Southern Baptist Vote to Ban Female Pastors Falls Short

Delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting on Wednesday failed to enact a constitutional ban on female pastors, a decision that keeps the door open for ongoing debate over church leadership. Although 61 percent voted in favor of the measure, it fell short of the required two-thirds majority, highlighting the continued divide within the denomination.

The proposed motion sought to amend the SBC Constitution’s Article 3, Paragraph 1 to require churches to have “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.” While the SBC Baptist Faith and Message 2000 already states that only men should serve as pastors, the proposed amendment aimed to provide further clarity for the SBC Credentials Committee on how to enforce this standard. The issue of women in church leadership has become especially contentious, with some churches seeking more egalitarian approaches rather than complementarianism, which prescribes distinct roles for men and women.

Churches expelled

Recent years have seen the Southern Baptist Convention expel churches such as Saddleback Church and Fern Creek Baptist for ordaining women as pastors, a move that underscores the seriousness with which the denomination approaches this issue. Juan Sanchez, senior pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, introduced the measure and emphasized that codifying Baptist principles is necessary for clarity, especially for the nation’s largest group of evangelical Christians.

Despite arguments that approval of the ban could risk further loss of membership—the denomination currently sits just below 13 million—supporters maintain that doctrinal fidelity is more important than numbers. The same percentage of delegates voted for the amendment at last year’s meeting, when it also failed. Denny Burk, an associate professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, commented that it is “clear that majorities of messengers at the last three conventions want this amendment,” but the necessary threshold has not been met. The debate continues to be a central issue for the SBC, shaping the future of church leadership and inclusion.

–Alan Goforth