Southern Baptists Advance Constitutional Ban on Women Pastors

More than 11,000 delegates gathered in Orlando for the Southern Baptist Convention's two-day annual meeting, where they overwhelmingly advanced a proposed constitutional amendment formalizing the denomination's ban on churches with women pastors. The vote of 6,028 to 2,026 far exceeded the required two-thirds supermajority. The amendment was sponsored by Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who framed the issue as a defining line between 'liberal and biblical evangelicalism.' The sole floor opposition came from South Carolina pastor Doug Mize, who argued existing mechanisms to expel non-compliant churches already work and that the amendment was unnecessary. The amendment's language would require exclusion of any church that 'affirms, appoints, or endorses a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, specifically preaching to the assembled congregation.' The SBC has previously expelled churches, including Saddleback Church, under a broader 'faith and practice' clause, but the new amendment would provide explicit constitutional grounds. The measure must receive another two-thirds vote at the 2026 meeting in Indianapolis to be formally added to the SBC constitution. Delegates also elected Florida pastor Willy Rice as the new SBC president and passed resolutions on immigration, political violence, and antisemitism.