During a recent Southern Baptist Convention meeting on Wednesday 14th June 2023, SBC voted against women in pastoral roles.
In the weeks leading up to the meeting, a video of Pastor Mike Law Jr. was posted on the SBC amendment website, where he recalled how he introduced a new sixth item for the amendment last year. This item states that SBC ‘Does not appoint, affirm or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind‘. SBC members, also known as messengers, were urged to attend the annual meeting in New Orleans and support the amendment that only recognize men as pastors. In the video, he also mentions that ‘170 women currently serving as pastors in Southern Baptist Churches.’
In a move to implement the new amendment, a number of churches were expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention. One of these churches is Saddleback Baptist Church, founded by Author and Speaker of The Purpose Driven Life, Rick Warren. According to The Washington Post, Saddleback Church ordained three women in 2021. Warren who retired last year, attended the annual meeting and contested the ban saying:
‘We should remove churches for all kinds of sexual sin, racial sin, financial sin, leadership sin’
‘1,928 churches with women on pastoral staff have not sinned’
‘If doctrinal disagreements between Baptists are considered sin, we all get kicked out’
