Three churches explain their leaving the SBC

As churches continue to reassess their relationship with the Southern Baptist Convention, pastors who recently led their congregations out of the denomination point to concerns involving debates over women in ministry, growing political polarization, and dissatisfaction with the convention’s response to sexual abuse allegations.

When churches left the SBC

John Crowder, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in West, explained how leaving the SBC was a long process for his church, beginning with the SBC’s revision of the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000.

“I decided to stop spending money for travel to annual meetings many years ago, when the Baptist Faith and Message was rewritten. I felt like the true intent behind the changes was more political than that document deserves,” Crowder said.

“My church and I stopped using the description ‘Southern Baptist’ when the convention began using the Baptist Faith and Message as a governing document instead of a statement of faith,” he said.

First Baptist Church in Madison, Ala., whose senior pastor is Amos Humphries, a former Texas Baptist pastor in Waco, left the SBC on May 20 of this year, after a long period of discussion, study, and prayer.

“Our decision was the result of a year-and-a-half process of congregational discernment. As a moderate Baptist congregation, we have sought to maintain relationships across a broad spectrum of Baptist life,” Humphries said.

“Over time, many members expressed concern that the direction of the national convention no longer reflected our church’s understanding of Baptist identity, local church autonomy, and the role of women in ministry,” he continued.

Why churches left

In addition to the SBC’s decision to revise the Baptist Faith and Message, Crowder was influenced by allegations of the convention’s mishandling of investigations into sexual predators. His decision was confirmed soon afterwards when the SBC started disfellowshipping churches supporting female pastors.

“Our decision was confirmed … when the SBC began disfellowshipping churches who used the term ‘pastor’ for women. It was so strange that we had reached the point where a national denomination could expel a local church for using a specific word,” Crowder said.

“At that time, we had a lady who preferred to use the title ‘children’s pastor,’ and that accurately described the work she was doing. So, even if we had not already withdrawn our funding, we would no longer have been welcome in the convention,” he continued.

For Humphries, the decision was a culmination of issues within the convention.

“While members held a variety of perspectives, conversations frequently centered on issues such as the increasing centralization of doctrinal expectations, the treatment of churches with women serving in pastoral leadership roles, political polarization, and concerns arising from the convention’s handling of sexual abuse issues,” Humphries explained.

“It is important to note,” Humphries said, “that our decision was not primarily a reaction to any single event. Rather, it was the culmination of a thoughtful process in which our congregation asked whether continued affiliation accurately represented who we are as a church.”

Strain over view on female pastors

Mark Goodman, senior pastor of Rabbit Creek Baptist Church in Anchorage, Alaska, said his church was removed from fellowship with the SBC in February 2025 over the church’s position on female pastors. The SBC’s Credentials Committee ruled the church to be out of friendly cooperation with the convention because they employed a woman as a pastor.

“We have a pastoral team, and one of our team members is a woman. … My understanding is in order for the Credentials Committee of the SBC to investigate a church, there has to be a complaint filed,” Goodman said.

“And there were one or two folks from other churches here in Alaska that filed the complaint with them about our church, because they knew we had a female pastor on staff,” he continued.

Goodman said the SBC never issued a verbal or written statement to his church explaining their decision.

What was involved in leaving the SBC?

Both First Baptist Church in West and in Madison, Ala., conducted formal votes regarding their decision to leave the SBC.

“We formally voted to discontinue sending money to the SBC when the allegations and investigations of sexual predators [were] handled so poorly,” Crowder said.

Humphries’ explained how his church developed a committee to guide the decision-making process and conduct research.

“The process began in early 2025 with the formation of a discussion committee composed of church leaders and members. The committee’s purpose was not to advocate for a particular outcome but to gather information and facilitate informed conversation.

“Over the following 18 months, we held committee meetings, discussions with deacons and ministry leaders, congregational forums, and a town hall meeting. Members were provided opportunities to ask questions and hear differing viewpoints.

“Ultimately, a proposed bylaw amendment was presented to the congregation, and the final decision was made by congregational vote.”

Members of the committee were handpicked from both sides of the aisle: those who were pro-SBC, and those against. The church was informed about the committee through a newsletter. When the congregational vote was conducted, themotion passed by a vote of 58 to 15, representing approximately 79 percent approval.

Administrative considerations

Pastors did not cite any major administrative considerations linked to their decision. Humphries connected this to the strength of church autonomy.

Financial considerations were minimal for Goodman’s church, he explained, with most of his church’s funding going directly to missionaries and ministry efforts rather than through the SBC.

Impact on the church

Church impact, according to the pastors, was minimal, with most congregants standing by the decision of the church to leave the SBC.

“We have not lost any membership or had any complaints within the church,” Goodman said.

“Most people in our church are not really concerned with denominational polity at all, but those that are were actually appreciative of our stance,” he continued.

The SBC Credentials Committee gave Goodman’s church the option to make changes to stay in fellowship with the SBC. The church declined this opportunity.

“That’s not something we even considered. And people within our church were proud of our decision to continue to have a female on [our] pastoral staff,” Goodman said.

Crowder explained how his church was completely unaffected by the decision: “We were not affected at all by our decision to step away from the SBC. Most of the people in my church are committed to their local church and are not very concerned about the denominational affiliations.”

“When I explained that we could remain Texas Baptists and continue our support of worldwide missions through the Cooperative Program of the BGCT,” Crowder continued, “they were satisfied and ready to move forward. Our decision played no role in our practical relationship with the SBC.”

Empowerment in disaffiliation

For Humphries, the decision to leave the SBC felt empowering. It resulted in a sermon series on what it means to be a moderate Baptist church and, in the process, emphasized the church’s autonomy.

“Nobody rules us. … We’re First Baptist Church Madison. Nobody should be making our decisions for us. We should be making our own decisions,” Humphries said.

“And now we will determine, together as a group, who we partner with going forward, but we will take our time, because we have that prerogative, and we have that luxury, because we’re not forced into anything, because we’re an autonomous local Baptist church,” he said.

First Baptist Madison does not currently have a new national affiliation but remains connected to the Alabama Baptist State Mission Board and the Madison Baptist Association.

First Baptist West does not have a national affiliation but continues meaningful work alongside the Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Rabbit Creek Baptist Church has no national affiliation. The church is affiliated with the Alaska Baptist Resource Network, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and the Ascent movement.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The article was edited to include Rabbit Creek Baptist Church’s affiliation with Ascent.