On Tuesday, the Southern Baptist Convention leadership decided to remove Saddleback Church from the convention. This was due to disagreements about the church's position on having a woman as head co-pastor.
Sexism is still prominent nowadays, and some religious institutions contribute to such a phenomenon. A long-standing debate of the stance on women serving as a pastor wherein in it led to the breakage of ties of the SBC to Saddleback Church
The Breaking of the Ties of Southern Baptist Church from Saddleback Church
The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee had also recommended breaking ties with five other churches for various issues, including sexual abuse and having women serve in senior pastor roles. According to Tennessean, the SBC Executive Committee is a group of about 30 staff members and an 86-member board that oversees the denomination's business outside its annual meeting. They made this decision during a two-day meeting in Nashville.
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a group of Christian churches that believe only men should be pastors. Saddleback Church, a church in California, appointed three women as pastors, which upset some members of the SBC.
As a result, Saddleback and four other churches with female pastors were told they were no longer considered part of the SBC. According to Christianity Today, Saddleback also selected a new lead pastor; his wife became a teaching pastor. The founder of Saddleback, Rick Warren, asked the SBC to focus on more important issues at their annual meeting instead of arguing about this topic.
According to another source, NBC News, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) decided to remove five churches from their organization. Four of these churches had women as pastors, which goes against the SBC's system that only men can be pastors according to their interpretation of the Bible. The fifth church was removed due to issues of sexual abuse. The SBC committee upheld their beliefs and maintained unity among their cooperating churches.
One of the churches that were removed was led by a well-known pastor named Rick Warren, who has written several books and was named one of the most influential people in the world. Warren's church grew in popularity due to his charismatic preaching style, and he had plans to expand the church's reach globally. However, his successor has promised to continue this vision.
Also Read: SBC Pastors Sign Letter Calling for Exclusion of Women Pastors
Can a Woman be a Pastor of the Church?
A question has been raised if a woman could be a pastor. According to Grace Communion International, two passages in the New Testament say that women cannot speak as a church pastors or be more assertive than men. But there are contradicting facts in the bible that suggest that women can be of as high ranking as a man and have authority over them. Although these contradicting beliefs have been much of a nuisance, the fact that every people has their perspective and outlook in life suggests that reactions and actions may vary depending on the community if they would be more inclusive and less discriminative.
Related Article: Can Women Be Pastors? What the Bible Says About Female Church Leaders
