Until the advent of social media, he said, most Southern Baptists had no idea who was serving on the staff of other churches. So even if a church like Saddleback ordained a woman as pastor, few people would know.
A Saddleback Church Facebook post about ordaining three women in May 2021. (Screen grab via Saddleback)
“How many Southern Baptists 10 years ago could name a single staff member at Saddleback apart from Rick Warren?” said Gulledge, referring to Saddleback’s legendary pastor, who retired from the church in 2022. By contrast, Saddleback announced the ordination of three women staffers as pastors on the church Facebook page in 2021 — setting off a denomination-wide debate. The debate intensified after the church named Stacie Wood, wife of Andy Wood, who succeeded Warren, as a teaching pastor.
He also said that for pragmatic reasons, churches have for years used the term “pastor” incorrectly — applying it to a wide variety of roles. He said Southern Baptists agree on what a pastor is. But they have not always been consistent in how they use the word.
Changing that will be complicated, Gulledge said. Some would prefer churches just change titles for staffers, while others want a more top-down approach along the lines of a Law Amendment. He does not see much widescale support for women pastors.
“There is zero chance that what the future holds for the Southern Baptist Convention is a consensus that allows for women pastors,” he said.
Goodman worries that the more the SBC draws hard lines, the more it will shrink.
“They keep narrowing the understanding of what it means to be a Southern Baptist church,” the Alaska pastor said.
This article originally appeared here.
