The so-called “Law Amendment,” which Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) messengers failed to add to their constitution at their annual meeting in Indianapolis last year, failed in its new iteration to gain the two-thirds majority needed to move forward with being added to the SBC Constitution.
The amendment, now known as the “Sanchez Amendment” after the pastor who has taken it up, would have added to the constitution a stipulation that only men can be pastors or elders.
“I move that the Constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention be amended to include an enumerated 6th item under Article 3, Paragraph 1, concerning composition,” the proposed amendment stated. “The enumerated 6th item would read: 6. Affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”
In an open letter published March 4, Sanchez and six other pastors and ministry leaders said, “We are not offering new language but are supporting an effort to adopt the same language that a majority of the last two conventions wanted to be passed.”
SBC Constitutional Amendment Banning Female Pastors Fails
At the SBC Annual Meeting that took place in Anaheim, California, in 2022, Mike Law, pastor of Arlington Baptist Church in Arlington, Virginia, introduced a motion that the SBC Constitution be amended to add wording stating that the SBC “does not affirm, appoint, or employ a woman as a pastor of any kind.” At that time, the amendment was referred to the SBC Executive Committee (EC).
When the EC met the day before the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans, the EC decided to bring the Law Amendment to messengers for a vote, despite the committee stating its opposition to the amendment on the grounds that the convention’s views on the topic of women’s ordination are already adequately explained in the denomination’s statement of faith, the Baptist Faith & Message (BFM).
The BFM says, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
In 2023, messengers met the two-thirds majority required to allow Law’s amendment to move forward. Amendments to the SBC Constitution require a two-thirds majority vote for two years in a row, so the amendment once again came before messengers at the 2024 SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis.
While the amendment did receive a majority of votes at 61.45%, it did not achieve the two-thirds majority required for it to be ratified in the constitution.
The 2025 SBC Annual Meeting began on Tuesday, June 10, in Dallas. Tuesday morning, Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, moved for the amendment to be added to the constitution.
“And because the Executive Committee and the past two conventions have already considered this amendment,” said Sanchez, “I move the suspension of standing rule six so that the Committee on Order of Business may schedule this motion for debate and consideration at this 2025 annual session.”
