Rick Warren, Female Pastors, And The Battle For The SBC
Two years ago I wrote a blog post, 3 Reasons Saddleback Church Fails The Gospel And You, in response to the news that Rick Warren ordained female pastors. That post has been my most read and hated piece of content on The Set-Apart Walk. Apparently, people love them some Rick Warren, and his enormous following has only succeeded at making him more emboldened regarding his false teaching. His under-the-radar acceptance of female pastors is evolving into a battle cry. Rick Warren is wrong about female pastors, and continuing to give him a platform to display his lack of respect for God’s Word is bad for the women, the SBC, and American Christianity.
*Sources not linked in the text are provided at the end of the post.
Rick Warren: A Super Quick Recap
In case you haven’t heard of him, Rick Warren founded Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, CA in 1980 with his wife Kay Warren. He pastored that church until he retired and called Andy Wood to take over as lead pastor in 2022. Stacie wood, his wife, serves as a teaching pastor.
Warren grew his church into a massive multi-site megachurch that, essentially, became a brand thanks to his massively popular book, The Purpose Driven Life. That book led to a “purpose driven” ministry, and it continues to be a big seller. I won’t tell you what I think of the book now because I already shared my thoughts in the post I previously mentioned. Suffice it to say, I am not a fan.
Warren is a frequent guest speaker who has been invited to the World Economic Forum (WEC) and the White House. He also created an online resource for pastors called pastors.com. Among the various resources, one can find sermons to purchase. Side note: Why aren’t we talking about the laziness and lack of pastoral responsibility pastors are demonstrating by buying sermons?
Overall, Pastor Rick Warren is a celebrity pastor by anyone’s definition, has turned himself into a brand, and has been deemed by many as “America’s Pastor.” At the same time, he manages to be a divisive figure who currently finds himself in a battle of his own making.
So, What Did Rick Warren Do This Time?
Last year (June 2022), the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) held its annual meeting in Anaheim, CA. Although Saddleback is part of the SBC, Warren has rarely been present for the annual meetings over the years. The 2022 annual meeting, however, had plans to discuss female pastors and whether or not Saddleback should remain in fellowship with the SBC. This was enough for Warren to make a surprise appearance and give an impassioned seven-minute speech about himself that he referred to as a love letter to the SBC. You can watch it below.
The SBC did not make any decisions concerning Saddleback Church at the annual meeting, but the SBC Executive Committee ruled in February of 2023 that Saddleback Church was not participating in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC because it supported ordaining women and allowing them to preach at worship services. (Whether or not you agree with the SBC’s stance on this issue, Rick Warren knew he belonged to a convention that did not support female pastors.)
What does this mean for Saddleback Church? They have been disfellowshipped from the SBC. In other words, the Southern Baptists have given Saddleback the boot. A normal person’s reaction would be to accept the decision and acknowledge that his personal beliefs and convictions have moved away from his denomination. So, it would be time to move on. In reality, Saddleback Church doesn’t need to belong to any denomination. The branding is strong enough to stand on its own without the support of other churches.
Rick Warren: The Social Justice Warrior
Warren is not going to sit by and let the Southern Baptists hold to their convictions. Oh no! He’s going to do what any good social justice warrior does. Warren is going to campaign hard against the people who disagree with him, attempt to dismantle them, and build himself up as some sort of savior while he does it.
Rick Warren said he plans to release videos leading up to the SBC annual meeting which takes place on June 11-14 in New Orleans. One can only assume these videos are going to be a part of a campaign to fight for the Church to change its mind about female clergy.
For now, Warren has listed five reasons explaining why he is appealing the disfellowship and asking for the decision to be considered at the SBC annual meeting this year instead of decided by a committee.
Rick Warren’s 5 Reasons To Appeal Saddleback Church’s Disfellowship
1. Women are being held back from fulfilling the Great Commission.
I’ve seen Warren speak on this reason in the past. He always looks like he believes he is having a “gotcha moment.” He’s outsmarted us, I guess… Here’s the Great Commission:
“And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”’
Matthew 28:18-20 (ESV)
Rick Warren Equates Pastoral Preaching With Evangelizing
All right. So, the claim here is that preventing women from being pastors stops them from obeying the instruction to fulfill the Great Commission. Spending even a moment examining this idea without an agenda will reveal the absurdity of his claim. Evangelizing to the lost and pastoring a church are not equivalent.
