06/19/2026
It has been a week since the SBC voted to prohibit women in pastoral leadership roles (passed the first of two required votes by 75% of those voting). I have observed and prayed. I have not felt the need to add one more voice to the conversation, at least on social media, because honestly there was nothing surprising about the action. I have been asked a number of times if I had a position on the issue, so I decided to put together a response. Understand this up front: 1) no one will have their bias changed by a social media post (or almost anything else until they are open to change), and 2) the place I ground everything is ultimately in Scripture, and the appropriate texts and their contexts have been well stated by many others.
When I say this vote was nothing new, I mean they (SBC) were simply making one more attempt to codify their patriarchal view. (Much like this year at The Wesleyan Church General Conference, we affirmed our 150-year-old history of supporting women in ministry by a 98% vote). By 2000, the Baptist Faith and Message formally stated that “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Amendments similar to the one passed this year have been brought before the SBC for the last number of years. It passed the first vote in 2023 only to fail in the required second vote in 2024. It was brought to the conference again last year in 2025 and failed to get the needed two-thirds approval. It is worth noting that after the passage in 2023, the SBC began to remove churches that affirmed women in pastor or elder roles (kind of stacking the deck for future votes).
Interestingly, Al Mohler, who crafted this year’s amendment, entitled it “Truth and Unity Amendment.” I say interesting because it has created great division, and it has a very “funny” way of presenting "truth". When we speak of truth, we must acknowledge that ultimate truth does not come from humans. We may discover, learn, understand, and apply it, but humans have nothing to do with its origination - it ALL comes from God. Truth is recorded in God’s Word. Biblical truth takes into account ALL of what Scripture reveals about something; we call this the “whole counsel of God” (see Acts 20:27).
The SBC, and others, do not prohibit women in pastoral leadership positions because “the whole counsel of God” tells them to. They are aware of the biblical instances of women acting as judges, prophets, apostles, and preachers. They are aware that the first-ever preacher/proclaimer of the gospel was a woman. And, as they believe in God’s sovereignty, they must also believe that Mary of Magdala was predestined to proclaim the gospel first. They are aware that 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 teach that the Holy Spirit distributes gifts—including teaching, prophecy, and leadership—to everyone as He wills without prejudice. They are aware that Acts 2 (quoting Joel 2) says “sons and daughters will prophesy”, which in the NT context was public, authoritative declaration.
They are also aware of the critical discussions around the few New Testament passages that they cite to keep women out of the pulpit. These passages address specific local problems, such as false teaching in Ephesus (1 Timothy) or disorderly worship in Corinth. Paul’s restrictions are contextual (local), not universal. We know this, in part, because by looking to “the whole counsel of God,” we see Paul elsewhere affirms women praying and prophesying in worship (1 Corinthians 11), which shows he did not absolutely silence women.
No, it’s not scripture that’s directing this decision; it’s about power and control. Much like the Pharisees, those in charge don’t want to give up their power and control. Even after the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message formally stated that “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture,” a 2023 study by The American Reformer showed the number of women pastors in SBC churches is not shrinking and may be increasing. This is why Mohler said when he introduced his amendment that its need was “abundantly clear and has been building in recent years.”
Well-reasoned Christian theology affirms that the Holy Spirit acts with sovereign freedom (John 3:8), distributing gifts “as the Spirit wills” (1 Cor. 12:11). This defies any attempt to restrict ministry roles on the basis of gender. Throughout Scripture, God repeatedly empowers women (e.gs., Deborah, Miriam, Anna, Huldah, Priscilla, Phoebe, and Junia) to lead, teach, prophesy, and shepherd God’s people. These examples are not anomalies but indicators of a divine pattern.
Peter’s citation of Joel’s prophecy at Pentecost, “your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,” signals that the Holy Spirit’s outpouring reinforces the truth that gender does not determine one’s capacity to speak or lead in the name of God. Prophetic proclamation, a central expression of the Spirit’s work, is explicitly opened to women.
The real question, then, is not whether women are called to preach or pastor, but whether the Church will recognize what the Spirit is already doing. A faithful response requires discernment, humility, and a willingness to embrace the Spirit’s freedom. When God calls, a faithful church - God's church - must listen and respond !
In Service to the King of Kings,
Pastor Randy
