Zone1 Southern Baptist leaders will decide the fate of congregations with women pastors

Heres the latest news I found. Its from a baptist news article.

Churches ousted over women pastors​

More recently, a broader debate over the status of women pastors in the SBC has led to added responsibilities for the credentials committee.

Last year, the executive committee approved the ouster of five churches for having women pastors, including Saddleback Church, the Southern California megachurch, and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Those latter two churches appealed their ouster at the 2023 SBC annual meeting, but messengers overwhelmingly voted against the church’s reentry.


In the most recent case of Immanuel Baptist in Kentucky, the church’s senior minister, Katie McKown, started leading the church in May. Prior to her time at Immanuel Baptist, McKown was the first woman pastor of a Southern Baptist church in Scottsville, Virginia.

The credentials committee has only recommended the ouster of churches in which women serve as lead or senior pastors, not associate-level pastors. The SBC is currently sorting through its posture on affiliation with churches with women pastors. The convention will vote for a second and final time at this year’s SBC annual meeting in June in Indianapolis whether to approve a measure seeking to enshrine a ban on women pastors. Meanwhile, the SBC Cooperation Group is studying how the denomination should best align its constitutional standards for church affiliation with its doctrinal statements of belief.

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Linda Barnes Popham speaking at the Southern Baptist Convention at the New Orleans Ernest N Morial Convention Center. Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Linda Barnes Popham speaking at the Southern Baptist Convention at the New Orleans Ernest N Morial Convention Center. Tuesday, June 13, 2023.© SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network
Though much remains to be seen, previous ousters have already set a precedent. Following the SBC’s decision to uphold Fern Creek’s ouster, the Kentucky Baptist Convention rendered a similar verdict against the Louisville church.

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at [email protected] or on social media @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Top Southern Baptist panel ousts churches over woman pastor, abuse response
 
In large churches women as associate pastors is generally accepted. Usually if a pastor is married his wife is employed in the church as well doing all sorts of tasks as well.
But the senior pastor is always male.

Women have always played an important role in Baptists churches as well as others for centuries. Just not as senior pastors. The SBC (which is a convention and has no heirchy) will have members which likely have offered assistance to these churches in finding a senior pastor that is not female. There are ALWAYS hundreds of thousands of good capable men who can fulfill the role if they wanted to retain membership in the SBC.

But these churches don't care and are likely trying to make a political statement instead of a religious one. Which in essence is trying to be divisive and cause dissent in a convention.

So....their ouster is nothing more than a blip. Someone trying to join a convention but still not agreeing at the same time. It's not targeted or divisive. It's actually preserving the peace.

I understand how in this politically charged board it comes across as confusing...but they would rather have peace by agreeing than dissent with factions.
 
Women have always played an important role in Baptists churches as well as others for centuries. Just not as senior pastors. The SBC (which is a convention and has no heirchy) will have members which likely have offered assistance to these churches in finding a senior pastor that is not female. There are ALWAYS hundreds of thousands of good capable men who can fulfill the role if they wanted to retain membership in the SBC.
Why would they want to?
 
Why would they want to?
Why did they join to begin with?

If you have an aardvark convention made of aardvarks for aardvark but a hippopotamus asks to join but wants to continue to be a hippopotamus.....where the aardvark are gracious and kind and welcoming but don't wish to be considered as exclusive and limiting....they allow the hippopotamus access to the convention. But then the hippopotamus starts talking about how they need to have their meetings under water (because he is uncomfortable in the sunshine) and how eating great volumes of food needs to be included in everyone's lives.....that's not in keeping with aardvark lifestyles and never has been. Why is the hippopotamus there? Especially when it's an aardvark group. Aardvark have no quarrel or disdain for hippopotamus. None whatsoever. But it's a convention for Aardvark and not hippopotamus.

Same thing with SBC vx other denominations. The SBC has no quarrel with any other denominations and regularly actually joins with other denominations and associations in joint endeavors regularly and consistently for the past 50+ years that I'm aware of.

If any church group wishes to join the SBC is extremely welcoming and inviting. They provide all sorts of assistance with building and missions programs and literature....

All this without a hierarchy or being told what and how to do things. Each member church is autonomous.
 
Heres the latest news I found. Its from a baptist news article.

Churches ousted over women pastors​

More recently, a broader debate over the status of women pastors in the SBC has led to added responsibilities for the credentials committee.

Last year, the executive committee approved the ouster of five churches for having women pastors, including Saddleback Church, the Southern California megachurch, and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Those latter two churches appealed their ouster at the 2023 SBC annual meeting, but messengers overwhelmingly voted against the church’s reentry.


In the most recent case of Immanuel Baptist in Kentucky, the church’s senior minister, Katie McKown, started leading the church in May. Prior to her time at Immanuel Baptist, McKown was the first woman pastor of a Southern Baptist church in Scottsville, Virginia.

The credentials committee has only recommended the ouster of churches in which women serve as lead or senior pastors, not associate-level pastors. The SBC is currently sorting through its posture on affiliation with churches with women pastors. The convention will vote for a second and final time at this year’s SBC annual meeting in June in Indianapolis whether to approve a measure seeking to enshrine a ban on women pastors. Meanwhile, the SBC Cooperation Group is studying how the denomination should best align its constitutional standards for church affiliation with its doctrinal statements of belief.

Fullscreen button


Linda Barnes Popham speaking at the Southern Baptist Convention at the New Orleans Ernest N Morial Convention Center. Tuesday, June 13, 2023.

Linda Barnes Popham speaking at the Southern Baptist Convention at the New Orleans Ernest N Morial Convention Center. Tuesday, June 13, 2023.© SCOTT CLAUSE/USA TODAY Network
Though much remains to be seen, previous ousters have already set a precedent. Following the SBC’s decision to uphold Fern Creek’s ouster, the Kentucky Baptist Convention rendered a similar verdict against the Louisville church.

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at [email protected] or on social media @liamsadams.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Top Southern Baptist panel ousts churches over woman pastor, abuse response
Frozen in the past

And they surely found biblical justification for this discrimination.
 

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