DALLAS — The Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday again spurned a constitutional ban on female pastors as the prohibition's proponents failed to move the needle on a contentious issue that has prompted several years of debate and the exit of multiple congregations from the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
For the second year in a row, 61% of SBC messengers, or delegates, voted for the measure, just short of the required two-thirds majority.
The matter has tested the Nashville-based denomination’s commitment to church autonomy as some churches choose to embrace more egalitarian views about women in ministry rather than complementarianism, which prescribes different roles for men and women.
The SBC has disfellowshipped several prominent churches because of female pastors within the last several years, including Saddleback Church, a megachurch in Southern California; Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky; and First Baptist Church Alexandria in Virginia.
Others, like NewSpring Church in South Carolina, have left voluntarily.
