The Southern Baptist Convention, America’s second-largest Christian denomination, passed an amendment banning women from holding pastoral roles in its denomination.
The SBC gathered more than 12,000 messengers — SBC’s moniker for delegates — at its annual convention, held June 11-14 in New Orleans.
The amendment was passed in response to a growing trend by churches in the SBC that practice liberal theology, such as Saddleback Church in California, which was recently removed from the SBC after ordaining three female pastors.
The Baptist tradition has not allowed female pastors for centuries, citing scripture and the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 supporting the longstanding Baptist tradition of requiring male clergy.
Recently, the Christian journal American Reformer published a study claiming that 1,865 women served in pastoral roles in 1,255 Southern Baptist Churches. The study sent shockwaves through the convention and roused prominent Baptist activists to speak out in favor of the amendment.
Mike Law, a senior pastor at Arlington Baptist Church in Virginia, introduced the amendment, asserting that it protected biblical tradition.
“This amendment announces that our belief will be the basis of our behavior and cooperation as a Convention. We must believe what the Bible teaches, and put those beliefs into practice. I encourage my fellow messengers to adopt this amendment and reaffirm our commitment to God’s word.”
Rick Warren, the former pastor of Saddleback Baptist Church, led the amendment’s detractors. Warren believes that Southern Baptists have been mistaken for hundreds of years and that his study of the Bible makes it clear that women should serve in pastoral roles. He took to Twitter to publish an apology to women who have been denied pastoral roles.
“My biggest regret in 53 years of ministry is that I didn’t do my own personal exegesis sooner on the 4 passages used to restrict women,” Warren’s tweet read in part. “Shame on me.”
The SBC’s next step in implementing the new amendment is unknown, but amendment advocates expect churches employing female pastors will be removed from the convention.