Mohler refines focus of proposal on SBC female pastors

Albert Mohler, the president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, on Tuesday evening narrowed the language of a proposal against women serving as pastors in America’s largest protestant denomination. Mohler plans to propose the constitutional amendment at the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting on June 9-10.

The amendment’s new text states that churches cooperating with the denomination do not affirm, appoint, or endorse women serving as pastors or elders, specifically by preaching to the assembled congregation. The previous text used the words “such as” instead of “specifically,” indicating a broader range of roles potentially prohibited for women. Mohler, who also edits WORLD Opinions, said the change to his amendment focused on a point of consensus and clarified what he believed was the SBC’s main objective on the issue.

The SBC’s statement of faith already says women cannot be pastors or elders, but it doesn’t delineate their roles or specifically prohibit women from preaching to the congregation. However, the denomination’s constitution doesn’t currently touch on the issue. An amendment to the constitution requires the support of two-thirds of delegates to the SBC annual meeting for two consecutive years. Mohler previously said he would move to suspend a rule that requires the SBC Executive Commission to review any proposed changes and bring them up for consideration the next year. He wanted the potential amendment to be debated and considered this year, he said.

What’s the difference between Mohler’s proposed amendment and the other measure, the resolution on female pastors already approved for discussion and a vote at the meeting? The other resolution, released Monday, also says that women should not serve in the pastoral function of church oversight. However, the resolution simply urges Southern Baptist churches to limit the pastoral title and functions to men, rather than adding those requirements to the denomination’s constitution. Both the resolution and Mohler’s amendment may be discussed at the upcoming meeting.

What are SBC pastors saying? Bart Barber, the former president of the SBC and a delegate to this year’s meeting, said he approved of the tweak to the proposed amendment. However, he wasn’t sure about Mohler’s plan to bypass standard procedure and immediately vote on the amendment. Barber also said he believed the SBC needed to change its process for determining whether a church is cooperating with the denomination’s standards.

Dwight McKissic, the senior pastor of Cornerstone Church, an SBC megachurch in Arlington, Texas, said women would preach at his church regardless of the outcome of Mohler’s amendment. He cited Biblical instances of women prophesying during the New Testament church era, and said that spiritual gifts were not spoken of in Scripture as being tied to “gender.” He was willing for his church to be removed from the denomination if necessary.

Dig deeper: Read my initial report on Mohler’s proposed amendment.