Is Dr. Al Mohler’s Truth & Unity Amendment, the latest iteration of the ongoing effort to solidify the SBC stance on complementarianism, actually a distraction from the mission of the church and the SBC? Will making complementarianism a clear foundation for Baptist cooperation really hurt cooperation within the SBC?

These arguments have been and will continue to be made against the effort to amend the SBC Constitution. But this amendment simply seeks to clarify in our governing document what we already claim to believe about the office of elder/overseer/pastor. As we approach the second vote on the Truth & Unity Amendment in 2027, we can assume that these arguments will continue.

So how should we respond? Two suggestions.

(1) We should respond with faithfulness to the Lord and increased engagement in the SBC

Perhaps like you, I came away from the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting encouraged. For years, I wasn’t a regular attender of the Annual Meeting, but since 2016, I’ve rarely missed.

Similarly, the church where I serve as a pastor had not historically sent messengers to the Annual Meeting. However, over the last few years, we decided to make the investment to send large groups of messengers each year. We are probably not unique in this pattern. We’ve prioritized this investment for one simple reason:

We believe that the SBC is worth the work it demands to protect our faithfulness to God’s Word.

We’re involved because we want to see the cooperative, faithful work of Southern Baptists continue in the mission God has given us in this world.

For me, faithfulness is the issue. Faithfulness has been critical to God’s gracious use of Southern Baptists in spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth. Faithfulness has been key to the Lord’s mercy in preserving our convention through the Conservative Resurgence in the past, and faithfulness will be the key to the Lord’s continued blessing and use of the SBC in his kingdom work in the future.

So as I walked away from the Convention this year, considering the changes that have occurred and the change in tone this year compared to the last few years, I was encouraged by the signs of God’s mercy and the faithfulness of his people.

That said, there is one thing that occurred in force prior to the Convention and that has continued even after the meeting concluded. This one thing continues to motivate me and remind me of the urgency of our continued engagement in preparation for the 2027 Annual Meeting.

That one thing is the repetitive argument that the Truth & Unity Amendment is unnecessary at best – and a divisive distraction at worst – to the work of the gospel. Accordingly, this argument continues to present the idea that The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 covers the issue of complementarianism sufficiently; therefore, we just need to move on from this distracting issue and focus on making disciples of Jesus Christ in all nations.

The argument is an easy one to make, isn’t it? Who would disagree with “focusing” on making disciples of Jesus Christ in all nations? Who would argue “against” the work of the gospel?

But the truth is that it’s an emotional argument, and a response that focuses on complementarianism alone is not sufficient. We need to communicate the essential nature of complementarianism in connection to the very work of the gospel.

(2) We should respond by connecting the critical purpose of the Truth & Unity Amendment to the SBC’s gospel mission

I have one simple response to this emotionally driven argument that I think we need to communicate clearly and consistently. Let me introduce that response with one question and a little background information.

The question is: How can we work together in the gospel mission that Jesus has called us to fulfill if we can’t faithfully stand on the definition of the church that he is building through the work of the gospel? 

This is the heart of the issue for complementarianism in our cooperative work of the gospel, and I believe this is clear practically and theologically.

On a practical level, I served as a Louisiana Trustee for the International Mission Board for 8 years, and I just rotated off a couple of years ago. And, for many years, I have continued to serve through a partnership with one of our seminaries to teach overseas, equipping pastors in theological education for the work of the mission in and through their churches.

I know from firsthand experience that defending male-only pastors is critical to the gospel mission of the SBC.

Many of the churches and mission partners that the SBC has around the world are watching and listening to our Convention. They want to know – and need to know – will we be found faithful? Will we hold to what God’s Word so clearly says about his design for leadership in his church?

Or will we cave to cultural pressure and norms? Will we compromise to protect dollars and political influence?

On a theological level, complementarianism matters because the work of sharing the gospel to make disciples of Jesus Christ in all nations includes teaching them to know all that Jesus commanded (Mt. 28:18-20). Disciple-making is not disconnected from the church. It is the work of building the church! And if we can’t stand on one of the most foundational things about God’s church, which is the leadership office of elder/overseer/pastor, then how can we work together in the mission to make disciples and plant churches? Practically and theologically, we can’t, at least not in a lasting and genuine way.

The IMB biblically identifies and defines the missionary task, which centers on “making disciples and planting churches.” By God’s design, these two things are connected in the work of the gospel.

Planting biblical, healthy, reproducing churches is the work of the mission because the church is God’s design for making disciples.

So theologically, the Truth & Unity Amendment matters. It’s critical that we be found faithful to God’s Word on this fundamental issue related to his design for leadership in his church and in our cooperation to make disciples and plant churches. Practically, the Truth & Unity Amendment matters, too. It’s essential that we put this issue to rest for the cooperative work of the gospel in the SBC, making disciples of Jesus Christ through planting biblically faithful churches in all nations.

We can’t continue to do the work of the mission if we can’t genuinely stand firm on the foundation of God’s definition and requirements for His mission.

Conclusion

Is the Truth & Unity Amendment, and defending complementarianism, a distraction from the mission of the church? Absolutely not. These two things are intimately connected in God’s design for his mission in the work of the gospel.

Will making complementarianism a clear foundation for Baptist cooperation really hurt cooperation within the SBC? Not if we can resolve this issue faithfully! God always blesses obedience, so by God’s mercy, let’s pray this debate will be put to rest at the 2027 Annual Meeting.

Far from being a distraction, the SBC must resolve this issue faithfully for the very sake of our cooperative work in the gospel to make disciples of all nations.