Women Pastors Won

You are exceptional because God made you that way. See, God formed you, and he fashioned you, and he says you are exceptional.

Waiting on My Miracle

The title of my message is Waiting on My Miracle.

Are we going to keep bickering over secondary issues? Are we going to keep the main thing the main thing?

We'll see what happens in Anaheim. It's interesting being an LA boy, born and raised in Los Angeles and going back to my old stomping grounds to be a part of this moment.

The Southern Baptist Convention can probably answer Matt Walsh's question. What is a woman? At least, I really, really hope so. But apparently the question, what is a pastor, is a completely different ballgame.

The 2022 SBC Annual Meeting and the Question of Women Pastors

This is the story of the insanity of the 2022 SBC annual meeting. But first, we need to rewind to the year 2000. This year was the culmination of the conservative resurgence of the SBC, the year when the convention's confession, the Baptist faith and message, was revised to fight against growing liberalism in the SBC.

Al Mohler was a key part of this conservative resurgence, and one particular statement in the revised Baptist faith and message is, 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 statement in the Baptist faith and message is clearly complementarian. Keep this statement in mind as we fast forward to 2019. In April 2019, in response to Vicki Courtney tweeting, yours truly is preaching three services at a SB church on Mother's Day, but shh.

Beth Moore, still a part of the SBC, replied, I'm doing a Mother's Day too. Vicki, let's please don't tell anyone this. Clearly, these women know what they are doing contradicts the confession of the denomination they belong to, but they are intentionally rebelling against it.

Soon after this, Russell Moore, head of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, in a panel discussion with Beth Moore, So what I'll say is this, a Southern Baptist convention that doesn't have a place for Beth Moore doesn't have a place for a lot of us.

Fast forward now to 2021. Beth Moore announces that she is no longer a Southern Baptist and she tweets, let me be blunt, when you functionally treat complementarianism, a doctrine of man, as if it belongs among the matters of first importance, yeah, as a litmus test for where one stands on inerrancy and authority of scripture.

You are the ones who have misused scripture. You went too far. In addition to this, Saddleback Church, founded by Rick Warren, which is part of the SBC, ordains three women as pastors in direct violation of the Baptist faith and message.

In addition to this, at the 2021 SBC annual meeting, Ed Litton is elected president of the SBC, who has co-preached a sermon with his wife.

And the third feature that reveals from that of a servant heart is the ability to forgive without lingering anger.

Another violation of the Baptist faith and message. And now fast forward to the 2022 SBC annual meeting. The credentials committee makes its decision on whether to remove Saddleback Church from the SBC over its blatant violation of the Baptist faith and message.

During the 2021 SBC annual meeting in Nashville, Tennessee, a motion concerning the relationship of Saddleback Church was referred to our committee for consideration. Based on the information available to us currently, including direct communication with Pastor Rick Warren, we have concluded that we are not yet prepared to make a recommendation regarding Saddleback Church, recognizing that there are differing opinions regarding the intent of the office of pastor as stated in the Baptist faith and message 2000.

We feel it is very important for you to know that it is the unanimous opinion of the credentials committee that the majority of Southern Baptist hold to the belief that the function of lead pastor, elder, bishop, overseer is limited to men as qualified by scripture and that this was the intended definition of office of pastor as stated in article six of the Baptist faith and message 2000.

However, the credentials committee has found little information evidencing the convention's belief regarding the use of the title of pastor for staff positions with differing responsibilities and authority than that of lead pastor.

For this reason, the credentials committee moves that the following recommendation be adopted. The credentials committee recommends that the Southern Baptist convention form a study committee, the members of which shall be appointed by the president to report to the Southern Baptist convention annual meeting a recommendation to provide clarity regarding the office of pastor as stated in the Baptist faith and message article six, the church.

If you like this video, subscribe to win a handcrafted leather Bible and help reach more people with the truth. Incredible, the committee needs another year to study the question, what is a pastor? Al Mohler, who was a key part of the original conservative resurgence had this to say about the committee's decision concerning Saddleback Church.

My concern is as a churchman, a theologian and someone who loves this convention as I know everyone in this room does. If we eventually have to form a study committee over every word in our confession of faith, then we're doomed and we're no longer a confessional people.

This is a confessional denomination. We say what we believe in specific words that are the Baptist faith and message. The moment we start to, of necessity, have study committees to decide what the words mean, the words mean what Southern Baptist said in the year 2000.

At that time, the word pastor was used by the committee and adopted by the convention because we were told that is the most easily understood word among Southern Baptist for pastoral teaching leadership.

I have to hope we still have that much clarity and that churches that use the word pastor mean it.

Rick Warren's Accomplishments and His Appeal to Focus on the Gospel

Rick Warren himself is invited to speak at this SBC annual meeting and he basically makes two points. First, he lists off all his amazing accomplishments.

The Bible says Jesus spoke not a word unto them when Pilate accused him of all kinds of things. I love Southern Baptist. I am a fourth generation Southern Baptist pastor and I had preached over 120 harvest crusades before I was 20.

We baptized 56 ,631 new believers and as a Southern Baptist church sent 26 ,869 members overseas to 197 nations. 78 ,157 members of our church signed our membership covenant after taking a four hour membership class.

9 ,173 home Bible studies that I already mentioned. We planted 90 in Orange County alone and literally thousands around the world. I've had the privilege for 43 years of training 1 .1 million pastors.

That, sorry friends, that's more than all the seminaries put together. I owe you all so much. So I sincerely say thank you Southern Baptist.

For shaping my life. Massive applause for Rick Warren's accomplishments. Nevermind that much of Warren's success is the result of de-emphasizing the depth of our sin against a holy God and emphasizing all that God can do for you which leads to an enormous amount of self-deception about one's true spiritual state.

That's the gospel presentation and the purpose driven life or the excuse for a gospel presentation in the purpose driven life. No repentance, no gospel, no sin, no wrath of God, no nothing. Just believe.

God loves you. He made you for a purpose. Jesus died for you.

That's it, really? Just like that? And second, Warren says that we need to focus on the gospel and saving souls,.

Not about secondary issues. Are we gonna keep bickering over secondary issues? Are we gonna keep the main thing the main thing?

But what scripture clearly teaches is not at all a secondary or unimportant issue. It directly related to our view of the inerrancy and sufficiency of scripture and it directly relates to the illustration of the gospel itself.

Now what I'm doing is marring the picture of the relationship between Christ and his church and the word of God is being dishonored, being defamed. And we can't have that.

The SBC Rejects Biblically Faithful Leadership

Also, at this annual meeting, Votie Bauckham lost the nomination for president of the SBC Pastors Conference and Tom Ascol lost the nomination for president of the SBC. I don't know or have anything against the men who won these elections.

One thing is certain, the SBC has rejected two of the most solidly biblical men for office and has refused to stand firm upon what its very own confession clearly states about women pastors.