The role of women and women's issues in the Baptist World Alliance: in 2005, the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) celebrated the centennial anniversary of its inaugural meeting.

This international fellowship organization composed of over two hundred Baptist unions, conventions, fellowships, and other organizations is not an authoritative agency that determines orthodoxy for the participating groups, but it has throughout its history addressed many important doctrinal topics. One of the challenging issues addressed by the BWA is the role of women. Whether it is discussing the role of women in the workplace, the church or on the mission field, the BWA has not failed to tackle this controversial topic that has been the subject of much debate in many churches and in many denominations during the past one hundred years.

This article examines the role of women and women's issues in the BWA from three different angles, each of which provides a unique perspective. The first section focuses on the speeches, messages, and sermons delivered by women to the Baptist World Congress audiences. The second section focuses on the activities of the BWA's women's committee. The third section pays particular attention to women's involvement in BWA leadership at the administrative level. After presenting the three different levels of participation on the topic, the article concludes with an assessment on the subject.

Women and Women's Issues at the Baptist World Congress Meetings

The first Baptist World Congress meeting occurred in London in 1905. Of the eighty formal papers or sermons delivered before the entire assembly during the nine-day event, only one was presented by a female. In the dramatic roll call of nations from which a representative from each nation present offered a word of welcome to the audience, not one representative was female. The only female scheduled to be on the program of the first congress was Mrs. Norman Waterbury, of Boston, Massachusetts, who was the corresponding secretary of the Woman's Baptist Foreign Missionary Society. Waterbury, a former missionary to India, addressed the crowd on a topic that dominated women's early participation in congress sessions; missions. Particularly in the early years of the organization, mission work appeared to be the thematic "password" that allowed women a seat on the presenter's platform. While it cannot be stated unequivocally that every female speaker before the congress dealt with the topic of missions, the vast majority did.

The majority of women given the opportunity to speak to the entire assembly had a definite connection to mission service. By a large margin, missionaries, former missionaries, and administrators of mission agencies accounted for the greatest number of female speakers. Waterbury, as the first female speaker to address the entire congressional audience, serves as an excellent prototype for this examination of women's presentations before the congressional audience.

In her address, Waterbury encouraged women to consider the virtue of mission service in her presentation entitled "Our Woman's Missionary Garden." She personally had witnessed the impact women missionaries had on other women and was encouraged that as a result of women missionaries other women had found "their spheres as wives of preachers and teachers and mothers of the coming generation." (1) Waterbury expressed no anxiety or frustration over the fact that the accepted role of women missionaries was to minister primarily to women and children and not to men.

The attitude toward women in ministry and the role of women in general in the international Baptist community was in part evident in the refusal to acknowledge the women apart from their identity to their spouse or, in the case of Waterbury, her former spouse. Mrs. Norman Waterbury's, that is Lucy Waterbury's husband, Norman, had died on the mission field in India in 1886; nineteen years later, she continued to be identified as Norman's wife in the BWA official proceedings.

At the second congress in Philadelphia in 1911, one woman participated in the roll call of nations, and Mrs. Molina, the Women's American Home Mission Society missionary to Cuba, spoke, but only because a Mr. McCall was unable to attend. (2) While the vast majority of women speakers were content to keep their messages closely tied to the acceptable theme of missions, a bold minority took advantage of their time before the international audience to challenge the status quo regarding the role of women in ministry. Helen Barrett Montgomery, missions advocate, Greek scholar, and former president of the Northern Baptist Convention, boldly addressed the third congress held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1923.

In her message, "The New Opportunity for Baptist Women," Montgomery seized the opportunity to challenge the common perception of women as second-class citizens within the church. She asserted, "Jesus Christ is the great Emancipator of woman. He alone among the founders of the great religions of the world looked upon men and women with level eyes, seeing not their differences, but their oneness, their humanity." (3) She understood the Baptist principle of religious liberty to be applicable to women and stated emphatically, "It is but natural that so democratic a body as the Baptists should be among the first to recognize and to further the emancipation of women." (4)

Kendal P. Mobley suggested that Montgomery's belief in the Baptist principle of religious liberty convinced her that Baptists should lead the way in granting religious responsibility to women. In his investigation of Montgomery's theology, Mobley concluded that "she associated the emancipation of women with the core of Baptist identity." (5) Montgomery obviously hoped that her audience would connect the Baptist principle of religious liberty with the struggle of women for equal rights and reach the same conclusion she had.

