Complementarian institutions and SBC conservatives networked to make patriarchy orthodoxy

Evidence

Together with conservatives in the SBC, CBMW worked to promote patriarchal authority as a nonnegotiable requirement of the orthodox Christian faith. Functioning as theological think tanks, CBMW and SBC seminaries provided resources for denominations, organizations, and local churches, helping to build a network of evangelicals committed to advancing a patriarchal version of Christianity. They worked in close cooperation; in the mid-1990s CBMW took up residence at the SBC’s Southern Seminary, and the council endorsed the seminary’s resolution to hire only faculty members who were opposed to the ordination of women—over the opposition of students and faculty. Meanwhile, the conservative takeover of the SBC continued apace. The fact that Bill Clinton was a moderate Southern Baptist only furthered the aims of conservatives. The SBC became increasingly political during his administration, endorsing capital punishment and affirming Americans’ right to bear arms. — Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Jesus and John Wayne, 386

Categorization

• XREF: Documents the institutional network-building mechanism — think tanks, seminaries, church resources — that Du Mez uses to show transmission happened through infrastructure, not just pulpits. — connects to: Calls for a more Christian nation function as calls for greater patriarchy — Andrew L. Whitehead, American Idolatry, 103
• QUESTION: Worth noting that ‘over the opposition of students and faculty’ complicates the top-down story — how broad was consent within the SBC?