Array
The headlines from the left-wing secular media were gleeful and celebratory:
Southern Baptist ban on women pastors fails in historic vote — The Tennesean
Southern Baptist Convention allowing women pastors after vote — KACO
Southern Baptists Fail to Pass Measure Banning Churches Banning Churches With Women Pastors — WSJ
Southern Baptists narrowly reject formal ban on churches with any women pastors — CNN
On and on it went with a parade of disinformation (don’t expect all those ubiquitous fact-checkers to call out the error).
The truth is that the SBC did NOT vote to allow women to be pastors. The group voted down the Law Amendment, which would have added clarity to the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) regarding the roles of men and women in the church. The BF&M already bans women pastors, stating in Article III, «While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.» Full stop.
The Law Amendment would have added, «. a church [is] in friendly cooperation with the Convention. which. Affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.» The aim was to make it crystal clear that churches with women pastors are out of cooperation.
[Note: I am not a Southern Baptist, but I’ve followed this issue closely. Pastor Mike Law, for whom the amendment is named, is a friend and was my son’s family’s pastor when they lived in Virginia. I ask my Southern Baptist brothers and sisters to forgive me if I’ve misconstrued anything or used the wrong terminology.
