R. Albert Mohler Jr. is cautioning that ongoing disagreement within the Southern Baptist Convention over who qualifies as a pastor could jeopardize the denomination’s future if left unresolved.
In a video statement released April 16 titled “A Call for Southern Baptists to End the Confusion Over the Office of Pastor,” Mohler said the issue has reached a critical stage, stating, “I think we’ve reached a breaking point. I’m hearing from pastors and Baptist leaders all over, just saying, you know, we have got to move forward.”
He added that a bylaw amendment may be the most effective solution, stating, “I still believe that the most effective way to deal with this is with a bylaw amendment, such as was proposed to the SBC and received clear support but not enough to reach the bylaw majority requirement.”
The remarks come ahead of the SBC’s annual meeting scheduled for June 7–10 in Orlando and follow last year’s unsuccessful effort to pass a measure barring women from serving in any pastoral capacity within member churches.
That proposal, introduced by Juan Sanchez of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, sought to amend the SBC Constitution to explicitly require that churches appoint “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”
Although the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 already affirms that pastoral roles are limited to men, the proposed amendment was intended to guide how the standard would be enforced by the Credentials Committee.
Mohler emphasized that most Southern Baptists already hold a clear position on the issue, stating, “the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptists are absolutely clear, and have been all along, that the office of pastor is restricted to men as qualified by Scripture,” and that many are seeking resolution to the ongoing “confusion.”
He also urged the convention to make its stance unmistakable, saying, “I think it’s also important that we have a statement ... from the convention of its affirmation and of its conviction on this issue by any and every means possible.”
In addition, Mohler called on the SBC Credentials Committee to take decisive action, explaining, “We really need a credentials committee to take action since it’s been invested in them that this right now has been put in their court.”
He continued, “We need them to show how they’re going to deal with this efficiently so that these matters don’t always end up on the floor of the SBC.”
Concluding his remarks, Mohler warned that failure to resolve the issue could have long-term consequences, stating, “Where there’s confusion, it’s our responsibility in this generation to clarify it. The confusion has gone on to the point in which I think it really is very dangerous to the future of the Southern Baptist Convention.”
