NASHVILLE (TN)
Baptist News Global [Jacksonville FL]
June 1, 2026
By Mark Wingfield
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Resolution Committee has offered a preemptive strike in the battle over women’s roles in the church.
The committee released its report June 1, just more than a week ahead of the SBC annual meeting to be held in Orlando June 9-10. Within SBC structures, the Resolutions Committee has wide latitude to consider resolutions presented by messengers in advance and to craft its own resolutions.
Messengers, as the voting attendees at the meeting are called, may attempt to edit, amend, delete or approve the resolutions one by one. They also may attempt to propose additional resolutions from the floor, but that typically requires parliamentary expertise to circumvent an automatic referral to the Resolutions Committee.
This year, the committee has proposed 11 resolutions, which are statements considered to express the will of those gathered at the annual meeting. Although technically nonbinding, the resolutions do carry extreme influence in the denomination’s inner workings.
One of those proposed resolutions is titled, “On the Office and Function of Pastor/Elder/Overseer.” That cuts straight to the heart of the debate that has been ongoing for four years now about how exactly to define and limit the role of women in church leadership. One prominent SBC influencer, Al Mohler, has said he will present a constitutional amendment that, as he sees it, would prevent women from commenting publicly on sermons preached by men, such as through a podcast.
“While originally the debate was about the job titles women and men carry in churches, it now has moved to be about the function a person carries.”
While originally the debate was about the job titles women and men carry in churches, it now has moved to be about the function a person carries. Mohler and allies contend women not only may not be given jobs with the word “pastor” in them — such as children’s pastor — but women may not function in any way that appears to interpret Scripture to the entire congregation.
The committee’s proposed resolution quotes the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 and speaks of “the work of shepherding, overseeing and teaching and preaching to the gathered church” as something done only by “qualified men appointed by the church to the office of pastor/elder/overseer.”
The Baptist Faith and Message 2000 explicitly prohibits women from the role of “pastor/elder/overseer” but does not prohibit women from serving as deacons. While female deacons remain a novelty in SBC churches, they are more common in other Baptist traditions.
The resolution carefully notes that “Scripture teaches that women are equally created in the image of God, gifted by the Holy Spirit for meaningful service, and valuable in the work of the church” while denying them roles as pastors.
However, “confusion has arisen in some Southern Baptist churches regarding the relationship between the title, office and function of pastor,” it states.
Thus the resolution declares, “The New Testament presents the pastoral office and the function of pastoral oversight of the church as inseparably connected.” Pastoral function includes “teaching Scripture and preaching the word to the gathered church,” which is to be done by men only.
“The resolution is not as explicit as some in the SBC would like yet potentially leaves enough wiggle room to keep some churches from leaving.”
The resolution is not as explicit as some in the SBC would like yet potentially leaves enough wiggle room to keep some churches from leaving the SBC over this contentious issue. In essence, the resolution asks churches to “maintain clarity and integrity in their ministerial titles and practices so that nomenclature is not used in ways that obscure or contradict the convention’s adopted statement of faith regarding the pastoral office.”
On religious liberty
A proposed resolution on the 250th anniversary of the United States and the Baptist contribution to religious liberty strikes a surprisingly traditional tone and avoids the language of Christian nationalism.
While the resolution does “give thanks to Almighty God for his providential hand in the founding and sustaining of the United States of America,” it avoids calling the U.S. a “Christian nation” or appealing to manifest destiny that makes America more important to God’s kingdom than any other country.
It calls Southern Baptists to pray for “spiritual revival” and to “honor the legacy of Baptist forebears who courageously contended for religious liberty and helped secure the freedoms enshrined in the First Amendment.”
Most surprisingly, it reaffirms “our historic Baptist commitment to religious liberty for all people, recognizing it as a God-given right grounded in the dignity of every human being made in the image of God.”
“That breaks with the view of the Trump administration and its efforts to portray evangelical Christians as more deserving of protection than other religious groups.”
That breaks with the view of the Trump administration and its efforts to portray evangelical Christians as a persecuted minority more deserving of protection than other religious groups.