Pastors certainly evangelize, but their duty is to teach believers. Church services are, as I’ve said multiple times in the past, for equipping believers to go into their communities to share the gospel and serve the Lord by loving and serving others. The Bible is clear on the qualifications of a pastor. That role is reserved for men (1 Timothy 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9). This doesn’t, however, preclude women from sharing the gospel.
Common examples egalitarians use to “prove” women can be pastors are actually instances of women pointing to Jesus rather than preaching. For example, in John 4, the woman at the well told people in town that she had met the Christ. She wasn’t delivering a sermon to the Church. Rather, she was pointing others to Jesus.
Another popular example is women being the first to encounter the empty tomb and the resurrected Jesus. Because they were the ones who delivered the news to the disciples that He had risen, some argue they were preaching. Ladies, Jesus presenting his resurrected self to women first is a wonderful demonstration of how the Lord does not prioritize men over women like some would argue He does. Nevertheless, nothing about the resurrection story indicates women ought to pastor a church.
A woman sharing what God has done in her life, pointing to Jesus, or explicitly giving the gospel is not preaching or pastoring a church. It’s witnessing. It’s bringing the Good News. Y’all, it is fulfilling the Great Commission.
What About Baptism?
We agree now that women can witness to the unsaved just like anyone else without being a pastor, right? Great! Can they baptize believers? No. Baptism is an ordinance of the Church that should be done by a pastor. Does just anyone in a church service lead the Lord’s Supper? Of course not! Baptism, as joyous an occasion as it is, is not some casual social event. It should be treated as seriously as the Lord’s Supper.
The real question is whether or not restricting baptisms to men’s responsibility is preventing women from fulfilling the Great Commission. I can say with zero hesitation…no. Though the Great Commission was given to all believers, it must be fulfilled within our biblical roles. Consider this for a moment. Women cannot baptize believers, but men who are not ordained pastors or elders shouldn’t do so, either. That task is limited to a specific subsection of the Church. Are all the men who are not ordained being held back from fulfilling the Great Commission, too?
Baptism was tasked to the Church as a whole, not to each individual.
Can Women Disciple?
Let’s say a woman witnesses to a man, and he gets saved. Now what? Biblically, she ought to step back for a godly man to step in and disciple the gentleman. If he’s saved, the man should find a local church and be under the teaching of a pastor, anyway. There this new believer can learn from the pastor and other mature men in the church.
What if the new believer is a woman? Well, there are explicit instructions for older (i.e., more mature) Christian women to teach and mentor younger ladies (Titus 2:3-5). Keep in mind, though, that the role of older women is never meant to overshadow the pastor’s authority and teaching or a husband’s spiritual leadership role.
Women Don’t Need To Be Pastors
So, I think it’s clear by now that the Great Commission is not reliant on one’s ability to hold a pastoral position. All of us, men and women alike, can share the gospel, encourage and support baptism, and aid in discipleship without stepping behind a pulpit or into church leadership.
Rick Warren conflates fulfilling the Great Commission with the duties of a pastor which (unintentionally?) removes all responsibility from the vast majority of believers to share the gospel. A woman’s gifts are not wasted in the church when she uses them as God instructs her to…which will never be outside of God’s design for men and women.
2. Three hundred pastors contacted Rick Warren with concerns about the women on staff at their churches.
Warren says he is speaking on behalf of pastors who are afraid their churches will be disfellowshipped for having female pastors on staff. Not to sound cold and unfeeling, but so what?
In 2000, the SBC wrote in the Baptist Faith and Message, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” This is the official stance of the SBC, and if anyone wants to lead a Southern Baptist Church, then this is a rule to which he must adhere. Don’t like it? Don’t be a Southern Baptist.
Are these pastors the same people who would sign an agreement for a university’s code of conduct and then be shocked when they were facing expulsion for breaking that agreed upon code?
Warren’s argument here is simply, “Look, three hundred pastors have been breaking the SBC standards because they don’t like what you believe about female pastors. So, you better change your stance on this issue.” That’s a compelling argument to oust those churches who are not in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC, not to change the rules for them.
