{"id":18689,"date":"2026-06-09T02:37:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:07:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/sbc-tries-to-move-on-from-abuse-crisis-will-debate-women-pastors-and-immigration\/"},"modified":"2026-06-09T02:37:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T21:07:46","slug":"sbc-tries-to-move-on-from-abuse-crisis-will-debate-women-pastors-and-immigration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/sbc-tries-to-move-on-from-abuse-crisis-will-debate-women-pastors-and-immigration\/","title":{"rendered":"SBC tries to move on from abuse crisis, will debate women pastors and immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div itemprop=\"articleBody\">\n<p><iframe title=\"Everlit Audio Player\" src=\"https:\/\/everlit.audio\/embeds\/artl_JKV25sR3XEK?ui_title_intro=Listen+now%3A&amp;client=wp&amp;client_version=3.1.5\" width=\"100%\" height=\"136px\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>ORLANDO, Florida (RNS) \u2014 Over the past decade, members of the Southern Baptist Convention have touted the denomination\u2019s diversity, sought to keep sexual abusers away from churches and passed statements advocating for immigration reform and a path to legal status for those in the country without authorization.<\/p>\n<p>Now, for a vocal group of Southern Baptists, diversity is seen as too woke for the Bible. The two candidates running for SBC president say the SBC does not have an abuse crisis, with one claiming the sexual abuse crisis was a \u201csnipe hunt\u201d that led Baptists astray. And the more than 11,000 local church delegates, known as messengers, gathering at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida, this week will debate a resolution that claims compassion should not get in the way of deportation.<\/p>\n<p>They will also consider a call to ban churches with women pastors and churches that allow women to preach in Sunday services.<\/p>\n<p>Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, plans to introduce what he <a href=\"https:\/\/albertmohler.com\/2026\/05\/18\/truth-and-unity-amendment\/\">calls<\/a> a \u201cTruth and Unity Amendment\u201d during the SBC annual meeting, set for June 9-10.\u00a0 That amendment to the SBC Constitution would bar churches that affirm, appoint or endorse women pastors \u2014 and specifically mentions women who preach.<\/p>\n<p>The SBC\u2019s statement of faith already says that only men can be pastors. But some churches believe that only applies to the senior pastor of a church and give women on staff titles like associate pastor or children\u2019s pastor. And some allow women to preach.<\/p>\n<p>Two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/search?q=sbc+sanchez+amendment+fails+religionnews.com&amp;sca_esv=f76dbb9d142d848d&amp;sxsrf=ANbL-n4sk3nkFHw3gwp8Pqq-V4rQyeXTPQ%3A1780925124676&amp;ei=xMImaun7KKGzp84PmruDyAQ&amp;biw=1140&amp;bih=550&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjp7bWL3_eUAxWh2ckDHZrdAEkQ4dUDCBA&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=sbc+sanchez+amendment+fails+religionnews.com&amp;gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiLHNiYyBzYW5jaGV6IGFtZW5kbWVudCBmYWlscyByZWxpZ2lvbm5ld3MuY29tMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAEyBRAhGKABMgUQIRigATIFECEYoAFIxxRQ-AJYiBJwAXgBkAEAmAGRAaABqA2qAQQxMS42uAEDyAEA-AEBmAISoAKGDsICChAAGEcY1gQYsAPCAgUQIRifBcICBRAhGKsCwgIHECEYChigAZgDAIgGAZAGB5IHBDcuMTGgB9ZbsgcENi4xMbgHhA7CBwUwLjkuOcgHMYAIAQ&amp;sclient=gws-wiz-serp\">previous attempts<\/a> to bar those churches have failed, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed for approval.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4207566\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 750px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4207566\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125-427x285.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125-807x538.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Dallas06-061125-300x200.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Messengers vote during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas, Texas, June 11, 2025. (RNS Photo\/Tim Heitman)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Leaders of the SBC also appear to want to shift the narrative \u2014 away from internal disputes, news of declining members and headlines about sexual abuse and toward a focus on missions instead.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve said it before, I keep saying it over and over again \u2014 Southern Baptists are a force for good,\u201d Jeff Iorg, CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, told trustees in a meeting Monday (June 8). \u201cWe have much to celebrate, and that will be our focus these next two days.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Rev. Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, told RNS in an interview that he believes a decade of controversies and bad decisions has hurt the SBC. Local churches, he said, no longer trust the denomination\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe seams of our fellowship seem to have been stretched and torn over the last decade,\u201d Rice, one of two pastors running for SBC president, said. \u201cI\u2019m concerned about our trajectory if something doesn\u2019t change.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rice <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/episode\/5tacB9Oyj9IxP2mEMQr25g\">has said that concerns<\/a> about an abuse crisis in the SBC were overblown and that the convention\u2019s response to concerns about abuse was overblown, too.\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_3908019\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 750px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-3908019\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021-.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021-.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021--427x285.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021--807x538.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021--768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021--624x416.jpg 624w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021--300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/webRNS-SBC-Convention-7-06162021--600x400.