LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Church representatives voted 9,700-806 to deny an appeal from Fern Creek Baptist Church, which has had a woman pastor for three decades but came under heightened scrutiny this year.
Warren and the Rev. Linda Barnes Popham, pastor of Fern Creek, made their final appeals to Southern Baptists on Tuesday during the denomination's annual meeting.
It's still a shock to Popham and her congregation that the church has been ousted all because they have a woman pastor.
"I'm just shocked that Southern Baptist wouldn't want us because of one little thing," she said.
Church members also questioned the timing of the decision.
They've been affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention since first opening more than 70 years ago.
"Why now? She's been our pastor for 30-something years. I mean, she is well respected in our community," member Renee Bryant said.
Other church members echoed the same thing.
"They've had from 2000 till now to say something about it and they've chosen not to; why is that," member Phil Shewmaker said.
In February, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted to oust the congregation, along with four others.
Popham took the opportunity to appeal at this year's convention.
"[I] looked at what I had typed and it didn't change much from then because I knew what I was supposed to say; didn't get to say all of it because they cut us off before we got through," she said.
Although she was not able to say everything she wanted, she knew she had to do it for the future generations.
"I personally didn't think we were going to change their minds but we knew we had to do it for the next generation of girls behind us," Bryant said.
Now the congregation will have to make major decisions based on their literature and possibly the name of the church.
"How they will change I don't know, but we have now, this summer in which we're going to have to make some decisions of what that is going to look like now," Popham said.
That future coming down to another vote this one by the church.
All Baptist churches are independent, so the convention can’t tell them what to do, but it can decide which churches are “not in friendly cooperation."
The Southern Baptist Convention’s official statement of faith says the office of pastor is reserved for qualified men, but this is believed to be the first time the convention has expelled any churches over it.
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