And the reason given by SBC leaders for not being able to do so was the autonomy of the local Southern Baptist church. However, as the recent vote by the Tennessee Baptist Convention has clearly demonstrated to a watching world, autonomy goes out the window should a Southern Baptist church decide to call a female pastor.Ī number of years ago there was a huge outcry for the Southern Baptist Convention to establish a database of pastors who are convicted pedophiles. It is important to point out that not all Baptist churches that cooperate with the Southern Baptist Convention have embraced the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which specifically states that ALL pastors must be male.įurthermore, ‘autonomous’ is a term that Southern Baptist leaders love to use to describe local Southern Baptist congregations. The opportunities for women to serve in vocational ministry within the SBC are indeed vast. The Southern Baptist Convention has not compiled a list of all the available avenues through which a woman may serve. We expounded upon this topic in an article in SBC LIFE several years ago that may be helpful for further study. Each church is responsible to prayerfully search the Scriptures and establish its own policy. However, the BF&M and resolutions are not binding upon local churches. The Southern Baptist Convention also passed a resolution in the early 1980s recognizing that offices requiring ordination are rightly addressed to men. The BF&M statement says, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” The passages that assign the office of pastor to men do not negate the essential equality of men and women before God, but rather focus on the assignment of roles. The Convention recognizes the biblical language concerning the office of pastor. The Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) affirms the vital role of women serving in the church (see Article VI: “The Church”). Southern Baptists have long valued the priceless contribution of women as they have ministered to advance God’s Kingdom. Here is the answer that has been provided: We decided to check out the Southern Baptist Convention website, which addresses the following Frequently Asked Question: (link)Ĭan women be pastors or deacons in the SBC? Here is how the story was covered by the local news. The votes were overwhelmingly in favor of not allowing messengers from the church to cast votes at the state meeting. Last Tuesday (November 14) over 850 Southern Baptists from 390 Tennessee churches spent 15 minutes debating FBC Jefferson City’s recent decision to call a female pastor. The pastor search committee put together a packet of information for the congregation, which included Di Giosia’s resume and other interesting information.
She is pictured here with her husband and two children. Here is an excerpt from her letter to the congregation (see screen shot below)ĭi Giosia began her pastoral duties on August 1, 2017, and delivered her first sermon at FBC Jefferson City on August 6th.
“The First Baptist Church of Jefferson City is no longer a part of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, after a Tuesday vote that it would not allow the church’s messengers to be seated.”įirst Baptist Church – Jefferson City, Tennesseeįive months ago Reverend Ellen Di Giosia was named senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Jefferson City, Tennessee.
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