WHITE MEN ONLY

Southern Baptists refuse to allow California megachurch - led by famous pastor Rick Warren - back into its denomination after it was kicked out for allowing female pastors

Saddleback Church had launched an appeal over the decision in February to oust churches for having women in charge

But this was overwhelmingly rejected at the Southern Baptist church annual meeting on Tuesday by 9,437 votes to 1,212

A similar appeal by a smaller church, Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky, which is led by a woman pastor, was also rejected

By KAMAL SULTAN FOR DAILYMAIL.COM

PUBLISHED: 14 June 2023

The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has refused to allow a California megachurch, founded by famous pastor Rick Warren, back into its denomination after it was kicked out for allowing female pastors.

Saddleback Church, which represents the denomination's second-largest congregation, had launched an appeal over the decision in February to oust churches for having women in charge.

But this was overwhelmingly rejected at the Southern Baptist church annual meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday by 9,437 votes to 1,212.

A similar appeal by a smaller church, Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky, which is led by a woman pastor, was also rejected.

The results were announced in front of the packed convention hall on Wednesday morning and met with silence after SBC President Bart Barber urged people to show restraint.


The Southern Baptist Convention refused to allow California megachurch, founded by famous pastor Rick Warren, back in denomination after it was kicked out for allowing female pastors



Saddleback Church had launched an appeal over the decision in February to oust churches for having women in charge



But this was overwhelmingly rejected at the Southern Baptist church annual meeting in New Orleans on Tuesday by 9,437 votes to 1,212

Saddleback's large congregation had been widely touted as a success story amid larger Southern Baptist membership declines.

Warren, the retired founding pastor and author of the best-selling phenomenon The Purpose Driven Life, called for the church to be reinstated and told the convention 'women on pastoral staff have not sinned'.

He urged Baptists to agree to disagree 'in order to share a common mission,' following the announcement of the results.

'Messengers voted for conformity and uniformity rather than unity. The only way you will have unity is to love diversity,' he said.

'We made this effort knowing we were not going to win.'

President Barber had previously asked those in attendance to show self-control no matter the result.

'I know sometimes there are churches where people wind up in biblical divorce,' he said.

'But we don't throw divorce parties at church. And whatever these results are, I'm asking you, behave like Christians.'

Church representatives also voted 9,700 to 806 to deny an appeal by smaller congregation 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 here on Tuesday during the denomination's annual meeting.

Warren has been a lifelong Southern Baptist and has pushed the boundaries for several years now, according to Scott Thumma, a sociology of religion professor and director of the Hartford Institute for Religion Research.

But he said the church being removed from the denomination was something he might have never expected.

Warren, the retired founding pastor and best-selling author, called for the church to be reinstated and told the convention 'women on pastoral staff have not sinned'


Church representatives also voted 9,700 to 806 to deny an appeal by smaller congregation Fern Creek Baptist Church, which has been led by Rev. Linda Barnes Popham for three decades

Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber urged people to show restraint ahead of the results

'It's pretty clear that Warren did not think the SBC was going to reinstate Saddleback,' Thumma said.

'But, he's had a platform to say what being Baptist means, what the Scripture says about women in ministry, that Southern Baptists are under a big tent and what is means to exclude any congregation. This is all probably more symbolic.'

Following the vote results, Warren criticized the direction of the SBC that contributed to Saddleback's ejection.

'There are people who want to take the SBC back to the 1950s when white men ruled supreme and when the woman's place was in the home. There are others who want to take it back 500 years to the time of the Reformation,' he said.

'I say we need to take the church back to the first century. The church at its birth was the church at its best.'

In February, the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee voted to oust the two congregations, along with three others that chose not to appeal, for having women pastors.

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 official wording for an expulsion states.

The SBC'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.

Following the results, Warren criticized the direction of the SBC that contributed to Saddleback's ejection


The SBC's executive committee, which has 30 employees and 86 appointed members - approved the vote but formally recommended 'messengers' vote against it

Its executive committee, which has 30 employees and 86 appointed members - approved the vote but formally recommended 'messengers' vote against it.

Pastor Mike Law, a proponent of the ban, said the ruling would provide the SBC with the 'clarity' that they are in 'desperate need of.'

Joshua Abbotoy, a pastor whose congregation left the denomination, said some Southern Baptists have strong, unfavorable views of women leading.

His conservative organization New Founding published an analysis last year that estimated there were more than 1,800 female pastors in SBC churches.

Opponents of the ban say they believe it could set a dangerous precedent for the denomination and others like it.

Share or comment on this article: