SBC updates: Southern Baptists vote to condemn use of in vitro fertilization (2024)

INDIANAPOLIS — Many high-profile legislative items before the Southern Baptist Convention at its annual meeting in Indianapolis were decided on Tuesday, except for arguably the biggest ones.

The convention is scheduled to vote Wednesday morning on a proposed measure to enshrine a ban on women pastors and a resolution condemning the use of in vitro fertilization. The outcome of votes on both items will be a turning point for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.

The resolution on IVF is the first-of-its-kind for the staunchly anti-abortion group of politically influential evangelical Christians. Meanwhile, the constitutional ban on women pastors — commonly called the “Law Amendment” after its original submitter, Virginia pastor Mike Law — is expected to fuel greater division among Southern Baptists over its governance standards.

The denomination already reaffirmed the sentiment behind the Law Amendment on Tuesday when voting delegates, called messengers, overwhelmingly approved the ouster of First Baptist Church Alexandria in Virginia for its egalitarian stance on women in ministry.

Tuesday SBC updates Vote on IVF resolution delayed until Wednesday

On Tuesday, the convention also forwarded the work of long-term abuse reform to the SBC’s administrative arm at the expiration of an abuse reform task force. The election for SBC president went to a runoff, the results of which are expected on Wednesday morning.

Follow along for live updates.

SBC adopts resolutions on religious liberty, leadership integrity but not NDAs

Southern Baptists reaffirmed their commitment to religious liberty in a resolution following a contentious debate over the relationship between church and state.

The religious liberty proclamation was one of 10 total recommended by the SBC Resolutions Committee to the full convention. Only eight of those ultimately passed due to time constraints.

One of the two resolutions that didn’t make the cut was about “the danger of abusing non-disclosure and non-disparagement agreements.” If adopted, the resolution on NDAs would have been a step forward for Southern Baptists’ attitudes on a tool that religious institutions have misused to silence abuse survivors.

But Kristen Ferguson, who chaired the SBC Resolutions Committee, said in a news conference Wednesday the convention’s inability to take up the NDAs item isn’t necessarily a step backward. Ferguson said the SBC adopted another resolution this week “on integrity in SBC leadership.”

That resolution urges “Southern Baptist churches to call their leaders to be above reproach, subject those in unrepentant sin to church discipline, and remove those who have disqualified themselves, understanding that accountability by the church is a grace from God.”

Other resolutions the SBC adopted were about just war, the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and the “God-given rights and responsibilities of parents.” The most high-profile resolution condemned the use of in vitro fertilization, and the religious liberty resolution provoked the most floor debate.

Baptists have historically been proponents of religious liberty. But critics of the resolution argued it was too broad and during a floor debate Tuesday evening, sought to amend the resolution to more narrowly define the separation of church and state.

Many of those who opposed the resolution on the floor, including far-right Oklahoma pastor and state Sen. Dusty Deevers, are leaders with an opposition conservative faction in the SBC that have sought to pull the denomination further to the right.

Southern Baptists condemn use of IVF

Southern Baptists on Wednesday condemned the use of in vitro fertilization in a proclamation that will add to the intense debates over reproductive rights raging across the U.S.

Southern Baptist Convention delegates, known as messengers, at this year's annual meeting here in Indianapolis approved aresolution criticizing IVF, a non-binding proclamation that could help popularize an idea once considered fringe throughout American Christianity.

The resolution calls on Southern Baptists to only support reproductive technologies that affirm the "unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage."

The resolution reinforces an increasingly popular stance among anti-abortion groups in the wake of an Alabama Supreme Court ruling in February. Thecourt said frozen embryos are legally considered childrenand are protected under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act, a ruling that sparked national debate.

IVF debate: Southern Baptists condemn use of IVF in high-profile debate over reproductive rights

Ban on women pastors fails

The Southern Baptist Convention rejected Wednesday a constitutional ban on women pastors, a major victory for those within the nation's largest Protestant denomination seeking to maintain local church autonomy and soften what many considered a growing antagonism toward women in ministry.

The narrow outcome on Wednesday resolved a two-year-long political dispute about church policy, though it might not subdue the ensuing debate about women’s roles in the church. The proposed amendment was by far the most animating issue headed into this year’s SBC annual meeting, one that even colored other decision-making, including the election for SBC president.

