Are leaders of 2020 SBC Pastors' Conference making a statement with the platform speakers in Orlando?

The SBC Pastors’ Conference is an inspirational event traditionally held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. Usually, the speakers are well-known in Christian circles and have national platforms as either pastors in mega-churches, stadium speakers, best-selling authors, podcasts, sports’ stars, or perhaps a combination of the above. One kind of speaker that is particularly controversial, at least since 2016, is political figures. 

The 2020 SBC Pastors’ Conference is scheduled for June 7-8 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fl. Its officers are David Uth, Michael Wood, and Kevin Smith.

The 2020 platform was released by the conference officers Monday, February 10. Some of the platform personalities are easily recognizable: David Platt, Jim Cymbala, Vance Pittman, Jimmy Scroggins, and Ken Davis. Others appear less known but apparently have thriving ministries, some of whom are David Hughes, Joby Martin, Emerson Eggerrichs, and Erik Cummings. 

The platform lineup thus far appears balanced and promising to ensure an inspirational two days for Southern Baptists who choose to come early for the pre-convention event.

Nonetheless, there are a couple of factors about the release that may raise questions from some Southern Baptists.

First, and perhaps less significant, is the appearance of two speakers who represent classical Pentecostalism. Wayne Cordeiro is the founding pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, Hawaii and president of New Hope Christian College located in Eugene, OR. Though both the church and college promote themselves as “non-denominational,” both also embrace classical Pentecostal theology, a theology that embraces the baptism of the Holy Spirit subsequent to the incoming of the Holy Spirit into the life of the believer at the New Birth.

Second, and, given the contentious atmosphere presently in the Southern Baptist Convention over “women pastors,” more concerning, is the presence of personalities on the 2020 SBC Pastors’ Conference platform who represent Egalitarianism, a view on women in ministry that Southern Baptists determined in the latest edition of the Baptist Faith and Message was unbiblical. At New Hope Christian Fellowship, where Wayne Cordeiro is founding Pastor, Cyndi Burgess is listed as “Equipping Pastor” Since Cordeiro embraces egalitarianism (as well as Pentecostalism), one wonders why he fits on the conference platform. 

What is more, Hosanna Wong, Teaching Pastor at Eastlake Church in San Diego, CA is also scheduled to speak¹ at the 2020 Pastors’ Conference. Indeed, Eastlake has at least five women serving as pastoral staff.

It’s interesting how both the Pastors’ Conference leaders and Baptist Press framed the platform presence of Mrs. Wong. The conference web page lists her as one of two “Special Guests” the other of whom is Phil Wickham, a contemporary musician and song writer. While I’m certainly not suggesting the officers intended it to be so, the picture they posted on the Pastors’ Conference page of Wickham and Wong certainly gives one the impression she is a musician as well (let the reader be the judge).

Baptist Press describes Wickham and Wong’s platform duties:

Contemporary Christian musician, singer and songwriter Phil Wickham will lead worship, and spoken word artist Hosanna Wong will perform.

The description begs the question, exactly what is a “spoken word artist” and why will she “perform” at a worship and inspirational time? From what I can gather, a “spoken word artist” tells the story of personal redemption in his or her life. Fine. It’s what we normally call “testimony.” That helps.

However, if you watch and listen to Wong as “artist” when she “performs” her “spoken word,” I challenge anyone to distinguish between a “spoken word artist” and a “spoken word preacher.” Beginning with one’s testimony and ending with Bible teaching and exhortation to come to Christ hardly fits a new kind of communicating the Word of God. Here are two examples you may examine: “I Have a New Name” and “Life to Its Fullest.” For sermons Wong preaches at her church as Teaching Pastor, you can find several sermons here.² 

Hence, for Baptist Press and the SBC Pastors’ Conference officers to downplay Wong’s presence at the conference seems to me a bit troubling. Both Cordeiro and Wong are affiliated with classic Pentecostalism but more significantly, both are unapologetically committed to biblical egalitarianism.

Concerning the latter, why would the 2020 SBC Pastors’ Conference officers schedule speakers that represent one of the most contentious debates within the SBC currently? Namely, whether or not the Scriptures teach women may serve the local church as Pastor albeit, by some, a woman may serve as Pastor only under the “authority” of a male Pastor? Why? Did they not know it would stir the pot, so to speak? Or, were they attempting to make a statement?

Why did they do this?

Please know I have my own understanding pertaining to Complementarianism (i.e. women cannot serve the local church as Pastor) and Egalitarianism (i.e. women can serve the local church as Pastor [for some as long as it's under a male Pastor, and for others, it doesn't make any difference]), and my views are both forged and fairly common.

But here’s the reality.

When the Southern Baptist Convention approved The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) in its 2000 edition, it became a Baptist convention made up of cooperating churches embracing biblical complementarianism. Article VI on “The Church” says in part,

While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.

While editions of the BF&M prior to 2000 were silent concerning whether pastors and/or bishops were to be male, the 2000 edition ended the option so far as the adopted confession is concerned. In 2000, we interpreted the office of Pastor as a “male only” office. Period. Like it or not, right or wrong, biblical or unbiblical, that’s what we did.

Now, if Southern Baptists desire to change this…to retract this…to reinterpret this…to end the debate about this (at least temporarily, of course)…we have a process to do so. Just as Southern Baptists edited, changed, and adopted The New Hampshire Declaration of Faith (1833) in 1925; edited and readopted the BF&M in 1963, 1998, and 2000, they can do so again. They can begin the process as early as June 2020! It’s the Baptist way after all.

So do it, Southern Baptists. Do it.

And, once done, be ready to accept the results, including the potential fallout for what happens when it is done. Predictably, there will be a great number of churches who will pull out of the SBC, while most would most likely stay (at least at first). But the convention will have spoken. 

Here’s what’s not acceptable.

Cowardly people attempting to get their way via stealth.

They maneuver behind the scenes, under cover, nudging the convention little by little, inch by inch, day by day, month by month, annual convention by annual convention toward accepting progressive views–and sometimes what’s considered largely as “Liberal” views–views that the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptists would not embrace had they been told upfront where they were going. It’s almost like the proverbial frog placed initially in a kettle of cold water, the temperature of which rises so slowly and gradually, that the frog is boiled to death, and he didn’t even know it.

Indeed that’s precisely what had taken place occasioning the launch of the Conservative Resurgence in 1979. 

As I indicated earlier, I haven’t the faintest idea what was/is in the minds of the 2020 SBC Pastors’ Conference officers in inviting platform personalities who represent some of the most visible contention among us. Was it their intention to make a statement? Raise a ruckus? Slowly place women preachers on the platform of the Pastors’ Conference? 

I don’t know.

I do know, however, what it looks like.

And, whether intended or unintended, their decision reflects well neither on their knowledge of what’s happening in our fellowship of cooperating churches nor in their ability to accurately read the present pulse of the Southern Baptist Convention.

¹ As I make clear later, Baptist Press described Mrs. Wong as “perform[ing]” not speaking.

² For the record, Mrs. Wong is an extraordinary speaker and communicator. Nothing can hardly be posed contrary to that summation it seems to me. The question is not whether she’s gifted and skilled in communicating the Scriptures. The question is, as a Teaching Pastor, whether she’s the right choice for the SBC Pastors’ Conference.