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">Willy Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Florida, delivers the convention sermon, Wednesday, June 16, 2021, during the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Nashville. (RNS photo\/Kit Doyle)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>A 2021 report from Guidepost Solutions, which was <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2022\/05\/22\/sbc-abuse-report-for-decades-southern-baptist-leaders-denied-abuse-misled-trustees-mistreated-survivors-guidepost-johnny-hunt\/\">commissioned<\/a> by the SBC messengers, found that convention leaders had long sought to downplay the issue of sexual abuse and had stonewalled efforts to address the issue on a national basis. That led to a series of reforms, including more training for churches on abuse prevention and a database of abusive pastors. While progress has been made on <a href=\"https:\/\/christianindex.org\/stories\/new-sbc-resource-helps-churches-strengthen-abuse-prevention-efforts,107079\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">church training<\/a> on how to prevent and respond to abuse, plans for that database have been largely abandoned.<\/p>\n<p>Rice, who dropped out of the SBC presidential race in 2022 over concerns about past misconduct by a leader at his church, <a href=\"https:\/\/centerforbaptistleadership.org\/an-sbc-odyssey\/\">has said<\/a> that any abuse should be reported to the police. But he also has said the SBC\u2019s response to abuse went badly wrong.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Southern Baptist Convention got the Brett Kavanaugh treatment \u2014 and probably for the same reasons,\u201d he wrote in a 2024 essay <a href=\"https:\/\/centerforbaptistleadership.org\/an-sbc-odyssey\/\">for the<\/a> Center for Baptist Leadership, a group that claims the SBC has become too liberal.<\/p>\n<p>Rice has also said the SBC needs more financial transparency. If elected, he also wants the SBC to get back to a focus on missions and evangelism. A fourth-generation Southern Baptist, he said he loves the SBC despite its issues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI love Baptist people, and I care about the Southern Baptist Convention,\u201d he told RNS. \u201cThere is so much that I celebrate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rev. Josh Powell, pastor of Taylors First Baptist Church (CQ) in South Carolina, agrees.<\/p>\n<p>Powell, who is also a candidate for SBC president, said that for the most part, the denomination is doing well. The number of missionaries has grown, he said, and the SBC continues to start new churches. Baptisms and church attendance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.baptistpress.com\/resource-library\/news\/southern-baptists-see-attendance-baptism-gains-amid-membership-declines\/\">have also<\/a> started to rebound post-COVID.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_4263011\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"width: 750px;\"><img loading=\"lazy\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-4263011\" src=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"750\" height=\"500\" srcset=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25.jpg 1600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25-427x285.jpg 427w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25-807x538.jpg 807w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/religionnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/webRNS-SBCSince1991_25-380x253.jpg 380w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\"\/> <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text edd-enabled\"><span class=\"caption\">\u201cSBC worship and group attendance climbs as membership declines\u201d (Graphic courtesy of Lifeway Research)<\/span><span class=\"credit\"\/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Still, he said, convincing more than 40,000 churches to get along is not easy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCooperation is hard,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s always been hard.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He worries that, like the country in general, the SBC has become too polarized. Focusing on missions, he said, can unite the denomination.<\/p>\n<p>During their meeting in Orlando, the SBC\u2019s International Mission Board will recognize 63 new missionaries being sent out. The convention will also vote on a plan that would boost the IMB\u2019s budget by more than $2 million a year.<\/p>\n<p>If approved, 51% of the denomination\u2019s total budget would go to missions.<\/p>\n<p>During the meeting, Southern Baptists will debate a number of proposed resolutions, including one on immigration. A <a href=\"https:\/\/sbcannualmeeting.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/2026-Proposed-Resolutions.pdf\">resolution entitled<\/a> \u201cOn Immigration, Human Dignity, and the Rule of Law\u201d expresses support for \u201clawful immigration enforcement\u201d and says that \u201cChristian compassion and hospitality do not negate lawful order or excuse indifference to public justice and social peace.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The immigration resolution also rejects nativism and \u201cethnic supremacy,\u201d as well as amnesty for those in the country illegally. Unlike past SBC resolutions, it makes no mention of a path to legal status for those in the country without approval. Last fall, the SBC\u2019s public policy arm <a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2025\/09\/18\/erlc-breaks-from-evangelical-immigration-table\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dropped out<\/a> of an evangelical immigration advocacy group.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With 12.3 million members, the SBC remains the largest Protestant denomination in the country. At its peak in 2006, the SBC claimed 16.3 million members.<\/p>\n<p>A report released earlier this year found that attendance and baptisms in the SBC have continued to rebound from declines during COVID. In 2025, about 4.5 million worshippers attended SBC churches, while 263,075 people were baptized.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, in 2015, more than 5.6 million people attended SBC churches, a loss of more than a million attenders.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<hr\/>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n        <\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/religionnews.com\/2026\/06\/08\/sbc-tries-move-on-from-abuse-crisis-will-debate-women-pastors-and-immigration\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ORLANDO, Florida (RNS) \u2014 Over the past decade, members of the Southern Baptist Convention have touted the denomination\u2019s diversity, sought to keep sexual abusers away from churches and passed statements advocating for immigration reform and a path to legal status for those in the country without authorization. Now, for a vocal group of Southern Baptists, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18690,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banitoday.com\/hi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}