Editor’s note: Baylor University is not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention.
By George Schroeder | LTVN Executive Producer
The story of the summer from the Southern Baptist Convention was the overwhelming rejection of women holding the role of pastor, but it wasn’t the doubling-down on misogynistic, outdated beliefs it has been portrayed to be.
Ah yes, once again the Baptist Church put women in their place in 2023 … at least, that’s what you’ve been told. That couldn’t be further from the truth, and Southern Baptists have been providing the receipts to back it up for decades.
In the largest Protestant denomination in the United States — comprising more than 47,000 churches, 41 state conventions and over 13 million members — women are crucial and central to the leadership of the convention, the success of church ministry and, most importantly, the advancement of the gospel.
Women in the Pastorate
Women cannot be pastors or elders in a church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, as is consistent with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which makes clear “the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture” and cites 1 Timothy 2:9-14, 1 Timothy 3:1-15 and Titus 2:3-5, among other passages.
Churches that have a female functioning in the office of pastor are considered not “in friendly cooperation” with the convention, according to the SBC Executive Committee. Notably, Saddleback Church in California (the largest Baptist church in the state) and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Kentucky were removed in June for exactly that reason.
This should come as no surprise considering that even back in 1984, the convention resolved to “encourage the service of women in all aspects of church life and work other than pastoral functions and leadership roles entailing ordination.”
In 1998, the issue was raised again. Referencing specific scriptures, an article published in SBC Life concluded there was “scant historical precedent for it” and “the issue would not be raised today if discussion of the parameters for pastoral leadership were confined to the biblical record.”
Regardless, messengers at the 2023 annual meeting in New Orleans felt it was time to affirm this long-held belief. Oh, and by the way, thousands of those Southern Baptist messengers were women.
Summer’s Hot Topic
A motion passed this summer — pending a second successful vote at the next annual meeting in 2024 — would amend Article III of the SBC constitution, which outlines the qualifications for the role of pastor in a Southern Baptist church.
Currently, the article lists five points that must be adhered to in order for a church to be considered in friendly cooperation with the convention (uncooperative churches can be recommended for review and possible removal). The suggested constitutional amendment would add a sixth point, stating churches can employ “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture,” as reported by Baptist Press.
Regardless of where you may stand on the language of the amendment itself, it isn’t changing the general consensus in the SBC: The Bible is clear that the role of pastor and elder is reserved for men.
Outsiders of the denomination who have heard about this possible constitutional change likely understand it the way MSNBC correspondent Aaron Gilchrist broadly mischaracterized it, capturing the general consensus of the secular media.
“The membership there just voted to essentially ban women from any leadership role in the Southern Baptist Convention — any church that is a part of the Southern Baptist Convention,” Gilchrist reported.
The context of this statement is important. It joined the crowd of secular media outlets punching their tickets to board the “Southern Baptists don’t like women” train. If you watch the clip, you can hear the disbelief and disdain in his voice.
The SBC is not the misogynistic, anti-woman conglomeration of churches it can be made out to be — not even close.
The Importance of Women in the Church
While the convention did affirm its position on women in the pastorate in June, the messengers — by a greater margin — also passed a resolution that underscored the importance of women in the church.
“On the Legacy and Responsibility of Women Fulfilling the Great Commission” outlines the historical prominence of women both in scripture and in the earliest days of the denomination while clearly stating the value they inherently hold.
It resolved that “God sovereignly granted to women their intrinsic worth, gifting, and dignity” and expressed “gratitude to the countless women who serve among us as missionaries, writers, apologists, teachers, mentors, and leaders.”
“If it wasn’t for women, there would be no Southern Baptist Convention,” Jared Cornutt, the Alabama pastor who submitted the resolution, said. That couldn’t be more true.
As an eyewitness to his statement myself, the thunderous applause that followed from the thousands in attendance only affirmed the consensus of his message.
The resolution also comes on the heels of another passed only five years ago in 2018, honoring women on their 100-year anniversary of serving as messengers. Let that sink in for a moment. As early as 1918 — two years before women could vote in the United States — they were voting members of the SBC.
Women chair committees. Women make up a quarter of the Executive Committee. Women hold positions of prominence across the entire SBC. Where they serve, they hold just as much influence and responsibility as men serving in the same role.
Great Commission Baptists, Regardless of Gender
The entire “issue” is summed up perfectly in one sentence: “The question at hand is not whether women are of equal value to men, nor is it whether they can minister effectively,” because they are and they can.
Two things can be true at once. Specifically on the question, the SBC has concluded that the Bible is clear that only men are to be pastors, yet it will always affirm “clearly and forcibly” the “inherent worth and value of women.”
This is simply the belief of the SBC, and even within the denomination, there is no completely united front on it. One thing is clear, though, in the Southern Baptist Convention: without women, it wouldn’t be what it is today.
God does not only call men to advance His kingdom, and Southern Baptists, for all their faults — and trust me, just like anyone else, they are imperfect people — have been proving they understand that better than anyone for a long, long time.
Southern Baptists are not the anti-progressive, outdated and misogynistic group they can be made out to be. If they were, why would they overwhelmingly resolve to commit to “cultivating an environment” where “women are fully respected, valued, and mobilized as co-laborers for the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission”?
Believe what you want, but you can’t ignore the facts. Women are important, valued and necessary in Southern Baptist churches. That is obvious and irrefutable.
Take the time to understand the full context of what is going on with these complicated decisions before you paint with your broadest brush. Southern Baptists probably deserve slightly more credit than you may give them.
As the convention continues to navigate the social issues of modern America, its care and transparency in matters like this only reflect the God who provided them with their calling and purpose — a calling and purpose designed for men and women.
