This past week, more than 11,600 messengers from across our country traveled to Orlando, Florida, for the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting. It was a week filled with incredible, encouraging updates from our cooperative mission fields—including reports from the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board. Together, we celebrated new church plants, rising baptism numbers, and the sending out of dozens of new missionaries to the ends of the earth.

However, as many of you have likely seen in the news or on social media, the convention also wrestled with significant internal business. Specifically, much of the conversation centered around a proposed constitutional amendment introduced by Dr. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Understanding the "Truth and Unity" Amendment

The proposed amendment seeks to clarify the cooperation standards for local churches regarding the role of women in ministry. The text aims to add a requirement stating that a cooperating 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.”

Dr. Mohler spoke passionately in favor of the motion, noting that its structure draws inspiration directly from historical Baptist roots—specifically the 1689 Second London Baptist Confession—where the distinct categories of pastoral office and pastoral function are delineated. He emphasized that the amendment is meant to provide consistency and efficiency, ensuring that the critical, central function of preaching the Word of God to the gathered assembly remains limited to men according to Scripture, thereby protecting the denomination from future theological drift.

This matter is deeply nuanced, and the specific verbiage has sparked a wide spectrum of dialogue. While Southern Baptists share a long, historic consensus around complementarian theology regarding the office of the senior or lead pastor, the inclusion of the word “function” has created both clarity and complex questions. Pastors across the convention are asking where a pastoral "function" begins and ends. For instance, would it restrict a pastor’s wife from sharing a passage of Scripture and its practical application on Mother’s Day in the pulpit with her husband? While that does not seem to be the intent of the amendment, the ambiguity leaves room for ongoing discussion.

The Present Reality: Nothing Has Actually Changed

With all the headlines circulating, it is vital for our local churches to understand one crucial fact: as of right now, nothing has actually changed.

Amending the SBC Constitution is a rigorous process designed to prevent rushed decisions. It requires two consecutive affirmative votes at two separate annual meetings. Typically, a motion takes three years to clear committee scrutiny and face its votes. However, Dr. Mohler’s motion included a request to waive the rules to allow for an immediate vote. The motion passed overwhelmingly with a 74.6% affirmative vote.

Because of this, the amendment will move directly to the 2027 Annual Meeting in Indianapolis next summer for its second and final vote. It will require a two-thirds majority to officially become part of the constitution. Until that happens, the existing guidelines remain exactly as they were.

Furthermore, to keep this in perspective, over the last decade the SBC Credentials Committee has only chosen to take action against less than 0.5% of the 46,000 cooperating churches regarding women holding the tiles of "pastor/elder/overseer." While this is a serious conversation, it has yet to provide evidence of a large-scale structural crisis.

What This Means for Our Association

For the immediate future, this vote does not alter how our local association operates. We are a collection of autonomous churches voluntarily choosing to cooperate for the sake of the gospel.

If a church holds a more egalitarian view, employs a female lead pastor, or utilizes the title “pastor/elder/overseer” for women on their staff, they may eventually face inquiries from the national Credentials Committee if the amendment passes next year. Should that happen, churches would have to decide whether to adjust their staff structure or risk being removed from friendly cooperation with the national body. We will monitor these developments patiently before making any evaluation of our own criteria or making changes if any are necessary.

A Call to Grace, Compassion, and Unity

My pastoral prayer for us in the coming year is that we handle this season of deliberation with immense grace, intellect, and Christian compassion. As we navigate the months ahead, I want to invite you to join me in grounding our hearts and prayers in a few vital areas:

• Let's choose intellect over emotion. Big topics naturally stir strong feelings, but some things are simply worth digesting slowly. Let's commit to taking the time needed to debate, discuss, and deliberate with clear, calm minds.

• Let's keep things in perspective. While this is a major issue, it is a single issue. It is not the sole defining marker of what it means to cooperate as Southern Baptists, nor should it overshadow our shared gospel foundations.

• Let's avoid solving the wrong problems. In the immediate aftermath of big debates, it is easy to make knee-jerk, panicked decisions on the periphery. We must be careful not to treat temporary symptoms instead of focusing on the main things.

• Let's reject tribalism and polarization. The speed of modern information constantly pushes us toward an "us vs. them" mentality, but nothing about that environment honors God. While we never excuse bad doctrine, our brothers and sisters in Christ are not our enemies. Before we choose camps, let’s strive to maintain true unity and work through differences with grace.

• Let's pray with and for one another. So many challenges are solved when we maintain God-honoring relationships that allow us to disagree, learn, and navigate change together. None of us are perfect, but we are undeniably better together. Let's refuse to build structures or environments that hinder us from loving one another and serving alongside each other to bring people to faith in Christ.

Let us refuse to allow secondary debates to become a barrier to the gospel. Systems, structures, and constitutional definitions have their place, but they must never overshadow our primary mandate. Our supreme calling from Christ is to seek the lost, share the good news, and love one another as He loved us.

Let’s keep our eyes fixed on the mission field, hold one another up in prayer, and remember that we are always better together.