What is the Law Amendment proposal and the debate regarding women in ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention about?
The Law Amendment proposal, introduced by Michael Law, a pastor in West Virginia, seeks to amend the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Constitution to clarify the convention's stance on women in pastoral roles. The proposal, which has sparked a heated debate within the SBC, is expected to be addressed in June at the SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis.
Five points are listed in Article III of the SBC Constitution that define how churches cooperate with the SBC. The amendment would add a new requirement to Article III, stating the SBC will only cooperate with churches that “affirm, appoint or employ only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by scripture.”
Article III reads:
"The Convention shall consist of messengers who are members of Baptist churches in cooperation with the Convention. The following subparagraphs describe the Convention’s current standards and method of determining the maximum number of messengers the Convention will recognize from each cooperating church to attend the Convention’s annual meeting.
The Convention will only deem a church to be in friendly cooperation with the Convention, and sympathetic with its purposes and work (i.e., a “cooperating” church as that term is used in the Convention’s governing documents) which:
Has a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith. (By way of example, churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior would be deemed not to be in cooperation with the Convention.)
Has formally approved its intention to cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention. (By way of example, the regular filing of the annual report requested by the Convention would be one indication of such cooperation.)
Has made undesignated, financial contribution(s) through the Cooperative Program, and/or through the Convention’s Executive Committee for Convention causes, and/or to any Convention entity during the fiscal year preceding.
Does not act in a manner inconsistent with the Convention’s beliefs regarding sexual abuse.
Does not act to affirm, approve, or endorse discriminatory behavior on the basis of ethnicity."
Supporters of the amendment argue that it aims to unify the convention around a traditional, complementarian understanding of gender roles in the church. They express concerns about the increasing number of Southern Baptist churches appointing and employing women as pastors and seek to address this trend.
The amendment has faced significant opposition from critics who view it as unnecessary, divisive, and potentially infringing on the autonomy of local churches. They argue that the amendment could create division within the SBC and have negative implications for church autonomy.
The Gospel Coalition wrote a rather expansive story about the Law Amendment. Click below to read it.