Motions fail to unseat Southern Baptists of Texas Convention church; bylaw review underway

LUBBOCK, Texas (BP) – Three motions that were ruled out of order at the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention Annual Meeting Oct. 27-28 reflect a discussion that has been ongoing at the national level of the Southern Baptist Convention for several years. The motions were an attempt to disallow messengers from a church that allows women to serve in pastoral roles.

As recently as July, staff positions at Fielder Church in Arlington used the word “pastor” for men and women. Those have all since been changed to “shepherd.”

Social media posts show Jason Paredes, Fielder Church’s lead shepherd, voicing his opposition as lead pastor in 2023 to the vote by Southern Baptist messengers to remove Saddleback Church from fellowship for employing women as pastors. Paredes further gives his unapologetic support for women serving as pastors.

Article IV of the SBTC Constitution addresses church affiliation.

“An affiliated church may be removed from the Convention by majority vote of the Executive Board or of the messengers at an annual session of the Convention after the following process is completed: (a) The church has received written notice of the matter prompting the Executive Board’s consideration of removal and (b) The Credentials Committee has attempted to resolve the matter by meeting with the pastor and/or leaders of the church.”

The motions made last week were dismissed on Parliamentarian Al Gage’s ruling that the two requirements for action were not satisfied.

The phrase “after the following process is completed” in Article IV, Section 4 of the SBTC Constitution gives critical protections for churches subject to removal, Gage told Baptist Press in written comments.

“The due process rights to written notice of their pending removal and a meeting with the Credentials Committee to resolve the matter are requirements and protections for the church,” Gage said. “Both conditions must be met for a church to be disaffiliated, whether by the messengers or by the Executive Board.”

“The church confirmed that they would change the title and no longer use ‘pastor’ for staff positions filled by women,” the report said. 

The SBTC Executive Board also voted at that time to form a committee to review the Constitution and Bylaws. The documents will be reviewed in their entirety, with a focus on polity and affiliation requirements as they relate to the office and title of pastor. Proposed amendments will be published 90 days before a messenger vote at the 2026 SBTC Annual Meeting.

On the national level, the so-called Law Amendment, which addressed church affiliation in the SBC Constitution and the role of pastor being reserved for men, has been brought before the Southern Baptist Convention three times since 2023. Ultimately, it has fallen short of the two-thirds majority two years in a row required for passage.

SBC President Clint Pressley shared his thoughts on the Texas church on social media. Pressley said he thinks Fielder Church is “in clear violation of the BF&M.” He further offered his confidence that the matter will be discussed at the upcoming annual meeting in Orlando.

Pressley also reposted comments from Andrew Walker, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ethics and theology professor, who chaired the SBC Resolutions Committee at the recent SBC Annual Meeting. Walker said that “our confessional standards say what they mean and mean what they say. The moment we start treating them like a ‘living constitution,’ we abandon both their authority and our integrity – and that never ends well.”

Southern Seminary President Albert Mohler posted that failure to address the issue directly “as a necessary principle of cooperation” would be akin to “surrender[ing] to unbiblical ambiguity.”

“The Southern Baptist Convention will not survive ambiguity on the question of female pastors, whatever they are called,” he wrote on X. “The Baptist Faith & Message is clear that the office of pastor is held only by men as called for in Scripture. This is clearly about both office and function.”