by Sandy » Fri Apr 06, 2012 8:32 am
The "polity" of Southern Baptist churches rests on the independence and autonomy of the local church, which is rooted in the apostolic order of the New Testament. The way churches choose the individuals who occupy church offices is left completely up to the local church, including how members are received into the congregation. Most churches accept what is often referred to as the 'recommendation" of other churches "of like faith and order" when it comes to receiving members and recognizing the calling of pastors and deacons. In the case of a pastor, his status of being "ordained" in another congregation is generally recognized through the affirmation of his call by the congregation. In Baptist life, particularly among Southern Baptists, independents, and several other brands, there is no separate status for "clergy" vs "laity." Ordination simply recognizes an individual's call to service as either an elder or a deacon, but the authority of the church is congregational, and the ordained officers have one vote and no additional authority beyond their leadership ability to cast a vision and influence. Once they leave their position of service, their "ordination" doesn't provide them any privileges or benefits until they are called to their next place of service.
The SBC, state conventions, associations and entities are not involved in ordination, nor do they recognize ordination, and have no authority in this area, nor do they have any way to enforce a change even if they approved one, since nothing they can do is binding on a local church. The only way that could change would be for each of the 45,000+ churches in cooperation with the SBC to agree to give up some of their authority in this area, and change their constitutions and bylaws accordingly. And I don't see anything close to "recognition" such as the ABC-USA has in place, ever gaining any acceptance in the SBC. So in the process of calling a pastor, or hiring someone for a job at an SBC related agency, due diligence would catch any previous problem like this, and would prevent the individual from winding up somewhere else. The agencies are very good about screening candidates. The churches, unfortunately, are not as good.