3. Women on the mission field may have to go home.
The International Mission Board (IMB)
The Southern Baptist Convention is associated with a mission society called the International Mission Board (IMB). Unlike independent Baptist missionaries, those sent out through the IMB do not need to go on deputation. For the uninitiated, missionary deputation involves the prospective missionaries traveling the country from church to church sharing their need and plans in hopes of gaining support through prayer and giving. It’s a grueling process for many and can take years to raise enough support before actually getting to the mission field.
The SBC keeps the process neat and tidy by taking funds given by Southern Baptist Churches and giving it to the IMB to get those missionaries out in the world quickly without concerns for raising money. The Southern Baptists I’ve known love this method and are glad to see some of their giving help missions. However, the IMB has had a few bumps in the road.
Maybe Some Missionaries Should Come Home
Since the revised Baptist Faith and Message was approved in 2000, the IMB has 1,500 fewer missionaries. Rick Warren’s concern appears to be that women will be called off the mission field if they are solo church planters acting as pastors or are co-pastors with their husbands. Not to sound like a broken record, but so what?
I’m not suggesting that missions aren’t important. The work missionaries do around the world is essential Kingdom work, and I believe it is the Church’s responsibility to support missionaries. On the other hand, not all missionaries should have our support.
Missionaries don’t share the gospel and leave, right? They disciple new believers and plant churches. They need to be an example to new Christians and model biblical living. This is especially important in cultures with little to no exposure to Christianity. Therefore, female missionaries leading as pastors either need to stand down for a man to hold that position or leave the SBC-supported mission society. These missionaries know and understand the Baptist Faith and Message, and working in opposition to it should obviously lead to being pulled off the mission field.
Does Rick Warren really expect these missionaries to work against Southern Baptist teachings and continue to take SBC money? Again, Warren is making an argument best suited to support disfellowshipping these individuals rather than rallying around them and altering the SBC’s interpretation of God’s Word.
4. Warren believes disfellowship should not be the sole decision of a committee.
Yes. I agree with Rick Warren on this point. The SBC has been cowardly in the past with issues concerning female pastors, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and Rick Warren. The annual meetings are partly designed for voting on issues such as this one. In case you’re unfamiliar with these meetings, each year churches send “messengers” to the meeting to represent them and cast votes on issues brought to the floor. It’s not a perfect system, to be sure. There is inadequate time to flesh out some arguments, some topics get buried by those leading the meeting to avoid the conversation, and not all churches have members who can afford to travel to the meeting.
All that said, a sampling of Southern Baptist church members giving their input does a significantly better job of speaking for the SBC as a whole than a small committee. So, although I agree with the committee’s decision, Warren is not wrong to want the messengers to have their say.
5. Rick Warren wants Southern Baptists to think about what direction the SBC should have in the future.
It’s no secret that the SBC is hemorrhaging members. In 2022, the SBC lost almost 500,000 members. Since 2006, the SBC has lost 3 million members. Why? The convention has been embroiled in scandal and controversy regarding sexual abuse, social justice, and has struggled to appoint strong, character-driven leadership. Add a dash of feminism to the mix, and my friends, we have a recipe for disaster.
This isn’t lost on Rick Warren, and he is poised to strike with his push for the normalization of female pastors. And he doesn’t just think it’s an important topic. No, he sees himself among the likes of William Wilberforce and civil rights leaders. You don’t believe me, do you? Well, let’s see what Warren said.
“Wilberforce lost every vote for 17 years before the slave trade was eventually abolished. It took 10 years after the lynching of Emmett Till in 1955 for the Civil Rights movement of the ‘60s to coalesce. Note my prediction: The next generation of Southern Baptists will remove the restriction on women one day, because truth eventually triumphs over tradition.”
Rick Warren 2023
Did you catch it? He thinks he is leading a movement to unshackle women from the confines of their biblical role, and having female pastors is historically equivalent to freeing slaves and fighting racism. He’s his own hype man, and people are eating it up with a spoon!
Saddleback could easily leave the SBC and move forward with little to no negative effects, but Warren seems determined to cause division. Will this lead to a split? Will he start his own denomination? Is the SBC going to take back the disfellowship and continue to allow churches to ordain female pastors? I have no idea, but what I do know is that for a man so happy to beat on the unity drum, he sure is being divisive.
