North Carolina megachurch exits Southern Baptist Convention after expulsions over women pastors
United StatesAP Less than a month after finalising the ouster of one of its largest churches for having women pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention has lost another of its biggest congregations. Elevation Church – a North Carolina-based megachurch that draws thousands of worshippers to its multiple campuses and has wielded a strong influence on contemporary Christian worship […]
Women in church leadership: Southern Baptists say no to women pastors. But what does the Bible say a pastor is?
The expulsion of Saddleback Church and other congregations for having women pastors has prompted questions about thousands of other churches where women serve in roles such as children’s pastor or music minister. BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports…
Southern Baptists refuse to take back megachurch because it has women pastors
New Orleans, USAP The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the California megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors. Southern Baptist church representatives at their annual meeting here also rejected a similar appeal by a smaller church, Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky, which is led by a […]
In the US, Southern Baptists end first day of annual meeting with key questions hanging
New Orleans, USRNS During the opening day of their annual meeting, Southern Baptists re-elected a president, debated the place of women leaders in the church and spent hours debating using Robert’s Rules of Order. Still, nearly 10 hours after the opening gavel, key issues that brought nearly 13,000 members of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination […]
Women in leadership: In a last-ditch effort, longtime Southern Baptist churches expelled for women pastors fight to stay
PETER SMITH, of Associated Press, reports ahead of this week’s annual gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention…
Rick Warren campaigns for Southern Baptist reinstatement of Saddleback Church
United StatesRNS Days before the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, former megachurch pastor Rick Warren has appealed to his fellow Southern Baptists to overturn a denominational decision to oust his Saddleback Church because it permits women to serve with the title pastor. “This should be the moment where 47,000+ autonomous, independent, freedom-loving churches say NO […]
In the US, Saddleback Church doubles down on support for female pastors
United StatesAP The woman pastor at the centre of the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to oust Saddleback Church – the California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren – says she will continue to serve as a ministry leader despite her longstanding ties to the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Saddleback has yet to say if it will […]
Southern Baptist Convention: How did Saddleback get kicked out of the SBC? It’s complicated
The five congregations ousted last week were the first to be expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention on a national level for having women pastors since the ban on women pastors was instituted in 2000. BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports…
In the US, Southern Baptists oust Saddleback Church over woman pastor
Updated: 10am (AEST)United StatesAP The Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday ousted its second-largest congregation – Saddleback Church, the renowned California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren – for having a woman pastor. The vote by the convention’s Executive Committee culminates growing tension between the nation’s largest Protestant denomination – which officially opposes women […]
A vision to build on Rick Warren’s legacy: New Saddleback pastor sees women clergy in church’s future
DEEPA BHARATH, of Associated Press, speaks with Andy Wood, successor to Rick Warren at Saddleback Church in California, about his grand vision to build on Warren’s legacy and take Saddleback to the biggest cities in the US and the world…