Southern Baptists Oust Megachurch Over Female Pastor

The Associated Press reports:

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 as pastors — and a congregation whose story has been one of the biggest church-growth success stories of modern times.

In 2021, Warren ordained three women as pastors, which began prompting discussions within the denomination to consider expelling the megachurch. With its main campus in Lake Forest, south of Los Angeles, Saddleback Church has grown to multiple locations in Southern California with an average weekly attendance of 30,000. There are four international campuses, in Hong Kong, Germany, the Philippines and Argentina.

Read the full article. The edict against female pastors was co-authored last year by former Southern Evangelical Seminary president Richard Land, seen above.

Southern Baptist Convention ousts Saddleback Church — the renowned California megachurch founded by pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren — for having a woman pastor. https://t.co/gRwg3qNh2g

— David Crary (@CraryAP) February 21, 2023