The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) was defeated in a motion to explicitly prohibit member churches from employing women in any pastor role. Last year, a similar measure to the Law Amendment was narrowly defeated.
During the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, on Wednesday, messengers voted on a motion proposed by Juan Sanchez of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. The motion on the table aimed to revise Article 3, Paragraph 1 of the SBC Constitution by adding a sixth point stating that churches must designate ‘only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.’
Although the SBC Baptist Faith and Message 2000 states that only men should serve as pastors, the measure aimed to clarify how this standard should be interpreted by the SBC Credentials Committee. The motion did not achieve the required two-thirds majority, receiving 3,421 votes in favor, which was 60.74% of ballots cast, and 2,191 votes against, or 38.9%.
Before the vote, Sanchez shared, “the aim of this motion is simply to provide help by clarifying what the Baptist Faith and Message already says regarding the office. We simply hope to provide guidance, further guidance to the Credentials Committee. This is the time for us to clarify what we believe.”
Opposing the motion, Pastor James Goforth of First Baptist Church of Ferguson, Missouri stated that “Southern Baptists believe in the autonomy of local churches,” which allows for “some differences of practice while still cooperating together for the Great Commission.” Goforth warned that “this motion would force the convention to headhunt a bridge too far” and distract from fighting “the real enemy.”
Supporters, like Travis Cardwell of University Park Baptist Church in Houston, Texas, believed that “the SBC Credentials Committee needed clarity on the issue,” and supported the motion as a way to bring transparency on the biblical interpretation of the office of pastor.
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 defines a pastor as “a person who fulfills the pastoral office and carries out the pastor's functions,” and specifies in Article VI that “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
The Law Amendment, named after Pastor Mike Law of Arlington Baptist Church in Virginia, would have amended the SBC Constitution to state that “no member church could have a woman serving as an elder or pastor.” Despite churches being disfellowshipped over female leadership, he estimated that around 1,800 SBC congregations had women serving as pastors at the time.
In last year’s Annual Meeting in Indianapolis, Indiana, 61% of messengers voted in favor of the Law Amendment, but it still fell short of the two-thirds majority required for ratification, despite having around 80% approval from over 12,000 messengers in New Orleans during the 2023 meeting.
