The retired Enid pastor and Republican candidate for Oklahoma’s 3rd Congressional District says Southern Baptist leaders are undermining church autonomy by seeking to amend the denomination’s constitution to explicitly bar churches that allow women to serve in pastoral roles.
A retired Oklahoma pastor and congressional candidate is publicly opposing a proposed amendment to the Southern Baptist Convention’s constitution that would further restrict the role of women in churches affiliated with the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, setting up a renewed debate ahead of the SBC’s annual meeting next week.
The Rev. Wade Burleson, a longtime Southern Baptist pastor from Enid who is challenging U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas in the Republican primary, has emerged as a vocal critic of the proposal, which would formally bar churches from the denomination if they affirm women serving in pastoral roles.
Burleson argues the amendment conflicts with the Southern Baptist Convention’s long-standing emphasis on local church autonomy, a principle that gives individual congregations authority over their own governance and doctrine.
“I’m not a rabble-rouser, but when they push an interpretation on every church, you’ve got to stop,” Burleson told The Oklahoman.
The debate comes as Southern Baptists prepare to gather June 9-10 in Orlando for their annual meeting, where messengers are expected to consider what supporters call the “Truth and Unity Amendment.”
The proposal would clarify that churches are not considered in friendly cooperation with the convention if they affirm, appoint or endorse women serving in pastoral functions, including preaching to assembled congregations.
Burleson has drawn a comparison between the denomination’s past resistance to creating a database of ministers credibly accused or convicted of sexual abuse and its willingness to police member churches over the issue of female pastors.
For years, Southern Baptist leaders cited church autonomy as a reason a denomination-wide abuse database would be difficult to establish, Burleson noted. He questioned why that same principle should not allow churches to make their own decisions about women in ministry.
The controversy follows years of conflict within the denomination over the issue. In 2023, Southern Baptist messengers upheld the removal of California’s Saddleback Church, founded by pastor and author Rick Warren, after the church allowed a woman to serve in a pastoral role.
Supporters of the amendment argue that Southern Baptists have already demonstrated unity in excluding churches that affirm LGBTQ+ lifestyles and that the denomination should be equally clear regarding women serving as pastors.
Proponents say a constitutional amendment would prevent the issue from resurfacing at annual meetings year after year and provide clearer guidance for determining which churches remain in friendly cooperation with the convention.
Burleson, however, contends that Scripture does not limit pastoral calling by gender and that individual congregations should be free to decide the issue for themselves.
His criticism has generated significant attention online, drawing more than 1,500 responses on social media over a two-day period and highlighting the continued divisions within the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
The dispute also arrives amid Burleson’s congressional campaign, though the 3rd District Republican candidate rejected suggestions that his opposition is politically motivated.
“I have nothing to gain,” Burleson said. “I’m trying to change the world for my grandkids.”
Southern Baptist messengers will ultimately decide whether the proposed amendment advances when they convene in Orlando later this month.
Source: The Oklahoman
