Conservatives in the SBC dealt a one-two punch to progressives and egalitarians after they voted to elect Pastor Will Rice as SBC president and then passed, by a margin of 4-1, Al Mohler’s Truth and Unity Amendment, which would bar women pastors within the Southern Baptist Convention and deem churches with pastorettes to be not in friendly cooperation.
Rice received 57.565% of the votes for SBC president, compared to 42.16% for Joshua Powell.
It is likely that his sermon at the pastors’ conference the day before contributed to his victory, with many hailing it as one of the best sermons they’ve ever heard at these meetings in decades.
While Powell was not a bad candidate, Rice ran on a platform of insisting there were real problems in the SBC and that reforms were needed, and that he intended to take a more hands-on approach.
Likewise, the Truth and Unity Amendment, the spiritual successor to the Law Amendment also passed.
However, it needs to be ratified next year before it becomes part of the SBC constitution.
Notably, in 2024, the Law Amendment against women pastors received 61.45% of the vote but failed in 2025 to reach the two-thirds (66%) threshold to amend the constitution, with only 60.74% support.
With the Truth and Unity Amendment receiving 74.66% of the votes, it is in a much stronger position to win the 66% needed next year.
Naturally, the egalitarian Baptist Women in Ministry were very upset by the loss.
We had some words for Kevin Ezell.
Lastly, we lauded William Wolfe, the Executive Director, Center for Baptist Leadership, for seeking to honor the memory of Charlie Kirk in motion.
All in all, a good year for conservatives. But with the showdown next year over the ratification of the Truth and Unity Amendment, we expect its opponents to be very, very busy.
