Hope for the SBC

I was raised in a Southern Baptist Church. I served one summer as a Southern Baptist missionary. I am a two-time graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological seminary, the flagship seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention. I pastor a Southern Baptist Church. While I did not attend this Southern Baptist Convention this week, I did watch via livestream. For the most part, I am hopeful and encouraged by several developments that took place in New Orleans (2023).

The SBC affirmed its commitment to complementarianism rather than egalitarianism, and in doing so, affirmed its commitment to the inerrancy and authority of Scripture. In recent months the Executive Committee disfellowshipped two churches, Fern Creek Baptist Church and Saddleback Baptist Church. Both churches have openly argued that women should be allowed to serve as pastors (elders, overseers), a position that is clearly contrary to the clear teaching of the New Testament and the Baptist Faith and Message. Having been excluded, both Fern Creek and Saddleback appealed the decision of the EC. The messengers of the SBC overwhelmingly supported the decision of the EC to disfellowship these churches (88% supported the decision on Saddleback, 91% supported the decision on Fern Creek). Additionally, the messengers of the SBC voted to amend the constitution of the convention in an attempt to clarify our commitment to complementarianism over egalitarianism. To be sure, nothing change in Southern Baptist life with these votes, but the convictions of Southern Baptists were clarified in helpful ways. The majority of Southern Baptists believe the question about who can rightly be recognized as a pastor is a biblical question rather than a cultural or methodological question. Furthermore, in these votes, Southern Baptists showed that celebrity, size, and influence will not overrule our convictions.

Some have questions about how these votes relate to the autonomy of Southern Baptist churches. The short answer is, these votes have nothing to do with the autonomy of a local church. Individual Baptist churches have every right to ordain anyone as a pastor – that’s autonomy. The Southern Baptist Convention is not telling any church what to do or not do. Rather, the Southern Baptist Convention is rightly defining the parameters of affiliation within a voluntary association of churches.

Some have questioned whether or not Southern Baptists are becoming too “creedal” in clarifying how the Baptist Faith and Message defines affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention. I would simply note that Baptists have a long, rich history of writing confessions of faith and statements of faith. These documents do not carry the authority of the Bible, but they do clarify what a voluntary association of churches believes about the Bible. In doing so, they define the parameters of cooperation.

Some have questions about where these votes leave Southern Baptists Churches that do not have females in the position of “senior” pastor, but that do have females who have been given the title of pastor as staff members (ie, “Children’s Pastor”). Some have worried that these votes will push these churches away, but that need not be the case. Instead, these churches are being invited to give consideration to the clear teaching of the New Testament and the polity of their local church.

Some have suggested that women are being banned from leadership and involvement in the Southern Baptist Convention. This is not an accurate description of the votes that took place in New Orleans this week. There was no vote to ban women from leadership, nor was there a vote to prohibit women from serving in ministry on the staff of a Baptist church. The votes this week were specifically focused on the office of pastor and who ought to be recognized with that title.

The SBC continues to send missionaries around the world, and the SBC continues to plant churches in North America, and in doing so continues to be a convention of churches committed to the Great Commission. The presentations, statistics, and commissioning services were all made possible by the continuing generosity of Southern Baptists who give to missions offerings and support the Cooperative Program. In addition to missionaries and church plants, Southern Baptists continue to show tireless devotion to disaster relief. Southern Baptist are Great Commission Baptists.The SBC supports and, in turn, is served by six, world-class theological institutions. Within SBC life, there is often friendly “competition” between our seminaries and their devotees. Historically, there are times when certain institutions are stronger, larger, and healthier, and there are obviously times when other institutions struggle. All friendly competition aside, the seminaries of the SBC are theologically conservative, and they make theological training both available and affordable for Southern Baptist. In a day when fewer men are entering the pastorate, we dare not scale back our efforts at training pastors. The messengers of the SBC recognize the importance of financial accountability. Even though there was no definitive, clear-cut course of action determined this week, it is clear that the messengers of the SBC expect the entities of the SBC to be accountable with the Cooperative Program dollars they receive and spend. Future conventions will have to determine what needs to be disclosed and what doesn’t need to be disclosed. But the messengers seem to recognize the importance of accountability and transparency from the agencies who exist because of Cooperative Program giving. Year after year, the Southern Baptist Convention highlights the remarkable unity that exists among Southern Baptists, despite what is often portrayed in popular media and on social media. The votes to uphold the actions of the Executive Committee with regard to excluded churches were overwhelming votes. Not unanimous, of course, but overwhelming. The vote to re-elect Bart Barber to a second term was decisive. Yes, an opposition candidate running and receiving 30% of the vote in a year when typically the president runs unopposed is noteworthy. But 70% of the vote is decisive. There is no question that Southern Baptists are a diverse group in many ways, and our autonomy preserves that diversity. But contrary to what you may hear, Southern Baptists are largely unified in both doctrine and mission.