Messengers voted 61% in favor of the Law Amendment on Wednesday morning, falling short of the required two-thirds majority for constitutional amendments.

Women in ministry: Southern Baptist ban on women pastors fails in historic vote

Clint Pressley elected SBC president

North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley will be the next SBC president after receiving 56% of the vote in a second runoff election against Tennessee pastor Dan Spencer.

A pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte for 14 years, Pressley’s candidacy appealed to Southern Baptists across differing factions in the denomination — mainstream conservatives and opposition conservatives, who have sought to pull the denomination further to the right.

“The more we focus on our purpose the less we will fight one another,” Pressley said in response to a questionnaire from The Tennessean ahead of the annual meeting. “National politics affects us all but our task is to focus on the Gospel and living out the Great Commission.”

Pressley was among three of the six original candidates for SBC president this year who supported the Law Amendment, or the proposed measure to enshrine a ban on women pastors. The convention debated and voted on the Law Amendment using written ballots in a session Wednesday morning immediately following the news of Pressley’s election.

Pressley served as chair of the board of trustees for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, a role that strengthened Pressley’s relationship with Southern seminary president Al Mohler. Pressley and Mohler represent a deeply conservative contingent in the SBC but have not assumed leadership roles in certain controversial opposition conservative groups.

In alignment with another opposition conservative position on abuse reform, Pressley told The Tennessean he opposes the new nonprofit that formed to help launch a database of abusive ministers.

“I think reform comes through raised awareness and thorough equipping which can be done through the existing website and implementing MinistrySafe,” Pressley told The Tennessean, referring to a educational resource on abuse prevention and response. “I think the work done thus far has been admirable and helpful to the Convention as a whole."

More: The 6 SBC presidential candidates on women pastors, abuse reform ahead of pivotal meeting

Censure attempt squashed after Mandrell and Mohler mount defenses

An extremely rare attempt at publicly chastising three key SBC leaders failed in a last-minute parliamentary countermove in which the messengers ruled the original motion out of order.

The motion sought to censure — though it didn’t specify the consequences that would ensue if approved — SBC President Bart Barber, Lifeway President Ben Mandrell and Southern seminary president Al Mohler for their involvement in an amicus brief the SBC’s lawyers filed in an abuse case before the Kentucky Supreme Court.

Mandrell and Mohler responded to the premise of the censure before the messengers ultimately squashed it. Both spoke in defense of legal counsel for Southern seminary and Lifeway, the latter of which had yet to publicly address the controversy.

“Our lawyers are really good and godly people,” Mandrell said. “They are not trying to cover any evil. They are trying to keep lifeway free and clear of litigation to which it should not be involved.”

Echoing Mandrell, Mohler said from the floor that if not for legal advice such as in this instance, “chaos would ensue."

“We have nothing to hide," he said. "We have acted righteously in this situation.”

Meanwhile, messengers also rejected the attempt to abolish the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission following a brief floor debate.The Nashville-based commission is the SBC's public policy arm.

Presidential election headed to second runoff

In atypical fashion, the SBC presidential election will head to a second runoff between North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley and Tennessee pastor Dan Spencer.

Pressley and Spencer received the most votes in the first runoff, knocking David Allen off the ballot. The three candidates went to that first runoff after receiving the most votes out of six candidates. The other candidates in that original election were Oklahoma pastor Mike Keahbone, North Carolina pastor Bruce Frank and Tennessee pastor Jared Moore.

New motions target top SBC leaders, public policy arm

Late on Tuesday, the Southern Baptist Convention added additional resolutions to Wednesday's schedule — all of which could generate heated debate.

One aims to abolish the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, which is the SBC’s public policy arm, and another aims to censure SBC President Bart Barber, Lifeway President Ben Mandrel and Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary over a controversy involving an amicus brief in a Kentucky Supreme Court Case.

Legal counsel representing the SBC, Lifeway and Southern filed the legal brief in a case challenging a law to allow abuse victims to retroactively sue alleged perpetrators.

The SBC's legal brief, which was filed in a case unrelated to an event in a Southern Baptist facility, sparked outrage partly over the fact the public learned about the filing months after the fact due to a Louisville Courier Journal report.

The motion seeking to abolish the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is the second of its kind in the past couple years. Messengers soundly defeated the last attempt at the 2022 SBC annual meeting.

Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on social media @liamsadams.