In 2023, the SBC kicked one of its largest churches out of the denomination when Saddleback Church ordained and hired women to be on its pastoral staff, reports Religion News Service. The woman that the church, which is based in Lake Forest, California, employed was the wife of the senior pastor.
Other churches have been removed from the SBC due to the same reasons.
Saddleback was previously in trouble in 2021 with the SBC for ordaining women on the staff.
But as loud a message as that was to the rest of the SBC, it didn't settle the issue, at least not to the satisfaction of Dr. Albert Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
“I think we've reached a breaking point. I'm hearing from pastors and Baptist leaders all over just saying we have got to move forward,” says Mohler, according to The Christian Post.
The Baptist Faith and Message, the confession of faith for the Southern Baptist Church, states in Article 6 regarding The Church that “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.”
Some churches are attempting, he says, a sleight of hand by using a different word.
“And by pastor, they mean pastor. That means every use of pastor. If you're going to try to just change the name pastor to something else like shepherd, that's not going to work. We know what you mean,” states Mohler.
An amendment to the Southern Baptist bylaws was narrowly defeated at the last annual meeting, despite backing by a strong majority of the convention. Mohler wants to try again.
“I think it's also important that we have a statement from the convention of its affirmation and of its conviction on this issue by any and every means possible,” states Mohler.
He says this is a hill he's willing to die on.
“People ask me, where's the end of this? And the answer is there isn't an end of this until Jesus comes. We don't even know what will be some of the touch points of compromise and doctoral subversion and confusion with needed clarification and affirmation. We can't anticipate all of these things,” says Mohler.