Isn’t Removing Rick Warren And Saddleback Church Bad For The SBC?
Some Southern Baptists are very concerned with disfellowshipping Warren and Saddleback Church. Why?
1. It looks bad.
Some folks are concerned that separating from other Christians is a bad look. Unity, unity, unity! We can’t stand united with everyone who claims to be a Christian, especially when they ignore the truths of the Bible they don’t like. And the Bible is not unclear on the subject of female pastors. I don’t care how many angry women screech at the top of their lungs that the Church is misogynistic. Read the Bible, and the pastoral instructions are clear. That’s biblical gender roles, not misogyny.
Christian, stand strong in Him and don’t be bullied into silence when you sin in the Church. That would look bad.
2. Big churches have big money.
Without Rick Warren’s money, the SBC is bound to take a financial hit. If the SBC follows through and removes all churches with female pastors, then the hit might be quite damaging. Good. The Southern Baptist Convention needs to take its lumps. They let this narcissist do whatever he wanted because he brought in members, money, and popularity. Now it’s time to pay the bill, SBC.
And really, for churches that desire to exist as independent bodies, do they really need such a bloated convention? As the years go on, the SBC looks more like a denomination with overseeing bishops, cardinals, etc. who manage how the denomination functions. Perhaps it’s time to do some weeding in the SBC and get back to basics.
3. Saddleback Church and Rick Warren are the most visible entities of the SBC.
The SBC is already losing members left and right. Publicly disfellowshipping its most well-known pastor and church could make the SBC look like the bad guy in this situation. In fact, I feel certain if Warren’s appeal fails, the SBC will get a lot of bad press.
The negative commentary is inevitable, but believers shouldn’t care what anyone but God thinks (Galatians 1:10). Removing Saddleback Church and Warren is the obedient move. This is a public rebuke of a pastor and church that is habitually unteachable and unrepentant. Why own up to your missteps when you can double-down and list off your successes?
*This was posted after Saddleback Church was disfellowshipped. For the record, it has since been taken down after there was abundant criticism about Warren’s bragging after being disciplined.
Let this be visible, Church. Show the world that fame, money, and followers don’t make you more spiritual or guarantee you are always correct on biblical matters. And let the world see that we stand by what we believe and don’t turn a blind eye for personal gain and to “keep the peace.”
4. Slippery Slope
I saw some comments somewhere addressing the possibility that the SBC would have to start disfellowshipping churches with pastors who are adulterers, abusers, or drunks, too. Can you imagine?! That would be so awesome!
Churches are responsible for holding their pastors accountable. When a church has the independence and freedom to call a pastor, then they have the same independence and freedom to vote him out if he disqualifies himself for the role of pastor. A church that won’t hold the pastor accountable and address his sin is in sin, as well, because it is the church’s job to address the issue. Rick Warren’s church members love him and blindly defend him. So, yes, the church, not just Warren, should be disfellowshipped.
The same can be said for churches with pastors committing any disqualifying behaviors. I hope that churches associated with the SBC and others, too, require their pastors to be biblically qualified. Then, we might have fewer Steven Furticks, Mark Driscolls, and Carl Lentzes.
Final Thought
Rick Warren is a cautionary tale for the Church. Because of his success, the SBC elevated him to an untouchable status. In fact, they put themselves in a position to depend on him. I feel for the many Southern Baptists caught in this turmoil. They only want to serve the Lord and show others Jesus. Some of them have been Southern Baptists since childhood. They don’t want to give up on the SBC, but Rick Warren might be forcing their hand.
When we build a pastor up to celebrity status, we risk losing him to the temptations of fame. A great example is found in Premier Christianity. Warren said, “God has not called me to save America, God has called me to save Americans – and Canadians and Mexicans and everybody…” Remember, only God saves. Rick Warren has forgotten his place and taken the liberty to change God’s Word as He sees fit.
The battle is on for the SBC. You might not be Southern Baptist, but this ordeal impacts you, too. The SBC is the largest Christian denomination in America, and it is poised to vote on whether or not God’s Word is true. And the whole world is watching.
Tell me what you think of this mess? Is Rick Warren right, or has he gone too far?
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