As optimistic as Montgomery may have been, she was enough of a realist to know that not everyone in the church agreed that Jesus offered equality to women, but she expressed her concern that the church would drive away some of its own people by not allowing women opportunities for service.

   If the world outside is more hospitable to the claims of women,
   offers them larger opportunities of initiative, responsibility and
   self-expression, than does the Church, then the Church must bear
   the consequent loss of power, as she sees her members turning from
   her work to that which summons them with a more persuasive voice.
   The Church--our Church--needs the service of women. (6)

Montgomery did not threatened that women would leave the church if conditions did not improve; rather, she simply observed that women would find other causes or organizations that welcomed their leadership. Women's leadership in the temperance movement and in the fight for women's voting rights served as clear examples of Montgomery's prediction.

Despite her warning, Montgomery remained optimistic that women would enjoy greater responsibility in Baptist life. In a letter to a friend following the congress in Stockholm she wrote:

   To be sure, the congress was predominantly masculine; D.D.'s were
   thick as plums in a pudding.... Women, too, were conspicuous by
   their absence from executive and other committee and from the list
   of nominations to office.... But all in good time, Messieurs! This
   will come. (7)

British laywoman Eva Brown also noticed the male dominance at the BWA congress held in Berlin. During the 1934 proceedings, Brown seconded a motion on "War and Peace." She wrote a recap of the event for the London based Baptist Quarterly: "It was rather remarkable that mine was the first woman's voice to be heard at the Congress apart from the women's meeting, and I was not on the programme. I hope the new women on the Executive Committee will see to it that women get some share in the programme of the next Congress. So many brethren seem still to be of the opinion that women should be seen and not heard." (8)

Mrs. Edgar Bates of Canada delivered one of the few non-mission messages to the eleventh congress held at Miami in 1965. In her message, "Freedom's Opportunity," Bates pointed out three concerns that warranted a response from the church: racism, religious liberty, and world peace. Bates believed these issues demanded a response from the church and that the church had no choice but to respond and "act responsibly." (9) Her message called upon the international Baptist community to work together to represent Christ on the earth.

Birgit Karlsson, general secretary of the Baptist Union of Sweden, delivered a sermon at the 1985 Los Angeles congress. While the full text of her address is strangely absent from the section of the record book entitled "Addresses at Plenary Session," the editors did recognize her contribution in their introduction. Karlsson spoke on the importance of having human relationships that are consistent with the claim that "Jesus is Lord." The editors recorded that she said, "Those who want to say Father must learn how to say brother and sister and prove they mean it." (10)

At the 2000 congress held in Melbourne, Australia, Anne Graham Lotz delivered one of the six sermons during the plenary sessions of the meeting. Her message entitled "Jesus Christ: Lord of New Beginnings" was a sermon of hope and inspiration. In classic three-point Baptist fashion, Lotz claimed Jesus to be "unequaled in his position, undisputed in his power, and unsurpassed in his praise." (11) The 2000 meeting was also significant as Geraldine Latty of Britain led the worship during the plenary sessions of the event.

The inclusion of women preachers on the program at BWA events in recent years demonstrates the enormous shift that has occurred within the Baptist community during these years. While the international community is not of one mind on the topic, women in BWA congresses are no longer limited to discussing missions. Further, the specific preaching gifts of a few women have been acknowledged.

Women's Committee/Department

The women's committee was formed at the 1911 meeting held in Philadelphia, and a specific meeting for women has been held in some form since that time. Originally, women gathered for a special session held during the congressional event. Later, the women's department began holding its meetings a few days prior to the opening of the congress. In direct contrast to the general sessions, an occasional male voice has addressed female sessions, but the vast majority of speakers have been women.

