c. 1998 Religion News Service

SALT LAKE CITY _ When Southern Baptists overwhelmingly approved adoption of a statement on the family Tuesday (June 9), they affirmed their support for heterosexual marriage and their belief that the Bible says wives should”submit … graciously”to their husbands.

But precisely what those words mean is a matter of debate.

The four paragraphs approved at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention are now officially the 18th article in the”Baptist Faith and Message,”a pivotal theological text initially adopted by Southern Baptists at their 1963 meeting and amended on only one occasion since. The text addresses such topics as God, the Scriptures, evangelism and religious liberty.

Now, three decades later, members of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination said it was time to declare to Baptists _ and society at large _ what they have longed believed is God’s plan for the family.”I think we are making a very clear statement of biblical truth,”said Anthony Jordan, chairman of the special committee that drafted the statement.”We are saying to the culture this is God’s direction for family life. The end result of it is a better life for everybody. Here is not only a better way. It is the best way, because God’s word has made it so clearly so,”he said.

The statement declares that the husband is the provider, protector and leader of the family.”A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ,”it states.

Despite the overwhelming approval given to adding the four paragraphs to the denomination’s key declaration of faith, the article raised questions among some messengers, as delegates to the three-day annual meeting are called.

This year’s meeting ends Thursday (June 11) at the Salt Palace Convention Center.

Tim Owings of First Baptist Church in Augusta, Ga., for example, suggested the amendment should say,”Both husband and wife are to submit graciously to each other as servant leaders,”rather than the version eventually adopted, which only spoke of women submitting to their husbands.

After a brief debate on several biblical passages dealing with submission, Owings’ amendment was soundly defeated.

The adopted article describes the family as”composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.” When Dennis Wiles of First Baptist Church of Huntsville, Ala., suggested the statement be expanded to include”diverse manifestations of the family”_ including unmarried adults, childless couples, widows and widowers _ his amendment also was defeated overwhelmingly.

While the new article was overwhelmingly endorsed by the delegates, there appeared to be disagreements on how its words might be interpreted _ even within the committee that drafted it.

Asked at a news conference what message the article sends to women who work outside the home, Jordan said,”I don’t think we are trying to send any message, frankly … it was not our purpose to try to address all of those issues.” But Richard Land, a committee member who also is president of the SBC’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, added”that’s a decision for the husband and wife to make. If a husband does not want his wife to work outside the home, then she should not work outside the home,”said Land, whose wife works as a Christian marriage and family therapist.

Mary Mohler, a committee member and the wife of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President R. Albert Mohler, Jr., said she believed the Bible commands her to view submitting to her husband’s authority as”my duty and my glad responsibility.””I don’t hesitate to say that,”she said.”It may be a politically incorrect word. It may not be a popular word, but it’s a biblically correct word.” Dorothy Patterson, another member of the committee and the wife of newly elected SBC President Paige Patterson, also explained her stance on submission. “As a woman standing under the authority of Scripture, even when it comes to submitting to my husband when I know he’s wrong, I just have to do it,”she said.”And then he stands accountable.” But she said wives should keep Scripture in mind as they listen to their husbands.”For example, if Paige were to come in and tell me to shoot my granddaughter, he better run for cover because there’s no way that that is coming from God,”she said.

On the other hand, if her husband said he wanted to bring his dog to church with him on Sunday, she wouldn’t disagree even if she thought it inappropriate.

Jordan said the statement sought to articulate what Baptists are for rather than what they are against.

The article says marriage is”God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church”and children are a blessing from God”from the moment of conception.” Asked if he considered the statement to be anti-feminist, Jordan told Religion News Service:”I do not think it rails against feminism … If this statement in some way goes against … feminist concepts and ideas, it is because Scripture does … Our purpose is to say, God has a plan for families, for family relationships, and much of what I read about feminism does not line up with Scripture.” DEA END BANKS