ORLANDO, Fla. — Southern Baptist messengers voted Tuesday to suspend a standing rule and allow consideration of a constitutional amendment proposed by Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler addressing the office and function of pastor, elder and overseer.

The vote to suspend Standing Rule 6 required a simple majority and passed, clearing the way for messengers to vote Wednesday on Mohler’s proposed amendment to Article III of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Constitution.

Standing Rule 6 normally requires motions to amend the SBC’s governing documents to be referred first to the executive committee for review and then reported back to the following annual meeting. By suspending the rule, messengers allowed the proposal to move forward for consideration during this year’s meeting in Orlando rather than waiting until 2027.

Mohler’s amendment is intended to clarify how cooperating Southern Baptist churches should understand women serving in the office or function of pastor, elder or overseer.

The issue has been the subject of repeated debate in recent annual meetings.

Mohler announced last month that he planned to bring a new amendment to Article III of the SBC Constitution. He later revised the language, narrowing wording that had drawn criticism from some Southern Baptists. The original version referred to churches affirming women in the office or function of pastor, elder, or overseer “such as preaching to the assembled congregation.” The revised version replaced “such as” with “specifically,” focusing the proposed restriction on women preaching in a pastoral capacity.

The proposed amendment comes alongside a separate resolution on the office and function of pastor, elder and overseer, included in the slate released by the resolutions committee. That resolution states that Scripture uses the terms pastor, elder, and overseer to refer to “the same biblical office,” affirms that the office is limited to men as qualified by Scripture and says “the New Testament presents the pastoral office and the function of pastoral oversight as inseparably connected.”

The resolution is nonbinding, while Mohler’s proposed amendment would change the SBC Constitution if approved by the required two-thirds vote in two consecutive years.

The vote Wednesday will determine whether the amendment advances through the first of two required approvals. If it receives two-thirds support, it would have to be approved again at next year’s annual meeting before becoming part of the SBC Constitution.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Henry Durand serves as managing editor for The Christian Index. This article was originally published by The Christian Index.)