Saddleback Church was once again rejected by Southern Baptists in their effort to rejoin the denomination on Tuesday.
In February, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) ousted the church, the second-largest congregation in the country, citing Saddleback having "a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor." At the time, the SBC Executive Committee voted to approve a motion declaring Saddleback was "not in friendly cooperation with the Convention," the terminology used to refer to ousting churches.
The California megachurch filed an appeal to rejoin the denomination for the SBC's annual meeting in New Orleans. On the convention’s concluding day, the ouster was upheld by a 9,437-1,212 vote.
Southern Baptists' statement of faith officially opposes women as pastors, but each congregation is self-governing. Though the convention has ousted several congregations over various issues, this motion is believed to be the first time congregations had been ousted for violating that policy.
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Four other congregations were also ousted from the denomination over having female pastors this year. Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, made a similar appeal to rejoin but was likewise rejected through a 9,700-806 vote. The other congregations chose not to appeal.
The original motion by the Executive Committee read that Saddleback Church "has a faith and practice that does not closely identify with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith, as demonstrated by the church having a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor."
While the church continues to be rejected by the Southern Baptist Executive Committee, Saddleback Church, along with its founder Rick Warren, defended their use of female pastors despite the decision.
"We love and have always valued our relationship with the SBC and its faithful churches," Saddleback elders said in a statement. "We will engage and respond through the proper channels at the appropriate time in hopes to serve other like-minded Bible believing SBC churches. Meanwhile, we remain focused on following God’s leadership to love and serve our church family and the communities around our campuses."
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The original controversy began in 2021 after Warren ordained three women as pastors despite the threat of ousting. He stood by his decision in the 2022 convention in Anaheim arguing, "We have to decide if we will treat each other as allies or adversaries."
Saddleback’s current lead pastor Andy Wood also defended female pastors. His wife Stacie currently serves as a teaching pastor.
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"The church should be a place where both men and women can exercise those spiritual gifts," Wood said. "My wife has the spiritual gift of teaching and she is really good. People often tell me she’s better than me when it comes to preaching, and I’m really glad to hear that."
