Messengers to the SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans have a few hours left to carefully think through the various items coming before them during the business sessions Tuesday and Wednesday.
The much-anticipated opportunity to vote on a proposal to revise the SBC constitution to ban women from serving in any role that includes the word “pastor” in the title will come before messengers with a word of caution from the SBC Executive Committee.
“Is it prudent to start putting our statement of faith in our constitutional documents? Have we taken the time to analyze all the ramifications of moving in this direction as a denomination and as a convention?” asked Richard Spring of California, who chairs the EC subgroup charged with studying the motion from Virginia pastor Mike Law.
EC member Dana McCain of Alabama agreed.
“Messengers have an understanding of where they are theologically, but we need to give guidance of other facets beyond the theological … (to avoid) unintended consequences of collapsing those two documents,” she said.
The latest version of Southern Baptists’ statement of faith, the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, already specifies the role of senior pastor is limited to men only.
The recommendation to be considered by messengers was proposed by Law at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim. It came to the EC by way of the Committee on Order of Business and members have been wrestling with it ever since.
Law has spent the past year campaigning for the EC to release it to messengers for a vote (read more here), and they voted overwhelmingly to do just that this morning while also voicing their opposition to it. The motion adds the expanded restrictions placed on women to the language in the SBC’s governing documents rather than BF&M.
EC members contend their concerns for cautioning messengers are focused on governance and procedure, not theology, but they are prepared to follow what the messengers decide.
The motion would need to be approved by messengers in two consecutive annual meetings to become official, so if the motion is approved this week, it will then be presented again at the 2024 meeting in Indianapolis.
If it is not approved, then a new motion could be proposed and the process would start over again.
Bottom line, the situation is more complex than a quick look might suggest, several EC members noted, while others suggest directing any clarifications needed to the BF&M rather than the governing documents.
EC member Josh Hetzler of Virginia, who failed to convince the majority of EC members to remove the “opposition” language, disagrees. The constitution is more enforceable than the BF&M, he said, noting an alleged new report citing nearly 2,000 women currently serve in Southern Baptist churches in a role with pastor in the title.
EC member Todd Burgess of Alaska concurred, emphasizing that “we need to make it very clear where we stand.”
The recommendation coming before messengers will be printed in the Daily Bulletin and will read as follows:
That the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention report to the 2023 Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 13–14, 2023, that the Executive Committee strongly affirms Article VI of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 which states, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
However, the Executive Committee deems that our beliefs are most appropriately stated in our adopted statement of faith rather than in our constitution and therefore opposes a suggested amendment to SBC Constitution, Article III, which would unnecessarily restate the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, Article VI
The motion referred to the Executive Committee reads as follows:
Motion: Michael Law, Virginia
“I move that the Constitution of the Southern Baptist convention be amended to include an enumerated 6th item under Article 3, Paragraph 1, concerning composition. The enumerated 6th item would read: “6. Does not affirm, appoint, or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind.”
After careful consideration, the Executive Committee responds that the request of the motion is adequately satisfied in the current language of the Convention’s constitution and adopted statement of faith as follows:
Article III. Composition
- The Convention will only deem a church to be in friendly cooperation with the convention, and sympathetic with it purposes and work (i.e., a “cooperating church” as that term is used in the Convention’s governing documents) which:
(1) Has a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith.
Baptist Faith & Message 2000, Article VI. The Church
While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
While the messengers to the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting entrusted the Executive Committee with this motion, we recognize the significance of the matter, at this given time, and therefore believe it is prudent to place the referred motion before the entire body of messengers, while also expressing our opposition to the suggested amendment to SBC Constitution Article III.
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