On euthanasia and assisted suicide
It is no surprise the SBC would consider a resolution firmly rejecting euthanasia and assisted suicide — a view consistent with the “pro-life” ethic that permeates the denomination except for its support for capital punishment.
“We reaffirm our continued opposition to euthanasia and assisted suicide in all its forms, including practices now described as ‘medical aid in dying’ and ‘death with dignity,’ which intentionally seek to end human life,” the resolution states.
On political violence
One of the most convoluted and contradictory resolutions proposed is on political violence. It says messengers “unequivocally condemn political violence in all its forms, including assassinations, attempted assassinations, terrorism, rioting, mob intimidation, vandalism, threats and coercion as morally evil, contrary to the sanctity of human life, destructive of ordered liberty, eroding equal protection and the rule of law and incompatible with the way of Christ, regardless of the ideology, identity, party or cause of the perpetrator or victim.”
While part of that language will resonate with those concerned about the murder of Charlie Kirk, other parts of the resolution could be read as indictments of January 6 rioters and the tactics of the Trump administration.
The resolution goes on to offer even stronger language that must be read as a repudiation of the Trump administration and other GOP leaders — even though members of SBC churches have been faithful Trump voters.
“We reject any claim that righteous ends justify unrighteous means.”
“We reject any claim that righteous ends justify unrighteous means, affirming that the cause of truth is never served by lies, the cause of justice is never served by lawlessness, and the cause of life is never served by murder. … We reject hatred, malice, slander, dehumanization, intimidation, reckless speech and contemptible conduct as inconsistent with Christian discipleship, while also rejecting a false peace that refuses necessary truth.”
On antisemitism
There’s nothing surprising about the SBC proposing a resolution against antisemitism and in favor of supporting Israel. One thing to note in the draft resolution, however, is that it stops short of comparing the modern state of Israel to the Jewish people whom the Bible describes as God’s chosen people.
The resolution “unequivocally condemn(s) this new surge of antisemitism in all its forms, including violence, cultural hatred and conspiracy theories of Jewish controlled cabals, as sinful, unchristian and an assault on both biblical truth and basic human dignity.”
Southern Baptists “stand unashamedly with the Jewish people against all such hatred, including all acts of terror against them worldwide,” it declares.
The resolution does not offer support or prayers for the Palestinian people.
On immigration
Here’s another case where the Resolutions Committee appears to split the baby to keep peace with differing viewpoints.
The resolution reaffirms “our longstanding conviction that every human being possesses God-given worth and dignity as an image-bearer of God” along with “love of neighbor, hospitality to the stranger, and making disciples of all nations.”
“The Resolutions Committee appears to split the baby to keep peace with differing viewpoints.”
It then calls on Southern Baptists “to pray for governing authorities as they lead the civil government in carrying out its responsibility to secure borders, enforce immigration laws, maintain an orderly and credible immigration system, and pursue clear, enforceable and humane policies that uphold both justice and mercy, recognizing that the government is not the church and the church is not the state, though both remain accountable to God for the stewardship of their distinct callings.”
Next comes these carefully crafted words: “We reaffirm support for lawful immigration enforcement carried out justly, humanely and according to due process, including the removal of those whom the government duly prioritizes for deportation and accountability for criminal activity, human trafficking, and unlawful employment practices.”
Among the chief criticisms of the Trump administration has been its disregard for due process under the law and its practice of unlawful enforcement actions.
But then the resolution goes further in directly confronting the language of the Trump administration: “We also reject nativism, racial or ethnic hostility, ethno-nationalism, discrimination, and all ideologies or rhetoric that deny the equal worth and dignity of any people group regardless of immigration status, while also affirming that Christian compassion and hospitality do not negate lawful order or excuse indifference to public justice and social peace.”
But wait, there’s more. The resolution directly confronts the Trump administration’s family separation practices: “We exhort the government to take particular care of children and families, insisting upon respect for the God-given worth and dignity of every person and the religious liberty of churches to minister freely.”