Recent News

Response to FEB Congruency Report

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Rosedale Baptist responds to the CCT proposed Article and Bylaws, pointing out that the proposed Bylaw would enshrine a position that is significantly less complementarian that our current Bylaw, would permit the current Egalitarian practices in FEB Pacific, and sides with a small, 20% minority of our churches which permits women to preach in our regular worship gatherings.

“If anything, we believe that this second definition adds to the existing confusion rather than resolving it. While the loophole for the ongoing tolerance of female ‘preachers’ and ‘pastors’ appears to have been closed in the Articles of Faith, that same loophole has now been re-located to the Bylaw. The obvious implication is that such a revision would not resolve our unity crisis, but make it far worse by enshrining the present Egalitarian position of the Pacific Region in which only the ‘Senior Pastor’ needs to be male. It does not take a lot of foresight to see how such ‘incongruous’ definitions of the word ‘Pastor’ would not merely allow for the practice of female ‘Pastors’ to continue unabated in our Fellowship, but would permanently validate it in our governance documents. Simply shifting language and definitions that relocate theological compromise to the Bylaw instead of the Articles of Faith is unacceptable in our view. It certainly does nothing to resolve the serious problem of unity that has been confronting our Fellowship over this issue of female Pastors. In the light of the self-contradictory document that has just been released, we would urge our National Leadership to bring clarity rather than to add further layers of confusion. If this issue is to be resolved, the National leadership of FEB must get off the fence and decide on one definition of the word ‘Pastor’ that is in line with the teaching of Scripture, and not with the unbiblical practices of certain wayward FEB Churches. We desire a unity that is based upon Scriptural clarity, not a false unity that is based upon pragmatic convenience.”

To read more: Response to FEB Congruence Report Rosedale

Sept CCT Report with Proposed Article and Bylaw

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The key section of the proposed article on “The Local Church” :
“We believe that its officers are biblically qualified male pastors/elders, who oversee God’s flock, and deacons, who serve and support.”

Proposed Bylaw Article 4.1(a)(iii) :
“Notwithstanding the provisions in 1.3(c), it accepts that the office of pastor/elder in the church is reserved for biblically qualified men recognized by the church for oversight of the doctrine and discipline of the church; notwithstanding that some churches may have pastors who are not elders; further, it accepts that the office of deacon is open to biblically qualified males or females, provided they are engaged in ministries of service and support. It accepts that terminology and governance structures may vary in MEMBER churches, provided that oversight of the doctrine and discipline of the church remains with those men biblically qualified for the office of pastor/elder;”

CCPReport-September2026

What is complementarianism?

Words have meaning and must be defined. Clarity is kindness. Many use the term complementarian but what does it mean, especially as related to the pastoral office? Originally coined in 1988, it was a one word link to the recently published Danvers Statement (1987), which our '97 position statement affirms. Broadly it means that men and women are equal in value and complementary in role. Specific to governance and teaching "some governing and teaching roles within the church are restricted to men" (Danvers 3.6).  While there is variation amongst complementarians, this website, in keeping with the original meaning and biblical basis of the word, has consistently maintained that the office of pastors/elders/overseers is restricted to biblically qualified men as is preaching/teaching to mixed-congregations.

Articles and Resources

Toronto Association Response to CCT Report

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The Toronto Association has written a letter in response to the CCT report, thanking the team for their work, expressing significant concerns, and notably, suggesting revised language.

“In contrast to this hope, the proposed bylaw puts no restriction on preaching. While we do not hope to see preaching restricted to those who hold the office of elder, we are convinced that the task of preaching in the gathered worship service must be restricted to godly men. However, as it stands, the result of this proposed bylaw would be that churches are permitted to have women as pastors who preach in the church, as long as they are not given the office of elder. We see this as a clear violation of the command given in 2 Timothy 2:12 “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man” (ESV).

To put it succinctly, the proposal appears to leave room for the very practices that prompted the concerns raised last year at FNC 2025, rather than clearly addressing them.

As we have said, we are thankful for the work that the CCC has put into these proposals, seeking to maintain the unity of the Fellowship, but we do not find the results of their effort at all satisfactory and do not believe they will bring unity. They rather seem to ignore the meaningful gap in convictions, which will only lead to further division down the road.”

