Louisville, Kentucky, Church Keeps Female Pastor After Southern Baptist Convention Expulsion

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) removed Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville from its fellowship in June, because the church has a female pastor. Congregants say they still support their pastor, Reverend Linda Barnes Popham.

In February, the SBC voted to keep women out of leadership positions, and Fern Creek was disfellowshipped under that policy. Popham appealed to be reinstated in June, and the appeal was rejected. At the convention’s annual meeting that June, messengers voted to uphold the expulsion of two churches led by women pastors. Fern Creek is one of them.

Popham has pastored the small, conservative church for 30 years. She said she has long been loyal to the Southern Baptist Convention, “to probably a fault,” and that she never expected the convention to move in this direction. Chris Towles, a deacon at the church, said the congregation felt “kind of kicked out of the family.” Before the SBC’s decision, congregants had voted on whether Popham should continue as pastor, and the vote was unanimous in her favor. Towles said the decision by the convention did not matter as much to the congregation as they had expected, adding that they had always regarded Popham as the best pastor they could have.

Members described her work beyond the pulpit. Valerie Montgomery, an immigrant from Liberia who moved to Louisville 13 years ago, said the church welcomed her warmly and that Popham spoke with her after services. Montgomery said Popham takes on many roles, from music director to Sunday school teacher. Mary Sharon Thompson, who had worshipped only under male pastors before coming to Fern Creek, said the church would not have enough people to run its programs without the women who participate in it.

Denny Burk, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said the SBC welcomes the work of women in churches but not as pastors. He said the convention holds that churches should reflect what he described as the leadership pattern of a home, in which men lead and women affirm that leadership. Burk said that arrangement would not work in a church where a husband follows his wife’s leadership. Popham’s husband also worships at Fern Creek.

Baptist Women in Ministry, a group that is not associated with the SBC, has taken Fern Creek’s support for Popham as a sign of hope. Its executive director, Reverend Meredith Stone, described the church’s stance as a rebellion against an ultraconservative church culture. Popham said the disfellowshipping was unexpected but has not stopped the church from seeking a new path forward. “I don’t believe we left Southern Baptist roots, traditions or teachings,” she said. “They left, and they think they’ve won. But in all of this, no one has been a winner here” (Romans 12:18). The SBC policy on women in pastoral roles could lead to more churches being removed, as it awaits one more vote next year before it becomes part of the convention’s constitution.

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