I'm back and (maybe?) ready for SBC24......

A thank you to Baptist archivists (especially the SBHLA) and a HUGE shout out for Baptist Women in Ministry as well as SBC24 recommendations

My work station this morning at my favorite Waco bookstore. I think I will be drinking lots of cappuccinos this week……

One year ago I had just returned from the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives (SBHLA) in Nashville, TN, just in time for the SBC 2023. And now, here we are again for another round of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Let me take this opportunity to sing the praises of the Baptist archives I have worked in thus far: the SBHLA, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary Libraries in Ft. Worth, TX, Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (both the headquarters in Toronto, Ontario, and Canadian Baptist Archives at McMaster Divinity College in Hamilton, Ontario), and the Texas Collection at Baylor University in my hometown of Waco, TX. I have found the archivists at each institution to be fantastic. They have gone out of their way to help me. Dr. Taffey Hall, Director and Archivist of the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives at the SBC headquarters in Nashville, even invited me to apply for research funding, which I received along with a graduate student who accompanied me.

Last spring I made the mistake of not clarifying a statement on the Wisconsin NPR show To the Best of Our Knowledge in which I stated I was denied access to view part of the Paige Patterson collection. Taffey Hall, in her capacity as director, requested permission for me to view files in his collection. Patterson’s collection was open for researchers until 2019 when the agreement for his papers was changed (see my note about this at the end of my substack “Until He Comes” crediting The Baptist Blogger). Now, “access to material requires written approval of Paige Patterson, or his designated representative, until January 1, 2050. After that time the collection will be open to researchers without restrictions.” I was denied access, but it was the Patterson collection not the SBHLA which denied me.I am sorry for not having made this distinction clear in the initial interview and am grateful to Mark Riechers in making the correction for me on the posted interview “Examining the role of Southern Baptist women: Historian Beth Allison Barr on the past, present and future of women in the Southern Baptist Convention”. (Also, I look forward to viewing Patterson’s collection in full without restrictions in 2050 if I am not able to obtain earlier access.)

Going forward, I want to make sure that my archival experience, especially considering the nature of the documents I have examined in these institutions, is clear. All of the archivists, including the SBHLA, have gone above and beyond in helping my research. I am deeply grateful to Taffey Hall, Jill Botticelli Cabal, Leanne Friesen, Gordon Heath, Adam McCulloch, Elizabeth Rivera, and Benna Vaughan. Just FYI, next time I talk about archives, I will be highlighting my time with CBOQ in Toronto and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They were amazing and play a pivotal role, alongside the SBHLA, in Becoming the Pastor’s Wife.

And now for the SBC24.

Are you ready?

Here is what is at stake for women:

1. J.D. Greear, former president of the SBC 2018-2021, sums up what he sees as the four primary issues facing the SBC 2024 on his website: 1) the Law Amendment, 2) “Great Commission Resurgence Task Force”, 3) sex abuse reform, 4) focus on evangelicalism. Numbers 2 & 4 are interesting (you can read what Greear writes about them), but Numbers 1 & 3 are really the high stake issues for women. Number 1 because, I think, this has been the goal since the 1979 Conservative Resurgence: to enshrine male headship and female subordination as part of the SBC gospel by limiting the pastoral office completely to men and emphasizing women’s place in the home. My gut is the Law Amendment will get the required votes to pass, however, I am holding out hope that it will not. Either way, I think it will be close. Don’t worry, I’m going to talk more about the Law Amendment in my next post. This is enough for now.

   Number 3, I argue, is a direct result of the SBC drive to protect male power. No, complementarian theology does not

   

   cause abuse. Complementarian theology enables environments where abuse is more likely to flourish and abuse victims are less likely to be heard. Don’t believe me? Just read the Guidepost Solutions report. Or read

   In Solidarity by Christa Brown
   ’s shattering memoir Baptistland: A Memoir of Abuse, Betrayal, and Transformation. Don’t worry, I’m going to be talking more about this one too.

2. So what is at stake for women? Honestly a great way to understand the magnitude of the SBC 2024 is to watch the Baptist Women in Ministry documentary Midwives of a Movement that streams today on YouTube. Also, read Meredith Stone’s, Executive Director for Baptist Women in Ministry, insightful article for Baptist News Global from just a few days ago. “For almost 50 years,” Stone writes, “the SBC has demonstrated a pattern of meeting any potential gains for women and any possible threats to conservative male power with a wave of backlash to enforce the oppression of women.” I agree with her 100%.

3. If you want background on the SBC & Women, Law Amendment and what happened at SBC23, you can catch up with my substack “Until He Comes,” and round up post “I’m SBC’ed out”. Also, I think the IVF amendment is high stakes for women, too. You can read Liam Adams coverage here. Speaking of Liam……

Here are my favorite SBC reporters on Threads you can follow?

1. Liam Adams: https://www.threads.net/@liamsadams

2. Kate Shellnut: https://www.threads.net/@kateanywhere

Here is what you can expect from me this week:

1. I’ve already given one interview for Scripps National News and will join a conversation on NPR’s All Things Considered tomorrow. I’ll probably just be soundbites in both, but I’m sure the conversations will be interesting.

2. I’ll be writing here several times this week—including some thoughts on the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force later tonight. You can read as much or as little as you want. I’m sure I’ll also be on Threads reposting and commenting, too.

Thanks for being patient with me. I am finishing the final edits (pre-page proofs) for Becoming the Pastor’s Wife. It will be available for preorder soon, and I can’t wait to give my subscribers a first peek at the cover art as well as a preorder special.

As for the SBC, we will see what happens.

Let me end with some encouragement I received from a first-time-The Making of Biblical Womanhood-reader just this morning. I appreciate her reminder, this week of all weeks, to keep going.

“Once again, thank you, Dr. Barr. Your bravery to stand up for evangelical women in a patriarchal world is admirable. Know that your research is truly making a difference, even for non-evangelical women like me.”

Be free, y’all.