Speaking to an all-female audience, the speakers in the women's sessions have been more comfortable in challenging the status quo regarding which ministry activities are acceptable for women. The inaugural meeting of the women's session demonstrated the full range of perspectives on the issue of women in ministry. Some advocated an expansion of responsibilities into leadership positions of the church, while others pushed for women to accept their God-given responsibilities in their service to their families.

At the first women's session in Philadelphia, Mrs. D. M. Scott of Scotland encouraged the women to consider the need to work for greater responsibility within the church out of obedience to God's command: "I cannot help thinking that too much in the past women have spent their strength in demanding their rights. To me it seems it is our duties we want, and it is as we are workers in the church with our Christian brethren that we go ahead to fulfill the duties which our Lord has given us to do." (12) For some in the audience, the reality of women enjoying greater ministry responsibility did not exist. After reporting on her efforts to organize likeminded Baptist women in Russia, Mrs. Fetler exclaimed almost apologetically, "I am sorry that we are so far behind the men but the women are trying to come out of their sleepiness, to wake up and to do some work." (13)

Some women attempted to view their circumstances as optimistically as possible. Mrs. John Firstbrook of Canada emphasized the responsibilities she did enjoy. She reminded the audience of the importance of raising a God-fearing family. She said, "into our hand is given the guardianship and the care of the Christian home, which is the bulwark of the nations under heaven for Christian influence." (14) Firstbrook encouraged those with limited ministerial options outside the home to remain faithful to their task.

As recently as 1975, emphasis was placed on the role of women in ministering to their families. In her presentation to the women's committee, Maria de Di Stasio of Buenos Aires urged the audience to remain loyal to their marital vows and commit again to bringing up their children in ways that would avoid crises in the home. (15)

As a result of the vast disparity in attitude toward women in ministry present at the women's meetings, mission service and support of missions have served as the main topic of conversation. In Philadelphia in 1911, Nannie Burroughs of the National Baptist Convention shared her denomination's ongoing efforts to establish a Baptist school for women in Washington, D.C. (16) Mrs. Russell James of Britain, who in Philadelphia encouraged the women's session to determine for themselves their ministerial destiny, reported back at the next meeting in Stockholm on the establishment of the Baptist Women's Training College in London. The school was established so that women could be trained as "deaconesses, social workers, women preachers and evangelists, Sunday School workers, and foreign missionaries." (17)

While James's report in Stockholm was the first to mention women training to serve as preachers and evangelists, the Toronto congress in 1928 offered evidence that women actually had begun serving as ministers. Mrs. F. A. Parson, president of the Baptist Women's League of Great Britain and Ireland, told the women's group, "We have accredited ordained women as Ministers of some of our Baptist churches." (18)

Despite the advancement of women in ministry that occurred in Great Britain, the next congress held in Copenhagen, Denmark, exemplified the reality of the situation for the majority of the Baptist women. At that 1947 congress, the women's section was held in conjunction with other sectional meetings, including a meeting for theological students, principals, and teachers. By scheduling the meetings in such a way, the organizers implied that women were not welcome at the other meetings and needed a meeting of their own.

Administrative Roles

Throughout its history, the BWA has elected committees and leaders at each congressional meeting and also employed full-time staff to handle the day-to-day administrative responsibilities of the organization. Committees elected to assist in the efficiency of the congressional meetings include the nominations committee, business committee, resolutions committee, and executive committee. At the 1934 meeting in Berlin, the BWA constitution was amended so at least five women would be included on the executive committee. (19)

The 1955 meeting in London was significant in that it elected Mrs. Edgar Bates of Canada as vice-president, making her the first woman to hold such a position in the BWA. At this meeting, delegates also officially adopted the women's department into the BWA administrative family. Prior to the 1955 meeting, the women's committee had acted independently in supervising the women's section at the congressional meetings. The women's department employed its first full time director, June Totten, in 1982. Other women who have served on the BWA administrative staff include Wendy Ryan, elected director of communications in 1990, and Ellen Teague, elected as director of finance in 1994.

