The Southern Baptist Executive Committee tweeted on May 10 that Abbie Maggio will be leading worship at the Southern Baptist Convention 2022. Maggio is “Worship Arts Minister” at Redemption Church, Saraland, Alabama. At Redemption Church, the male ministry leaders are called “pastors” while the females are called “ministers,” perhaps to avoid the Southern Baptist Convention’s Scriptural ban on female pastors. Regardless of the title, it is not Scriptural for a women to lead a mixed congregation in worship. “But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:12). There are two restrictions here: teaching men and leading men. The church also ignores the Bible’s command not to be conformed to the world (Romans 12:2), clearly aping the world’s musical sound and presentation (e.g., music styles, singing styles, front and center focus on singers and musicians, large screen projection of artists, spotlights, sensual moving).
(Friday Church News Notes, May 20, 2022, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)