Photo via the Southern Baptist Historical Library and Archives. Many of the churches that began as Southern Baptist congregations and in recent decades hired a woman as pastor decided to cut all ties to the denomination when the issue became volatile. Dont overthink this issue.. It's unclear whether the issue will be taken up by the committee. In the 1970s, Southern Baptist publishing houses, seminaries, boards that appointed missionaries and commissions organized a number of national gatherings focused on the role of women in the church. Linda Barnes Popham of Fern Creek Baptist said this move by SBC leadership seems to be over power and control. Help keep The Christian Post free for everyone by making a one-time donation today. Hope youll give us another try and check out some other articles. This has been the position of the Southern Baptist Convention since its earliest days, though a few Southern Baptist churches have disagreed and installed women pastors. His position directly parallels the statement in the Baptist Faith and Message. Womens ordination sparked a backlash from fundamentalists who gained control of the Southern Baptist seminaries, mission boards and publishing house. Since then, the prominent California megachurch has received increased attention for its support of female pastors. In 1995, Southern Baptist Women in Ministry again changed its name, this time to Baptist Women in Ministry, to reflect its complete break from the Southern Baptist Convention. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads. At most, it can expel a congregation from membership. Yeah, we are not happy about their decision. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. Several pastors on Laws list declined to comment or said their church was no longer affiliated with the SBC. The vast majority of Southern Baptist congregations call only men to serve as pastor. BARNES POPHAM: Oh, well, they have the copy of everything that the Credentials Committee sent to us and how we responded back in October, because that's when the Credentials Committee contacted me this go-around. Southern Baptists have traditionally understood this to mean that only qualified men are allowed to serve in the office of pastor. But stepping into the future means going into another denomination," she explained. For Southern Baptists, most of whom likely thought the issue of womens ordination was settled, the ordinations at Saddleback Church renewed the controversy over womens roles in the church. At some point, however, some cooperating Southern Baptist churches began calling women as pastors as well. Southern Baptist pastor cites 170 women in leadership roles in Monique Moultrie, an associate professor of religious studies at Georgia State University, told NPR, "I think it is interesting that more swift movement was made towards removing these churches from their union, but there has not been as swift a response to the churches with leaders who were found to be predatory abusers of women and children.".