Subscribe to Receive the Daily Report

Saturday, June 24th, 2023

Female Christian leaders reflect on the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to remove women-led churches

Author:     Leah Asmelash
Source:     CNN
Publication Date:     Wed June 21, 2023 | 12:28 PM EDT
 Link: Female Christian leaders reflect on the Southern Baptist Convention’s decision to remove women-led churches
Stephan:  

Christianity is having a major problem in both Europe and North America because college educated people, particularly, are walking away from church affiliation because in the second decade of the 21st century for this cohort the belief and practice of Christian denominations that women are existentially second class and cannot become priests or pastors is just not acceptable.

Baptist Pastor Rev. Linda Barnes Popham speaks out after her church was expelled because it’s led by a woman Credit:CNN

The Southern Baptist Convention — the largest Protestant Christian denomination in the country — voted last week at its annual meeting to uphold the expulsion of two churches led by women pastors: Fern Creek in Louisville, Kentucky, which has had Rev. Linda Barnes Popham as its pastor since 1993, and Saddleback Church, a major southern California congregation with more than a dozen campuses founded by pastor and “The Purpose Driven Life” author Rick Warren.

That vote alone prompted questions from some Christian women, both inside and outside the SBC. But then, the denomination also moved to expand an amendment to its constitution completely restricting all pastoral and elder roles only to men. Previously, only the role of pastor was limited to men, according to the denomination’s constitution.

Though the controversial amendment would require a second vote next year before becoming official, it could affect even more churches and female leaders within the SBC.

The move to expel […]

Read the Full Article