The question I hear most frequently in the days following a significant convention governance or relationship vote is some variation of, “What’s going to happen?”
Or: “What does this mean for …?”
Or: “Now what?”
My crystal ball is as reliable as anyone else’s, which is to say, not very. I can make some predictions, and I do. I can also point to what has happened in the past and to what is happening now.
Here, I will focus on what is happening now. At the end, I will offer one “should.”
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Closer look at what just happened
A quick recap to explain why I’m being asked what’s going to happen next: Messengers to the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting voted, June 10, in favor of a motion made by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler to amend the SBC Constitution to add a sixth enumerated qualifier for a church to be in friendly cooperation with—to be a member of—the SBC.
The sixth qualifier would add that a cooperating Southern Baptist church “does not act to affirm, appoint or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, specifically preaching to the assembled congregation.”
The motion required a two-thirds majority vote (66%) and received 75%.
Being a proposed constitutional amendment, it must also receive at least a two-thirds majority vote at the 2027 SBC annual meeting to be adopted, thus amending the SBC Constitution.
Should the amendment pass on second vote, and I predict it will, I’m being asked if the SBC will start going after and “kicking out” churches with women children’s pastors, youth pastors, worship pastors or churches with women in other pastoral positions.
See related story: Mohler adamant proposed amendment not to address anything beyond pastoral office, preaching
This is why I wrote what I did last week. An SBC church with women in non-senior pastoral roles can wait to see how the SBC implements the sixth qualifier and then act, or the church can have the conversation with itself now about how God is leading it to affiliate and respond accordingly. Either way, the church will have to deal with its position on women pastors.
Full story.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Eric Black, the executive director, publisher, and editor of the Baptist Standard.
