Southern Baptist Convention Continues to Exclude Women Pastors

The Southern Baptist Convention has rejected an appeal by Saddleback Church and Fern Creek Baptist Church to be welcomed back into the denomination after being ousted for having women pastors. The convention's statement of faith asserts that only qualified men can serve as pastors. Saddleback had been the denomination's second-largest congregation and until recently was widely touted as a success story amid larger Southern Baptist membership declines. The convention voted to deny the appeals, resulting in the expulsion of the two congregations.