All articles tagged with #female pastors
The US Southern Baptist Convention has upheld the expulsion of two churches, Saddleback megachurch and Fern Creek Baptist church, due to their having female pastors, in contradiction of the SBC statement of beliefs. The denomination also voted to amend its constitution to enshrine its ban on female pastors. The change will go into effect once it is approved in a second vote next year.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) has expelled two US churches, Saddleback and Fern Creek Baptist Church, for having female pastors, stating that the office of pastor should be "limited to men." In total, five churches have been expelled from SBC for being led by women. Following the expulsion, a constitutional amendment was passed stating that SBC-affiliated churches should employ "only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture." The move has been criticized by some as a step backward for gender equality in the church.
The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to readmit Saddleback Church, one of the largest congregations in the US, after it was ousted for having female pastors. The convention also upheld the expulsion of two other congregations, Fern Creek Baptist Church and Freedom Church, for similar reasons. The Southern Baptist Convention banned female pastors in its Faith and Message doctrine in 2000, and representatives approved a constitutional amendment to clarify the organization's stance on women serving as pastors. Saddleback Church's founding pastor, Rick Warren, asked the convention to "agree to disagree" on the subject of female pastors.
The Southern Baptist Convention has voted to expel two churches, Saddleback Church and Fern Creek Baptist Church, for having female pastors. The SBC also voted to tighten the ban on women from leadership roles. Saddleback Church, founded by Rick Warren, drew the ire of the SBC after it ordained three women as pastors in 2021. The vote to declare the Saddleback Church "not to be in friendly cooperation" with the denomination was due to “the church continuing to have a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of a pastor," the SBC said in a statement.
The Southern Baptist Convention has finalized the expulsion of two churches with female pastors, Saddleback Church in Southern California and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, despite appeals from their leaders. The convention is also set to vote on a proposal to amend its constitution to more strictly ban women from leadership roles. The move is seen as part of an ultraconservative wing's efforts to reverse what it sees as a liberal drift in the denomination, and some critics warn that it could alienate women and have significant implications for the denomination itself.