Any controversy linked to the Rev. Rick “Purpose Driven Life” Warren is, by definition, going to be a big news story. I mean, that mega-bestseller has been translated into 100-plus languages and is so omnipresent that it’s most famous quote ended up in a Marvel Comic Universe movie.
Meanwhile, any controversy that involves conservatives opposing the ordination of “moderate” or “progressive” Baptist women is going to be a big news story, because — for most mainstream journalists — that is a good vs. evil story, and that’s that.
Thus, it’s no surprise that there has been quite a bit of ink about the vote by the Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee declaring that the giant Saddleback Church, founded by Warren, is no longer “in friendly cooperation” with America’s largest non-Catholic flock.
Yes, that’s SBC lingo. We are dealing with a “convention” of autonomous congregations, not a “denomination,” and it’s primary source of national giving/income is called the “Cooperative Program.” So, has Saddleback been “ousted,” “expelled” or “kicked out” of SBC life for good? We will see.
GetReligion readers will not be surprised that we ended up discussing all of these issues during this week’s “Crossroads” podcast (CLICK HERE to tune that in). The good news, in this case, is that the most important stories about this case were written by experienced religion-beat pros. Here’s the top of the Associated Press report:
The Southern Baptist Convention … 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 as pastors — and a congregation whose story has been one of the biggest church-growth successes of modern times.
The committee cited Saddleback’s having “a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor,” an allusion to Stacie Wood, wife of the current lead pastor of Saddleback, Andy Wood.
But the controversy began in 2021, when Warren ordained three women as pastors, prompting discussions within the denomination about possibly expelling the megachurch.
What is going on here? There are several important clues in that material.