As the BWA became more sophisticated and participants more numerous, the organization of the congress meetings changed, and more specialized meetings were planned. One result of these changes is that women have occasionally presented the reports of committees or commissions to the gathered participants by virtue of their service on those committees or commissions. For example, Alma Hunt presented the report of the Commission on Evangelism and Missions to the 1975 congress in Stockholm. (20)

The BWA Study and Research Division has also allowed for female participation. Through this division, Baptist men and women contribute original research on issues important to the Baptist tradition. One contribution came from Shirley F. Bentall's article, "Baptists and 'Freedom of Expression Without Distinction as to ... Sex.'" (21) Bentall referenced the BWA 1980 statement that to "declare human rights is not enough ... (but) to promote and defend human rights within churches and society at large is also our responsibility." (22) She discussed the implications of the church's defending the rights of women to minister in the church. The debate surrounding women in ministry in Baptist churches had continued for a long time without resolution, and Bentall suggested that the debate was overlooking a basic question. She argued that "the serious question that we need to address is whether this age-long dispute has been honoring Jesus Christ, or actually dishonoring His name, denying his purposes." (23) In her challenging essay, Bentall confronted the Baptist community with the reality that in all the disputing and fighting in regard to women in ministry, they may have dishonored the name of Jesus.

Assessment

While mainly a fellowship organization that holds no official authority over the local church, the BWA provides a way to examine the international Baptist community. In the past one hundred years, the topic of women in ministry has divided many Baptist congregations and denominations, and the topic has not been ignored by the BWA. BWA participants represent the full spectrum in this discussion, and that has been evident at the BWA meetings.

The issue of women in ministry was not forced upon the organization but rather treated in an appropriate manner as issues developed. Early in the organization's history the issue revolved around women on the mission field. Women proved themselves as capable missionaries and gained respect from Baptist men. This respect gave women missionaries and mission board administrators the opportunity to speak at the international gatherings. While the majority of the participants were not normally comfortable with women preaching, they were comfortable hearing testimonies of God's actions from those who faithfully served as missionaries.

Within the BWA community, a remarkable shift has occurred regarding the acceptance of women in ministry. Women preachers began to take the stage in 1985. Since then, women speakers have not focused solely on missions; rather, they have done what men had been doing at BWA meetings since 1905--they have preached sermons of inspiration and encouragement.

While the role of missionary is still the most accepted role for women in the international Baptist community, it is safe to say that the community is beginning to realize that it should not limit women to that role. Such a shift is due, in part, to the grace and determination exhibited by the early missionary women whose labors earned respect for their abilities. Also, women have been effective ministers and preachers on the mission field and have contributed in key ways stateside as well.

The activities and efforts of the women's session are more difficult to gauge in regard to their impact on the entire BWA community because they were designed solely for women. Even with greater freedom, a united voice is not evident in regard to the topic of women in ministry. Whether a woman was preaching the gospel or training up her children in the way of the Lord, God used women in both endeavors to make an impact on the world.

As the women elected to committees demonstrated their ability to contribute at the administrative level, more women have been granted positions of leadership. While the BWA has yet to have its first female president, five women have served as vice-president and the female presence on committees and special commissions continues to grow.

In the introduction to his collection of significant sermons and speeches delivered at the BWA congress meetings, Walter B. Shurden stated that BWA's function was to be a "voice for liberty" and "channel of communication." (24) This description of the organization can be applied to the role of women in the BWA as well. The organization has served as a "channel of communication" by discussing the issue of women in ministry at the international level. It has served as "voice of liberty" by granting women the freedom of expression within the women's committee and by allowing women the opportunity to preach before international audiences. While the topic of women in ministry is far from decided within the international Baptist community, the BWA has modeled how Baptists can deal with controversial topics through discussion and deliberation. Some individuals and denominations may not agree with the idea of women participating in ministry, but the welfare of the entire organization has not been threatened by those dissenting voices.

(1.) Mrs. Norman Mather Waterbury, "Our Woman's Missionary Garden," The Baptist World Congress. London, July 11-19, 1905, Record of Proceedings (London: Baptist Union Publication Department, 1905), 70.

(2.) The Baptist World Alliance 2nd Congress Record of the Proceeding (Philadelphia: Harper & Brother Company, 1911), 29.

(3.) Helen Barrett Montgomery, "The New Opportunity for Baptist Women," Third Baptist World Congress Stockholm, July 21-27, 1923, ed. W. T. Whitley (London: Kingsgate Press, 1923), 99.