To read more: Toronto Association letter to churches regarding CCT Report

A Commentary on the CCT Process Within the FEB (Paul Carter)

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Paul Carter’s commentary on the CCT process as one of the committee is a helpful summary:

“We couldn’t come to agreement on those issues as a committee and I don’t suspect that we will be able to do so as a national body, as such, I believe that further work and discussion are required. What we’ve produced represents a fairly low level of agreement that I do not believe will be sufficient to support the sort of robust ministry fellowship that most of us aspire to. As such, my personal recommendation is to pass the article as written, but to debate, table and subsequently revise the bylaw and definitions. The bylaw revision and definitions as written will codify a level of diversity and confusion that will be unsustainable for us as a fellowship of churches. That’s probably not what anyone wants to hear, but I believe it is the path of wisdom.

Unity is hard, but it is always worth fighting for.

Throughout this process my own convictions have not shifted, but I have become more
sympathetic to the perspectives of those “on the other side.” I would hate to see our fellowship divide over this issue, particularly when progress is being achieved, understanding is being gained and generous, but faithful compromises are being made. But there is more work to be done.”

Continue reading here: https://intotheword.ca/blog/2026/10/05/a-commentary-on-the-cct-process-within-the-feb

Occasional Female Preaching

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I’ve been there before, visiting a church with your family only to discover that—contrary to Scripture—a woman is preaching the sermon. What do you do? You want to hear the Word but you also want to obey the Word. You don’t want to be disruptive but you must protect your family. As respectfully as possible, I took my family out between songs and debriefed with them, especially my son, why we lamentably had to leave.

Read more: Occasional Female Preaching

Truth and Unity Amendment Receives Initial 2/3 Approval

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Baptists in Canada are not alone in wrestling with the important issue of gender and the pastoral office. This week, our cousins in the SBC took further action to bringing clarity to this issue (for despite a refinement of the matter since 1984, some groups within the SBC continued to push against their confessional standard).

You can read an official summary of the meeting by the Baptist Press: Truth and Unity Amendment receives initial two-thirds approval.

A broader and more mildly antagonistic article (as seen in the title) that nevertheless provides some broader context, is: Southern Baptists Move Closer to Constitutional Ban on Women Pastors. (You’ll also note the existence of a lobby group called ‘Baptist Women in Ministry’).

May the Fellowship learn from our Baptist cousins and take decisive action on this bleeding secondary matter for the sake of “clarity and truth and unity.” In an age of theological vagueness, clarity is kindness.

Regarding the Expulsion of Three Churches from Fellowship Prairies (en français aussi)

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You may have read the short reflection by a dismissed pastor Tim Stephens, Was it Belief or Behaviour. This is a longer response by another dismissed pastor Derek DeVries, that includes much documentary evidence to challenge the narrative: 1) that the matter was unrelated to complementarianism, and 2) that the churches were divisive. It is important to be Bereans in these matters.

Regarding the 2026 Expulsion of Three Churches from Fellowship Prairies (version 2)

2026.06.26 VERSION DES 3 ÉGLISES (version un)

Why is it so Hard to Reform Baptist Denominations? (Paul Carter)

Baptist denominations in North America appear to be navigating through some very choppy waters at the moment. Some of the concerns have to do with doctrine, others have to do with practice, but all of them are complicated by polity.

One of the challenges with Baptist denominational polity is that the people on the governing boards and committees are often chosen on the basis of representative criteria, which means they tend to represent the problems and divisions plaguing the fellowship in roughly the same proportion as the general constituency. This leaves the leadership group doubly disinclined to pursue reform.

A: Because all organisms have an instinct toward self-preservation.

B: Because for a significant proportion of the leadership to vote for reform would be to vote against their own interests.

What this means effectively, is that efforts to reform have to come from below, but being Baptists, and particularly if those Baptists are Canadian, this will always be labelled as either “bad process” or “bad manners”.

Usually both.

Continue reading here: https://ca.thegospelcoalition.org/columns/ad-fontes/why-is-it-so-hard-to-reform-baptist-denominations/