SBC Amendment & FBCA

First Family,

Isaiah 66:2 says of the Lord, “These are the ones I look on with favor: those who are humble and contrite in spirit, and who tremble at my word.”

One of the key distinctives of our Baptist denomination is that we believe the Bible is the final authority for all faith and practice. What we believe and how we practice our faith is entirely dependent upon the teaching of scripture. We are committed to the authority of the scriptures and seek to always hold ourselves accountable. To quote from Isaiah we “tremble” at God’s word.

Based upon the teachings of scripture we believe that both men and women are equally gifted by God for the role of a pastor within our congregation. This has historically been our understanding and we continue to humble ourselves before the scriptures to hold this belief. This belief has held us in tension with the Southern Baptist Convention for numerous years and brought us to a place this year in which we are reviewing our current/future partnership. A great deal of conversation and material has been produced this year by us
as a congregation with regards to this relationship.

To continue to communicate these details we have compiled all the information in one place on our website. This webpage will have a historical timeline, current and future steps that we anticipate taking and multiple teachings from Scripture with regard to women in pastoral ministry. If you were not able to attend our J-Term “Women in Pastoral Ministry,” you will find those teachings here as well.

Please take a moment to review this material and continue to engage in the conversation with us. I am so thankful for the spiritual maturity of our congregation and our ability to navigate this season with such grace. Thank you for loving one another and seeking to glorify the Lord in how we respond.
 
Here is a link to the webpage:

https://fbcalexandria.org/sbc-amendment-amp-fbca

I am grateful to be your pastor,
Robert