A Tennessee congregation has chosen to leave the Southern Baptist Convention citing theological differences, notably the SBC’s reaffirmation of its ban on women serving as pastors.
Monte Vista Baptist Church in Maryville, which has around 150 regular weekly in-person attendees, voted last week to sever ties with the SBC and the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
The congregation had been affiliated with the SBC for nearly 70 years, while also holding an official partnership with the more progressive Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) since the 1990s.
Monte Vista Senior Pastor Jerry Mantooth told The Christian Post in an interview Tuesday that the decision to leave involved a unanimous voice vote from more than 120 members.
Mantooth explained that “over the years, we have felt like that the SBC has gotten more narrow in its interpretation of Scripture,” citing a vote at the SBC’s Annual Meeting earlier this year to amend the SBC constitution to bar women from serving as a “pastor of any kind” in churches.
The proposed amendment passed in June with about 80% of the messenger vote but must be passed at next year’s SBC Annual Meeting to be permanently added to the Convention’s bylaws.
“This is a main value for us: equality in ministry,” said Mantooth. “We have ordained women for a number of years, and that is just a part of our DNA. And we felt like they were making a move to push us out.”
“So, we just made the decision. Let’s just go ahead and make the decision ourselves.”
Monte Vista plans to continue its affiliation with the CBF, as they believe it aligns with historic Baptist principles.
The Tennessee Baptist Convention has not received official notice of the disaffiliation vote. Monte Vista is an autonomous local church, free to associate with any church it wishes.
In June, the SBC’s Annual Meeting upheld the removal of the Saddleback Church due to its allowing a woman to serve as a teaching pastor. The 2000 Baptist Faith and Message states that the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.