Today at their annual meeting in Indianapolis the Southern Baptist Convention rejected an amendment that would change the denomination’s constitution to clarify that the only kind of church in friendly cooperation with the convention is one that “affirms, appoints, or […]
women in the church
Southern Baptists debate an amendment that “affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder…”
There is always drama in the weeks before the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. This time it is over the so-called “Law Amendment.” Here is Heath Lambert, pastor of First Baptist Church–Jacksonville, with some background: The Law Amendment is one […]
Southern Baptist pastor Linda Barnes Popham speaks out: “Why now?”
Everyone in the Southern Baptist world and beyond was talking this week about Rick Warren and Saddleback Church. But what about Linda Barnes Popham and Fern Creek Baptist Church? Fern Creek Baptist is in Louisville, Kentucky, the city that is […]
Did the Rick Warren-Saddleback controversy at the SBC Annual Meeting detract attention from abuse reform?
Here is Kate Shellnut at Christianity Today: The issue that once dominated Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meetings—sexual abuse in churches—almost receded into the background at this year’s gathering, which was overrun by debates around women serving as pastors. Only […]
Will more congregations with women pastors leave the Southern Baptist Convention?
It appears the answer is yes. Here is a press release from First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Georgia: Dear Church Family, Our storied congregation has, throughout its history, partnered with organizations that complement the unique identity and work of First […]
“This is going to be an inquisition now”: Rick Warren responds to the SBC vote to keep Saddleback Church out of the denomination
Get up to speed here. Watch: Warren also got into politics. Here are some snippets: “We lost. I wasn’t expecting to win…We actually had about 700 more votes than I figured we’d get….” “The SBC is a democracy and in […]
Southern Baptists will not allow Rick Warren and Saddleback Church back into the fold
Here is Michelle Boorstein at The Washington Post: Thousands of Southern Baptists voted overwhelmingly to affirm the expulsion of Saddleback Church, the epitome for decades of a modern conservative evangelical megachurch, because Saddleback Pastor Rick Warren ordained women, Southern Baptist […]
Rick Warren vs. Al Mohler on the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in New Orleans (video)
Get up to speed here Here’s how it all went down: As far as I can tell, a decision has yet to be made on whether Saddleback will return to the Southern Baptist Convention. (6:32pm). In other Southern Baptist Convention […]
Southern Baptists give Saddleback the boot. What are people saying?
Here is the Associated Press: 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 […]
Day 1 of the 3-ring circus is over. The Southern Baptists elect a new president.
Anyone following the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting this week in Anaheim is witnessing a denomination in shambles. The Convention has a serious sexual abuse problem to deal with and not everyone agrees that there is a problem or how […]
Thabiti Anyabwile riles the fundamentalists
Fundamentalists are fighters. They stage a militant defense of the faith from their bunker-like fiefdoms dominated by powerful masculine leaders. They see the world in black and white and will turn on anyone who dares depart from what they believe […]
Episode 84: How “Biblical Womanhood” Became Gospel Truth
After a several month hiatus, The Way of Improvement Leads Home Podcast is back with new episodes. We have some incredible guests lined-up this summer! In this Episode 84 we talk to historian Beth Allison Barr about her book The Making […]
Let it rain: Beth Allison Barr on Al Mohler, women’s ordination, and the Southern Baptist Convention
Beth Allison Barr, the author of The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth, has a message for Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler and the rest of the Southern Baptist leadership going crazy […]
Rick Warren’s church ordains three women. Albert Mohler and the rest of the Southern Baptists are not happy.
Southern Baptist’s do not ordain women. Rick Warren‘s Saddleback Church is one of the largest Southern Baptist Church’s in the country. Last weekend Saddleback ordained three women pastors. Here is Bob Smietana at Religion News Service: Saddleback Church, one of […]
Beth Moore apologizes for her past views on complementarianism
Here is Yonat Shimron and Bob Smietana at Religion News Service: In a Twitter thread Wednesday (April 7), Moore took aim at complementarianism, the 20th century theological framework that argues men and women were created for different roles and that […]