The Southern Baptist Convention voted against a proposal to incorporate a prohibition on churches with female pastors into the denomination’s constitution.

The suggested amendment aimed to ban churches with women serving in any pastoral capacity, whether as lead pastors, associates, or endorsing such roles. 

It would have said any church deemed in “friendly cooperation” must be one that “affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”

Reflecting years of debate within the largest Protestant denomination, the vote received support from 61% of the delegates but fell short of the needed two-thirds supermajority.

This decision overturned a previous vote from last year that had favored implementing the proposed ban.

However, SBC’s doctrinal statement still says the office of pastor is limited to men. 

Interpretation varies within the denomination, with some believing it doesn’t apply to associate pastors if the senior pastor is male.

Opponents of this measure pointed out that the SBC already has the authority to remove churches with women pastors, a practice it regularly undertakes. 

They also expressed concerns about the effect of the amendment on black congregations, which tend to have more women on their pastoral staff, as well as the increased burden of church investigations on SBC volunteers.

While the denomination lacks authority over independent churches’ internal decisions or pastor appointments, it has the power to determine which churches are considered part of its body and which are not.

During the two-day convention, the First Baptist Church of Alexandria in Virginia was ousted because a woman is occupying an associate position and it has asserted that women can occupy such roles.

Supporters of this amendment argue it is essential because the Bible explicitly reserves the role of pastor for men, with hundreds of Southern Baptist churches having women in those positions.

Ryan Fullerton, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, said this is “not about preventing women from exercising their gifts” in the church. 

He also said there is “confusion about gender” in the wider culture and cited what he called “the ravages of the LGBTQIA agenda.”

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During the convention, delegates elected Clint Pressley, senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, as the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention. 

Pressley secured victory with 56% of the votes in a runoff contest among six candidates.