Journal: Eikon
Volume: EIKON 04:2 (Fall 2022)
Article: Reflecting On The Origins And Purposes Of The Nashville Statement
Author: Andrew T. Walker

Eikon 4.2 (Fall 2022) p. 38

Reflecting On The Origins And Purposes Of The Nashville Statement

Andrew T. Walker

Andrew T. Walker teaches Ethics at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

What the organizers of the Nashville Statement saw as merely repeating what the church had always implicitly, if not at times explicitly, taught about human sexuality and embodiment, it was not received that way — to put it mildly. My experience helping organize the Nashville Statement stands to this day as one of the most significant memories of my career — a career, I should add, that has never run away from public controversy, but sees moments of public debate as necessary clarifications and precursors to continued faithfulness. My goal in this brief essay is to explain the origins of the Nashville Statement, the immediate response to its release, and its enduring significance.

The Nashville Statement is more or less a prequel to the Danvers Statement by way of content, even though it came afterward. Danvers dealt with ecclesial skirmishes related to pastoral roles and complementarity. The Nashville Statement was written in response not simply to egalitarianism, but to Western culture jettisoning Christian sexual ethics wholesale.

As I recall the events that led to the Nashville Statement, it began with Denny Burk contacting me to gauge my interest in helping coordinate a statement on sexuality and gender. CBMW was looking for a partner to collaborate with in order to help bolster the statement’s gravitas and convening authority. Because of our aligned goals and convictions, Burk contacted

Eikon 4.2 (Fall 2022) p. 39

me. I was then working for The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and at that point in my career, I had already taken public stances and written books on marriage and transgenderism. I saw it as imperative for evangelical Christians to speak clearer on these issues, believing as I did then that a secularizing culture was going to force evangelicalism’s hand on the issues one way or another. So why not run towards the battle? After agreeing with Burk’s need for such a statement, I approached the leadership of the ERLC and proposed that the 2017 Research Institute gathering happening concurrently alongside our 2017 National Conference be the venue to help convene a gathering of scholars from across the spectrum of evangelicalism to draft and ratify such a statement. The leadership of the ERLC enthusiastically supported the decision, particularly my boss, Phillip Bethancourt. Bethancourt was responsible for the ERLC’s part in the Nashville Statement coalition, and for that he is owed respect and gratitude.

The statement had been circulating for several weeks beforehand. The lead drafter w...