national leaders. 2 Kings 22.
Priscilla helped teach Apollos more accurately. Acts 18:26.
Phoebe carried Paul’s letter to Rome. Romans 16:1–2.
Junia was known among the emissaries. Romans 16:7.
And at Shavuot/Pentecost, Peter quoted Joel:
“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.” Acts 2:17.
Not just sons.
Daughters too.
So when a denomination builds walls around women and calls it “biblical,” we need to ask:
Biblical according to whom?
Because even Baptist history is not as clean as people pretend.
John Smyth, often connected with the beginning of the Baptist movement, did not stay neatly inside the thing he helped begin. He later moved toward the Mennonites, and Baptist history itself admits that his beliefs continued to change.
That should humble us.
The founder questioned.
The movement changed.
The confessions changed.
The statements changed.
So why do modern denominations act like their constitution dropped from Mount Sinai?
The Baptist Faith and Message is not God’s Word.
The SBC constitution is not Sinai.
A denomination is not the Kingdom of God.
And a convention vote is not the voice of Heaven.
The deeper issue is this:
When a system fears women’s voices, Deaf voices, Black voices, wounded voices, and Jewish roots, it is no longer protecting truth.
It is protecting control.
Life Beyond Denominations is not about attacking people.
It is about telling the truth.
It is about the wounded who still hunger for God.
It is about leaving Egypt.
It is about returning to the table.
It is about saying that God’s gifts are not controlled by a committee, a confession, a constitution, or a convention floor.
Because when God pours out His Spirit, He does not ask the SBC for permission.
He says:
“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”
And if that scares a denomination, maybe the problem is not the daughters.
Maybe the problem is Pharaoh still holding the microphone.
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 says:
“The office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
But Scripture says:
“Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy.”
Joel 2:28 / Acts 2:17
The Baptist Faith and Message says women may be “gifted for service,” but then places a ceiling over their calling.
But Scripture says:
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male and female; for you are all one in Messiah.”
Galatians 3:28
The Baptist Faith and Message creates a system where women can serve, but not fully lead.
But Scripture shows Deborah judging Israel.
Judges 4–5
Scripture shows Miriam leading worship after deliverance.
Exodus 15:20–21
Scripture shows Huldah speaking the word of God to priests, scribes, and national leaders.
2 Kings 22:14–20
Scripture shows Priscilla helping teach Apollos more accurately.
Acts 18:26
Scripture shows Phoebe serving as a trusted leader and carrier of Paul’s letter to Rome.
Romans 16:1–2
Scripture shows Junia known among the emissaries/apostles.
Romans 16:7
So the conflict is not women versus the Bible.
The conflict is women versus a denominational system that keeps rewriting the rules to protect male control.
The Baptist Faith and Message also says a wife is to “submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband.”
But Scripture begins with woman made in the image of God.
“So God created humankind in His image… male and female He created them.”
Genesis 1:27
Before there was a denomination, there was image.
Before there was a Baptist confession, there was Eden.
Before there was a convention floor, there was God breathing dignity into male and female together.
Yes, Paul wrote letters into real communities with real disorder, but Paul was not writing a Baptist constitution.
Paul was correcting specific problems in specific places — including Ephesus, a city shaped by the worship of the Roman goddess Artemis, also known as Diana.
And even Paul worked with women.
He named them.
He honored them.
He trusted them.
He called them co-laborers.
So when the SBC says, “We believe the Bible,” but then uses a confession to silence women, control churches, and decide who is “in cooperation,” we have to ask:
Are they following Scripture?
Or are they defending a system?
Because the Bible keeps showing women speaking, leading, judging, prophesying, teaching, carrying letters, hosting gatherings, and standing in covenant.
The Baptist Faith and Message says women have gifts — but then puts those gifts behind a locked door.
The Bible says when God pours out His Spirit, daughters prophesy.
And when God opens a mouth, no denomination has the authority to close it.
This is why Life Beyond Denominations matters.
Because sometimes the problem is not that people rejected God.
Sometimes they simply outgrew Pharaoh’s rulebook.
And in many cases, Pharaoh is not sitting in ancient Egypt anymore.
Pharaoh is standing behind a pulpit, sitting on a denominational throne, holding a microphone, and calling control “biblical order.”
And yes — in many cases, Pharaoh looks like SBC leadership.”
