North Point Community Church Pastor Andy Stanley criticized the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) decision to eliminate Saddleback Church. Rick WarrenShe is expected to be expelled from the denomination in 2023 for barring female pastors.
“His denomination expelled him from the denomination last year. Anything immoral? No. Anything illegal? No. Anything to do with money? No. Anything to do with addiction? No. Nothing glamorous like that,” Stanley said in a Sunday interview.Thank you for breaking it.”
“He was pushed out because he took the bold step of ordaining three female staff members who were working as pastors,” Stanley continued.
At the SBC’s 2023 annual meeting in New Orleans, Warren, Saddleback Church’s founder and former senior pastor, pleaded with SBC emissaries not to remove Saddleback from the denomination. Church LeadersHe was appealing a ruling by the SBC Executive Committee that said Saddleback Church did not maintain a “friendly and cooperative relationship” with the SBC after ordaining three women to the clergy in 2021.
Stanley argued Sunday that Warren ordained the women to give them the legal benefits he would receive as a pastor.
“They’re doing the same job as any other male pastor,” Stanley continued, which made Warren think, “Why on earth aren’t they pastors? They’re pastors.”
“They weren’t going out to lead the church,” Stanley added. “They were working on his staff.”
“It doesn’t get any more insider-focused than this.”
“Evangelical leaders are putting politics before evangelism, and their congregations are swallowing that and criticizing their political views,” Stanley said.
Stanley added: “They are mixing Old Testament terminology and stories with their own politics and imposing them on the message and person of Jesus. This is totally sick and they are putting politics over mission.”
Stanley ended his sermon by criticizing church leaders and Christian figures who have said that people who are Democrats or vote Democratic are not “true Christians.”
That’s “absolutely absurd,” Stanley said. “For these church leaders to demonize Democrats is basically going against one of the core teachings of Jesus… Instead of loving your enemies, they’re demonizing them.”
SBC President Clint Pressley and Boyce College professor Denny Burke responded to Stanley’s comments on social media.
“Andy Stanley claims the SBC removed Saddleback because people put politics before mission,” Burke said. I have written“He calls our behavior ‘sick.'”
“He’s totally wrong. We did it because we put Scripture above pragmatism. That’s called faithfulness.”
Andy Stanley claims the SBC dropped Saddleback Church because people put politics before mission. He calls our behavior “sick.”
He is totally wrong. We did that because we put Scripture above pragmatism. That’s called faithfulness.
— Denny Burk (@DennyBurk) July 2, 2024
In his post, Presley wrote“That’s called faithfulness.”
It’s called faithfulness. https://t.co/YFaPrLrgbg
— Clint Presley (@pastorclint) July 2, 2024
Photo credit: ©YouTube/NorthPoint Community Church
