Lifeway Christian bookstore pulls mag from shelves

[DaJudge]

Lifeway Bookstores, which are owned by the Southern Baptists, pulled a magazine from their shelves, just because it had female pastors on the cover. Pitiful.

Gospel Today magazine pulled from Christian bookstores’ shelves
Fayetteville-based publication features women pastors on cover

By CHRISTOPHER QUINN

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Smiling women on the cover of a slick magazine. Sold from under the counter. Must request it from store clerk.

That’s not something a buyer would typically find in a Christian bookstore. Not unless it’s one of the more than 100 Lifeway Christian Bookstores across the United States, including about six in metro Atlanta.

Gospel Today, the Fayetteville-published magazine, was pulled off the racks by the bookstores’ owner, the Southern Baptist Convention. The problem? The five smiling women on the cover are women of the cloth — church pastors.

Southern Baptist polity says that’s a role reserved for men.

Teresa Hairston, owner of Gospel Today, whose glossy pages feature upbeat articles about health, living, music and ministry, said she discovered by e-mail that the September/October issue of the magazine had been demoted to the realm of the risque.

“It’s really kind of sad when you have people like [Gov.] Sarah Palin and [Sen.] Hillary Clinton providing encouragement and being role models for women around the world that we have such a divergent opinion about women who are able to be leaders in the church,” Hairston said. “I was pretty shocked.”

Chris Turner, a spokesman for Lifeway Resources, which runs the stores for the Southern Baptist Convention, said, “It is contrary to what we believe.”

It bases those beliefs on their interpretation of New Testament Scriptures.

Southern Baptist representatives at national meetings have adopted statements saying women should not be pastors, but each church is independent. A few churches have selected women, such as Decatur First Baptist, where the Rev. Julie Pennington-Russell preaches each Sunday from the pulpit.

Pastor Tamara Bennett of California is one of the featured pastors on the magazine cover and talks in the article about the challenges of breaking through the stained-glass ceiling.

“God’s assignment is that no souls are lost and all are saved,” Bennett said. “Gender is not how God sees it. We are about winning souls, period.”

Southern Baptists are not the only ones to frown on women preachers. Catholics, the largest Christian denomination in the nation, do not allow women priests. And some conservative evangelical groups, such as the Presbyterian Church in America, do not ordain women.

“We weren’t trying to pick a fight,” Hairston said. “We just did a story on an emerging trend in a lot of churches.”

[Martha]

I stopped shopping there several years ago. They refused to carry or even order a particular recording by a group that they considered questionable. It was a group called "The W's." They said the lyrics were bad. I bought it at the other christian store here and listened very carefully. I never did hear anything that I considered bad.

[A2JGirl]

That is hilarious Martha, considering the W's have a song called "The Devil is Bad". Maybe Lifeway disagrees?

[stevenson]

Lifeway won't carry anything considered pentecostal or charismactic either. But you can order those things.

[dolfan]

I've been to them, but never been enamored with their selections. Everything's pretty Baptist fare, but, hey, it's a SBC owned deal and that's their right. Silly, but its their call.

[Worshipn4ever]

I stopped shopping there several years ago. They refused to carry or even order a particular recording by a group that they considered questionable. It was a group called "The W's." They said the lyrics were bad. I bought it at the other christian store here and listened very carefully. I never did hear anything that I considered bad.

Lyrics: I'm in love with a girl with the flower tattoo

could that have been what they were referring too? oops...DUDE...I'm all about The W's...it's one of the few cd's my father and I agree on...well them and the Eagles.

[pastorables]

Under The Counter!

[DaJudge]

Everything's pretty Baptist fare, but, hey, it's a SBC owned deal and that's their right. Silly, but its their call.

Yeah, thanks for letting us in on that fact.

[Tracy]

Well I am Southern Baptist, and I agree that women should not be pastors. And I wouldn't even mind them pulling the magazine completely.

But what is the point of hiding it, if they are going to sell it anyway? They might as well leave it out there with all the other junk that they sell. Some of their selection is atrocious; they sell books that have really bad theology. That is what frustrates me--why sell some questionable things outright, but hide others under the counter??

As one poster has said, it's their thing and they can do what they want I suppose.

[dawgs10]

this is a case of reading one or two verses in the bible and basing a entire doctorine. i would say to the southern baptist convention "read the rest of the book" o ya, read it in the context it was written as well!!

[Pastor Gary]

Well I am Southern Baptist, and I agree that women should not be pastors.

The irony of that statement is that you would make an excellent teaching Pastor.

[free]

I had an overseer once (not too many years ago) who told me in a conversation that he did not think that women should be pastors but he had not choice because there was a lack of willing/qualified men to fill all of the pulpits.

My wife is a minister and she has always said that she would not attend a church with a woman pastor.

[MrDanger]

Well I am Southern Baptist, and I agree that women should not be pastors.

The irony of that statement is that you would make an excellent teaching Pastor.

I was thinking the same thing PG. She sure does enjoy sharing scriptures with us males on here and convincingly arguing her case.

[Steve]

Well I am Southern Baptist, and I agree that women should not be pastors.

The irony of that statement is that you would make an excellent teaching Pastor.

The problem with COGOP, and pentecostals in general it seems, is that we approach things based on how we "feel" about them as opposed to what the Word says about them.

Why was Barak shamed in Judges 4? (and it is ironic because this is the one instance pentecostals hold as a prime example of feminine leadership in the Bible) It was because he did NOT do what he was supposed to do, and leaned on his own desires and feelings instead of the command of God. He followed his feelings and to THIS DAY he is recognized as a failure.

Sorry to hijack. I know we have had this discussion on the Doctrine board, and I know no one's mind will be changed by my comments. Tracy understands the truth in this matter, but the reason we have gotten so off course is because when our men have failed to lead in the past, well-intentioned but uninformed women have listened to the counsel similar to that given by PG above.

Someone may be "good at" something, but that doesn't make it right. I'm sure the forbidden fruit "tasted" really good too......

[Gerald Creasy]

The problem with COGOP, and pentecostals in general it seems, is that we approach things based on how we "feel" about them as opposed to what the Word says about them.

This is something I've been saying for years.

It is endemic.

A Pentecostal will believe Jesus wasn't God if they just get the right excited charismatic Preacher to preach it. (and there is such a Preacher that holds a Doctor of Divinity from ORU)

I am coming to believe that if you get the right personality behind the pulpit, you could make a Pentecostal believe anything.