Louisville church with a woman as pastor among 6 ousted from Southern Baptist Convention

Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez, Louisville Courier Journal
·3 min read
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A Louisville church is among six around the country that have been disfellowshipped from the Southern Baptist Convention.

Fern Creek Baptist Church, 5920 Bardstown Road, was one of the half-dozen churches ousted from the convention by the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention. Five, including the Louisville church, were removed because they allow women to serve as pastors, while another was removed due to an issue related to sexual abuse.

According to The Tennessean, Fern Creek Pastor Linda Barnes Popham said the church is "saddened to hear of this discriminating and judgmental decision."

"The process has been unbiblical from the beginning stages with the Credentials Committee," added Popham, who said Fern Creek is a "true Southern Baptist church."

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In a statement, the Southern Baptist Convention said the churches were not abiding by the Baptist Faith and Message Article V, which says only men can be pastors.

"These churches have been valued, cooperating churches for many years, and this decision was not made lightly. However, we remain committed to upholding the theological convictions of the SBC and maintaining unity among its cooperating churches,” Jared Wellman, executive committee chairman, said.

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The decision was made in a Southern Baptist Convention executive committee meeting Monday and Tuesday in Nashville on a recommendation from the group's credentials committee. According to Southern Baptist Convention bylaws, churches that were ousted may appeal the decision at the next annual meeting.

Popham was not available to comment on whether the church will appeal the decision.

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In its recommendation to disfellowship Fern Creek, the committee said the Louisville church had been "deemed not in friendly cooperation with the Convention, on the basis that the church has a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith, as demonstrated by the church having a female lead pastor functioning in the office of pastor." The recommendation was sent to the USA TODAY Network by Jon D. Wilke, media relations director for the Southern Baptist Convention executive committee.

Albert Mohler Jr., president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, said he saw the ruling as "the right action" based on the convention's statement of faith. The issue has been at the center an ongoing conflict for in recent years between the churches and the Southern Baptist Convention, he said – this is not the first such ruling and won't be the last.

Mohler said bylaws were changed in 2000 to specifically state that a woman cannot serve as a pastor. Among thousands of Baptist churches around the country, he said, only a few have women serving as pastors.

"This is by no means a personal judgment. This is not a personal conflict. It's an honest disagreement over doctrine and the right order of the church," Mohler told The Courier Journal "The Southern Baptist Convention believes that Fern Creek Baptist Church, just to give that example, has the full right to order its own ministry, but the Southern Baptist Convention has the right to define its own membership."

The other churches that were disfellowshipped include New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Georgia; St. Timothy’s Christian Baptist in Baltimore; Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi; Saddleback Church in California; and Freedom Church in Vero Beach, Florida (disfellowshipped due to "a lack of intent to cooperate in resolving concerns regarding a sexual abuse allegation," according to the committee).

USA TODAY Network reporter Liam Adams contributed. Reach Ana Rocío Álvarez Bríñez at abrinez@gannett.com; follow her on Twitter at @SoyAnaAlvarez.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville church disfellowshipped from Southern Baptist Convention