An Amendment Too Far
Over the past several years, one of the recurring conversations coming out of Southern Baptist Convention meetings has been the question of women serving in pastoral leadership. For many Southern Baptists, simply mentioning Beth Moore, Saddleback Church, or the Law Amendment is enough to bring back memories of previous conventions going back to 2021, and it looks like this year’s convention will bring more of the same.
Because Teresa and I will be serving as messengers from our church at the SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando on June 9-10, I wanted to take a few minutes to explain something you may hear discussed. There is a new amendment being proposed this year, brought by Dr. Albert Mohler, my former Professor and Seminary President, whom I love and respect greatly. He has called it the “Truth and Unity Amendment,” and I do believe his heart is to protect doctrinal clarity and faithfulness in the Convention.
For the sake of clarity, I want to explain both the issue itself and why, if the amendment is brought forward, I intend to vote against it. I say that while also holding firmly to historic Baptist convictions regarding male eldership.
The Southern Baptist Convention already addressed this issue directly in 2000 when Dr. Mohler himself was part of the committee that revised the Baptist Faith and Message to include this sentence: “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Then, in 2023, the Convention voted to further clarify that language so that it now reads, “the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” So this language is already in our Convention’s adopted confession of faith.
I want to be very clear. I agree with the Baptist Faith and Message. I agree with the long-standing conviction of our church that the office of pastor/elder/overseer is reserved for qualified men as taught in Scripture. I am not trying to retreat from complementarian convictions, nor am I trying to soften what Scripture teaches about church leadership. At the same time, Scripture and Baptist history have always recognized that women are indispensable to the life of the church. Women serve, disciple, teach, encourage, evangelize, counsel, show mercy, labor in missions, and strengthen the body of Christ in ways we should gladly celebrate. The question here is not whether women are gifted or valuable in Christ’s kingdom. They are. The question is how Scripture defines the office of pastor/elder/overseer within the local church.
In addition to this confessional commitment to male eldership, the SBC Constitution already says that cooperating churches must have “a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith.” In other words, the Convention already has both the doctrinal clarity and the constitutional mechanism needed to address churches that move outside our confession. That is why churches have already been reviewed and, in some cases, removed from friendly cooperation through the normal work of the Credentials Committee and the vote of the messengers.
This matters because Southern Baptists have historically emphasized the autonomy of the local church. We have not operated like a centralized hierarchy constantly policing local churches. Formal declarations that a church is “not in friendly cooperation” have been relatively rare and reserved for serious or clear cases. That is one reason many Baptists, myself included, are cautious about continually expanding constitutional enforcement mechanisms beyond what our confession and current processes already provide.
That does not mean churches should be free from doctrinal accountability if they wish to cooperate with the Convention. But it does mean the Convention should be careful not to overreach beyond its proper role. The SBC is not a hierarchy over local churches. It is a voluntary partnership of autonomous churches cooperating together for missions, theological training, disaster relief, and gospel work.
When a church’s faith and practice no longer closely identifies with our adopted confession, the Convention already has a process for determining whether that church remains in friendly cooperation. That process should be careful, case-by-case, and rooted in our shared confession and mission rather than increasing denominational centralization. For that reason, out of respect for both doctrinal accountability and local church autonomy, I do not believe this proposed amendment is necessary. It is largely redundant with standards and structures that are already in place and already functioning.
I understand and respect the heart of Dr. Mohler in bringing this amendment. He and I share a sincere desire for doctrinal clarity and faithfulness. I do not question the motives of any proponents of this amendment, and I do not believe this is an issue that should be ignored. But I also believe there comes a point where continued procedural battles over a matter that has already been confessionally settled can distract us from the greater work Christ has given us to do together. Paul tells the church in Romans 14:19, “So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.” That does not mean avoiding doctrine or refusing necessary correction. It does mean we should ask whether continually revisiting settled questions strengthens our cooperative mission or unnecessarily strains it.
The Convention has spoken clearly. The Baptist Faith and Message defines our position. The Credentials Committee has the authority to act when churches move outside those boundaries. At some point, repeatedly revisiting this same fight year after year begins to consume energy that could be better spent on missions, evangelism, church planting, theological training, disaster relief, and caring for churches and pastors. Faithful Southern Baptists can hold firmly to biblical male eldership while also believing that this amendment is unnecessary and unhelpful. My hope is that we can maintain both our convictions and cooperation as we move forward together toward the work Christ has called us to accomplish.