Southern Baptist Convention to Vote on Constitutional Amendment Codifying Ban on Women Pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention opens its annual meeting Tuesday in Orlando, where messengers will vote on a constitutional amendment that would bar churches employing women as pastors. The amendment would exclude congregations in which women hold the office of pastor or preach to the assembled congregation. It marks the fourth consecutive year delegates have considered the measure.

Previous versions secured majority support but fell short of the two-thirds threshold required for passage in consecutive years. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kentucky and a principal author of the 2000 revision to the Baptist Faith and Message, is championing the current proposal. The Baptist Faith and Message explicitly opposes women pastors.

Member churches operate independently, yet the denomination can remove congregations from its rolls, an authority it has already used against some churches with women in senior pastoral positions. Mohler said a constitutional amendment would provide clarity and end repeated debates. The 2000 revision he helped write was adopted in the same Orlando convention hall hosting this week's meeting.

Messengers will also elect a new leader and consider resolutions on immigration and antisemitism. A vote on those resolutions is scheduled for Wednesday. The resolutions are expected to condemn antisemitism and call for humane treatment of migrants while affirming the legitimacy of immigration enforcement.

Southern Baptist leaders often cite biblical passages they interpret as limiting the pastoral role to men. Advocates for women in ministry point to other texts that they say empower women to share the gospel.