Thanks, Mark and Lig for two outstanding posts on the issue of complementarianism.  Let me deal with the gender question Mark raised for a moment.  He made a generalization, of course.  Nevertheless, I agree with Mark and I believe the generalization to be generally true.  Younger complementarians seem to be more concerned to contend for complementarianism than (some . . most?) older complementarians.

I see this as part of the larger pattern visible in the church today.  I can see it in the students at the seminary and I can sense it among younger, seriously-minded pastors.  Put bluntly, this younger generation has been, of necessity, ready to assume a counter-cultural posture and then to find a way to contend for their convictions in the context of hostility, derision, and worse.  In a very real sense, this generation has been swimming upstream all their lives.  They know nothing of the cultural Christianity their parents took for granted.  Even in pockets like the deep South, where cultural Christianity still remains a factor, young Christians soon find themselves facing a very different context when they go to the university, move to a large city, or enter the professional world. 

Their parents, on the other hand, may find a counter-cultural posture to be strange and difficult.  They may share the same convictions concerning God's gift of gender and sexuality, but they are less enthusiastic about standing apart from the dominant culture.  When they went to seminary and graduate school, egalitarianism appeared to be ascendant. 

A couple of additional suggestions would involve marriage, parenthood, and theological vision.  Many younger pastors are in the midst of getting married, establishing a household, producing and raising children, and all that comes with this season of life.  Given the shape of the larger culture, these young complementarians have had to think through all the issues and then forge their own way.  Having forged their convictions in the midst of an adversarial culture, they understand that young couples need explicit and clear support and encouragement in order to obey Scripture and establish marriages and homes that reflect these commitments.

Further, they have heard and read all the (aging) arguments on behalf of egalitarianism, and they grow frustrated with what they (correctly) see as a pattern of exegetical and theological corner-cutting.  They are convinced that complementarianism is the winning argument.  They are not interested in playing defense.

Finally, younger pastors have had the encouragement of those who have been pointing evangelical Christians to a comprehensive vision of the glory of God in all things -- and this produces a commitment to complementarianism that goes far beyond just "getting it right."  They want to display God's glory in their marriages and in their churches on these very issues, knowing that nothing less is at stake.

Once again, they are right.  Our belief that this is a watershed issue explains why an explicit affirmation of complementarianism appears in our statement.