We ordain women because we baptize girls

I was ordained in 1978 by the American Baptist Churches, USA. I knew women who were educated in and ordained by the Southern Baptist Convention. The policies that are in place now regarding women serving as pastors were not in place then. This change is not an abrupt shift. Things have been moving in this direction since at least the early 1980s. There has been an overall shift in Southern Baptist theology in their leadership, on the national level and in their seminaries, over the issue of women in ministry and other issues related to social justice. These changes have upset and angered men and women alike, clergy and laity alike. One male pastor I know took his degree from Southern Seminary out of its frame and mailed it back to the school, leaving the empty frame on the wall.

When I tell people in the South that I am a Baptist minister, they scratch their heads. They assume Southern Baptists have never supported the ordination and service of women as pastors. It’s tempting to reply with a standard line and say, “I’m not THAT kind of Baptist.”

That is too simplistic of a reply. There is more to it.

I will delve into a little church history for context. All Baptists are branches of the same Protestant tree going back to the Reformation. Baptists differed from others in that they supported “believers’ baptism.” This means a person comes to an age of conscience and only then can they choose baptism for themselves. Believing in an individual’s right to freedom to stand before God (soul freedom) stood in contrast to Calvinist belief that the righteous were God’s elect. For them, it wasn’t something a person decided.

In Colonial times, reformer Roger Williams challenged the views of the Bay Colony’s leadership and was banished along with others who did so, like the Quakers. They fled the religious oppression of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Roger Williams founded the city of Providence, Rhode Island. The Quakers went further south to the area of Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love.

The same people who fled religious persecution in Europe came here and did not accept the diversity of religious views among others. In the Massachusetts Bay Colony, church and state were not separate. They wanted to see reform in the Church of England, not start anything new.

The First Baptist Church in America gathered in 1638 and still worships there today. Their current pastor is my friend, the Rev. Dr. Jamie Washam. There is a short and interesting video on their website.

   

First Baptist Church in America


Southern Baptists are the largest group within the various Baptist bodies. The American Baptist Churches USA, was formerly known as the Northern Baptist Convention. The different names tell a story. The Baptist family split in 1845 because churches in the North refused to allow enslavers to serve as missionaries.

The founding principle that propelled Baptists through the centuries was religious liberty. The two defining characteristics of religious liberty are soul freedom and the separation of church and state. Separation of church and state was necessary for soul freedom, they argued. One should not be compelled to join a certain church in order to be a citizen. It was Baptists who influenced the framers of the Constitution to uphold this belief in the nation’s new documents.

Baptist churches relate to each other by what is called “the associational principle.” Each congregation is self-governing. They associate for the purposes of mission and to conduct business, relevant to all. It was at this kind of national meeting for the Southern Baptists that recently made the news.

It is not news that Southern Baptists do not allow women to be pastors. This was first codified in 2000. Subsequent motions have clarified that women should not be employed on church staff in any positions in which they might preach, teach or lead men. Nor will women be endorsed to serve as chaplains, since military chaplains might have to lead men in the exercise of their duties.

The exact wording of the amendment to the constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention, proposed by seminary president, Dr. Albert Mohler, is: a church in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC:

“6. Does not act to affirm, appoint, or endorse a woman serving in the office or function of a pastor/elder/overseer, specifically preaching to the assembled congregation.” Bulletin, Mark Wingfield, Baptist News Global, June 12, 2026.

It passed by the necessary two-thirds majority. This was a first reading. A second reading and vote will occur at next year’s convention. This must happen before a constitutional amendment is permanent. Dr. Mohler’s rationale for the amendment is “… the culture is attacking gender on all fronts.” The direction of the denomination has been largely influenced by this seminary president, who has been in that position for 33 years.

One critic of the recent decision titled his opinion piece, “We ordain women because we baptize girls.” In it, he stated:

“That means if the church is going to refuse ordination to women, the church should refuse baptism to girls because, in the baptized family of faith, all the old gender norms are washed away. (Galatians 3:28). So of course we ordain women as pastors and preachers. We ordain women because we baptize girls.” Rev. Chuck Poole, Baptist News Global, June 9, 2026.