(4.) Ibid., 100.

(5.) Kendal P. Mobley, "The Ecumenical Woman's Missionary Movement: Helen Barrett Montgomery and The Baptist, 1920-1930," Gender and the Social Gospel, eds. Wendy J. Deichmann Edwards and Carolyn De Swarte Gifford (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2003), 171.

(6.) Montgomery, "The New Opportunity for Baptist Women," 100.

(7.) Helen Barrett Montgomery, From Campus to World Citizenship (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1940), 112.

(8.) Eva Brown, "The Baptist World Congress at Berlin," Baptist Quarterly 7 (1934), 159.

(9.) Mrs. Edgar Bates, "Freedom's Opportunity," The Truth That Makes Men Free: Official Report of the Eleventh Congress Baptist World Alliance Miami Beach, Florida, June 25-30, 1965, ed. Josef Nordenhaug (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1966), 236.

(10.) Out of the Darkness Into the Light of Christ: Official Report of the Fifteenth Baptist World Congress, Los Angeles, California, USA, July 2-7, 1985, ed. Reinhold J. Kerstan & Ruby J. Burke (McLean, Virginia: BWA, 1985), 16-17.

(11.) Anne Graham Lotz, "Jesus Christ: Lord of New Beginnings," Jesus Christ Forever Yes! Official Report of the Eighteenth Baptist World Congress Melbourne, Australia, January 5-9, 2000 (Nashville: Fields Publishing, 2000), 63-73.

(12.) Mrs. D. M. Scott, "Women's Session," The Baptist World Alliance 2nd Congress. Record of Proceedings (Philadelphia, Harper & Brother Company, 1911), 176.

(13.) Mmle. Fetler, "Women's Session," The Baptist World Alliance 2nd Congress. Record of Proceedings (Philadelphia, Harper & Brother Company, 1911), 176.

(14.) Mrs. John Firstbrook, "Women's Session," The Baptist World Alliance 2nd Congress Record of Proceedings (Philadelphia, Harper & Brother Company, 1911), 179.

(15.) Catherine B. Allen, "Women of the Baptist World," New People for a New World--Through Christ: Official Report of the Thirteenth Congress Baptist World Alliance Stockholm, Sweden, July 8-13, 1975, ed. Cyril E. Bryant & Debbie Stewart (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1976), 243.

(16.) Miss N. H. Burroughs, "Women's Session," The Baptist World Alliance 2nd Congress, Record of. Proceedings (Philadelphia, Harper & Brother Company, 1911), 180.

(17.) Mrs. Russell James, "Women's Session," Third Baptist World Congress Stockholm, July 21-27, 1923, ed. W. T. Whitley (London: Kingsgate Press, 1923), 126.

(18.) Mrs. F. A. Parson, "Women Facing Facts," Fourth Baptist World Congress, Toronto Canada, 23-29 June, 1928 Record of Proceedings, ed. W.T. whitley (Toronto: Stewart Printing Service, 1928), 135.

(19.) "Minutes of the Fifth Baptist World Congress," Fifth Baptist World Congress Berlin, August 4-10, 1934: Official Report, ed. J. H. Rushbrooke (London: Baptist World Alliance, 1934), 4.

(20.) Alma Hunt, "Summary of General Findings with Reference to Church Growth," New People for a New World Through Christ: Official Report of the Thirteenth Congress Baptist World Alliance Stockholm, Sweden, July 8-13, 1975, ed. Cyril E. Bryant & Debbie Stewart (Nashville: Broadman Press, 1976), 166-76.

(21.) Shirley F. Bentall, "Baptists and 'Freedom of Expression without Distinction as to.... Sex.'" Faith, Life and Witness: The Papers of the Study and Research Division of The Baptist World Alliance 1986-1990, ed. Wm. H. Brackney with Ruby J. Burke (Birmingham, AL: Samford University Press, 1990), 275-286.

(22.) Ibid., 275.

(23.) Ibid., 282.

(24.) Walter B Shurden, ed., The Life of Baptists in the Life of the World

Scott E. Bryant is a doctoral student at Baylor University, Waco, Texas.