Southern Baptists expel Saddleback, 2nd church over female pastors, approve further clampdown

A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention's annual conference voted overwhelmingly this week to confirm the expulsion of Saddleback Church in California, previously the second-largest Southern Baptist church, and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, for having female pastors. After the results of Tuesday's votes were announced on Wednesday, the delegates enshrined the ban on female pastors in the denomination's constitution.
The SBC, America's largest Protestant denomination, changed its theological doctrine in 2000 to say "the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture," but Southern Baptist churches are independent and there was no consensus until recently that the ban on women pastors should be enforced.
The SBC executive committee voted to expel Saddleback, Fern Creek, and three other Southern Baptist churches with women as lead or senior pastors in February. Only Saddleback and Fern Creek appealed their defellowshipping. At the New Orleans convention on Tuesday, 88% of SBC delegates rejected Saddleback's appeal and 92% voted to expel Fern Creek. The delegates, or messengers, then went further and approved a constitutional amendment specifying that Southern Baptist churches must "affirm, appoint or employ only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
That amendment, which the SBC leadership committee had opposed as unnecessary, "threatens to unleash a crisis for the denomination" if it is confirmed at next year's convention, The New York Times reported. The SBC credentials committee will now face pressure from the denomination's ascendent ultraconservative wing to investigate and expel the estimated 1,900 Southern Baptist churches that have female pastors.
Southern Baptists "must stand our ground and keep the door shut to feminism and liberalism," argued delegate Sarah Clatworthy, a church administrator from Texas. "We should leave no room for our daughters or granddaughters to have confusion on where the SBC stands" on the roles of men and women.
"If you think if every Baptist thinks like you, you're mistaken," Saddleback's founding pastor Rick Warren told the delegates before Tuesday's vote. "Saddleback disagrees with one word (of the Baptist Faith & Message 2000). That's 99.99999% in agreement. Isn't that close enough?" It was not. "The face of Southern Baptists does not look at all look like our annual meeting," he said at a news conference on Wednesday.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Peter Weber is a senior editor at TheWeek.com, and has handled the editorial night shift since the website launched in 2008. A graduate of Northwestern University, Peter has worked at Facts on File and The New York Times Magazine. He speaks Spanish and Italian and plays bass and rhythm cello in an Austin rock band. Follow him on Twitter.
-
Sen. Bob Menendez charged with federal corruption, bribery
The longtime New Jersey Democrat finds himself in another round of legal peril
By Rafi Schwartz Published
-
Taking steps
Cartoons
By The Week Staff Published
-
Will the US keep aiding Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Republicans give Volodymyr Zelenskyy a 'cold shoulder' in D.C.
By Joel Mathis Published
-
The United Methodist Church has lost 20% of U.S. congregations in schism over LGBTQ rules
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Pope Francis investigates Texas bishop, accepts early resignation of embattled Tennessee prelate
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Thousands flock to Missouri to see body of nun who died in 2019
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Report finds nearly 2,000 kids abused by Catholic clergy in Illinois over decades
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Pope Francis is involved in 'mission' to bring peace to Ukraine
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Hidden Bible chapter found after 1,500 years
Speed Read New text offers a ‘unique gateway’ into early translations of the Bible, researchers say
By Arion McNicoll Published
-
Jewish-Muslim tensions boil over in Jerusalem
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Pope Francis hospitalized with respiratory infection
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published