The SBC's official statement of faith says the office of pastor is reserved for qualified men, but this is believed to be the first time the convention has expelled any churches over it. In February, the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee voted to oust the two congregations, along with three others that chose not to appeal, for having women pastors.Īll Baptist churches are independent, so the convention can't tell them what to do, but it can decide which churches are "not in friendly cooperation," the official verbiage for an expulsion. Linda Barnes Popham, pastor of Fern Creek, made their final appeals to Southern Baptists here on Tuesday during the denomination's annual meeting. With the 9,437-1,212 vote, delegates rejected an appeal by Rick Warren, the retired founding pastor of Saddleback and author of the best-selling phenomenon, "The Purpose Driven Life." Warren had urged Baptists to agree to disagree "in order to share a common mission."Ĭhurch representatives also voted 9,700-806 to deny an appeal by a smaller congregation, Fern Creek Baptist Church of Louisville, Kentucky, which has had a woman pastor for three decades but came under heightened scrutiny this year. Andy Wood, 40, is currently Echo’s lead pastor, while Stacie Wood is a teaching pastor. The email included a link to a video featuring Warren and his wife, Kay, along with Andy and Stacie Wood of Echo Church in San Jose, Calif. WATCH: Rick Warren calls for reinstatement of OC's Saddleback Church after Southern Baptist ouster Saddleback Church pastor Rick Warren told his Orange County, Calif., congregation in a June 2 email. Saddleback had been the denomination's second-largest congregation and until recently was widely touted as a success story amid larger Southern Baptist membership declines. The results of the Tuesday votes were announced Wednesday morning on the concluding day of the the two-day annual meeting here of the nation's largest Protestant denomination, whose statement of faith asserts that only qualified men can serve as 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 woman pastor. NEW ORLEANS - The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the Orange County megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors. megachurch over its ouster for having women pastors. The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the O.C.
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