Rick Warren on Tuesday plans to challenge the conservative Protestant denomination’s decision to boot his megachurch, Saddleback, for ordaining women.
“The church was becoming very politicized, very known for what it was against, and what he did was revolutionary,” said Tom Holladay, Warren’s brother-in-law and a longtime teaching pastor at the Orange County, Calif., megachurch.
With his booming voice and celebrity status, Warren’s ejection and subsequent reinstatement campaign have become the most talked-about issue ahead of the annual meeting, whichsay his level of influence hovers near that of church giants Billy Graham and Francis Schaefer. Having retired as Saddleback’s leader a year ago, Warren has the air of an elder statesman, if a feisty one.
The standoff matters far beyond the SBC, Hankins says, because “right now evangelicalism itself is totally up for grabs.” Are American evangelicals defined by a specific theology? Secular politics? Both?Southern Baptists might have “academic” debates about whether the Baptist Faith and Message is mandatory, “but the more important thing is that we need to realize that this issue is right where culture is pushing against us.
Among White American evangelicals, just 3 percent said their congregation is led by a woman, according to the National Congregations Study, which looks at all faiths and is done by Chaves at Duke. The Woods declined a request for an interview, but Andy Wood and Rick Warren don’t see the issue of women leaders the same way.he made after the SBC’s Executive Committee expelled Saddleback in February, Wood said the church’s “interpretation” of scripture is that husbands are the head of households and elders who oversee churches are male. Saddleback’s elders are all men, he said, but they can “empower a woman to use their spiritual gifts.
“Both Rick Warren critics and fans would both say: He is really driven by impact and that impact is measured in numbers. He perceives half the mission force is being unengaged. That means we need more. More people, more missionaries,” said Ed Stetzer, a scholar,and longtime friend of Warren’s. “I am surprised he shifted on this issue so decidedly, but this does fit a pattern.”
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In a last-ditch effort, longtime Southern Baptist churches expelled for women pastors fight to stayTwo Southern Baptist churches ousted for having women pastors will be appealing that decision at the Southern Baptist Convention's upcoming annual meeting
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In a last-ditch effort, longtime Southern Baptist churches expelled for women pastors fight to stayTwo Southern Baptist churches ousted for having women pastors will be appealing that decision at the Southern Baptist Convention's upcoming annual meeting.
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