The vote to disfellowship Saddleback Church from the Southern Baptist Convention may have been the most surprising action by the SBC Executive Committee at their trustees meeting Feb. 20-21, but other news from the meeting may have considerable long-range implications, including spending half the EC’s $12 million reserve in a single year.
Six churches were removed from SBC membership after the EC determined they were “not in friendly cooperation” with the denomination. Five of the six dismissals were related to female pastor concerns. The churches are New Faith Mission Ministry in Griffin, Georgia; St. Timothy’s Christian Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland; Calvary Baptist Church in Jackson, Mississippi; Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky; and Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.
Saddleback ordained three women as pastors in 2021, prompting debate at the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim over the definition of pastor and its application men only in the Baptist Faith and Message (2000). Rick Warren, founder of the California megachurch who was planning his retirement, appeared at the convention and spoke from the floor. He defended the church’s ordination of the women and affirmed his love for the denomination. He also speculated that that would be his last convention.
He was right.
At the convention, the Credentials Committee brought a recommendation to dismiss Saddleback Church, second largest in the SBC with 23,000 in 12 locations. After an impassioned statement by Warren, the Committee withdrew its motion until a later study could be conducted on the definition of “pastor,” and whether women in ministry leadership who are not senior pastors could be called “pastor.”
In addition to the three women who were ordained, Stacie Wood, the wife of Warren’s successor, Andy Wood, holds the title “teaching pastor” and has been referred to as co-pastor of Saddleback.
EC Chairman Jared Wellman said the disaffiliations came because of “the churches continuing to have a female functioning in the office of pastor.”
The churches can appeal the decision at the June 2023 Annual Meeting in New Orleans, which would bring their membership to a vote by the messengers.
While Saddleback Church did not immediately respond, Warren said he received an outpouring of support on social media. Warren said he would respond directly to the denomination.
The sixth church that was dismissed, Freedom Church in Vero Beach, Florida, was charged with a “lack of intent to cooperate” in a sexual abuse allegation. The pastor, Richard Demsick, told the Tenneseean newspaper, “We are deeply saddened by the false allegations, which are slanderous….There are no sexual abuse allegations,” he said. “There have been false reports based on gossip.”
Big spending
EC trustees learned more than $6 million of the group’s investments were spent in 2022. During the previous February 2022 meeting, financial reports indicated the EC had $15 million in investments and a little under $3 million of those were designated as restricted so that left around $12.2 million available for use.
“The assets have been cut in half,” said EC member Monte Shinkle of Missouri. “We dropped $6 million this past year. We have $6 million left…it doesn’t look good.”
Mike Bianchi, interim chief financial officer, noted the EC received an unqualified opinion (which is good) on its 2022 audit report, but the auditors emphasized “the sexual abuse issues, the DOJ investigation and the deteriorating liability of the EC” as concerns.
The current pace is “unsustainable,” Bianchi said, noting options such as liquidating assets (including the EC building), changing financial arrangements, obtaining other financing, etc., were discussed with the auditors.
Trustees adopted a proposed 2023–24 SBC operating budget of $8,305,500 (roughly the same as the 2022–23 budget) and a proposed 2023–24 SBC CP allocation budget of $195,250,000 (down slightly from the 2022–23 budget of $196 million with percentages to entities such as IMB, NAMB, seminaries, etc., remaining steady).
A few decisions made throughout the day need more research for full understanding, The Baptist Paper reported, such as why the SBC’s chief parliamentarian for more than 35 years, Barry McCarty, will no longer be the parliamentarian.
A contract was approved Feb. 21 for vice parliamentarian Al Gage to step into the role of chief parliamentarian during the annual meeting in New Orleans in June, but the reasoning behind the change was not officially reported.
Abuser database announced
A first-ever ministry check “abuser” database will become a reality, reported Marshall Blalock, chair of the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force. Until now “there has been no cooperative mechanism to prevent abusers from going to place to place … so this is an unprecedented, significant moment,” he told the 86-member trustee panel.
The ministry check website will be administered by Faith-Based Solutions, a new division of GuidePost Solutions, the company that conducted the investigation into EC leadership handling of abuse claims in the denomination. The site will be a public record of “pastors, denominational workers, ministry employees and volunteers who have at any time been credibly accused of sexual abuse and who have been or are associated with a cooperating Southern Baptist church or entity,” said Blalock, noting the SBC Credentials Committee has approved the move.
–Reported by The Baptist Paper, with additional information from Baptist Press, Christian Post, and The Tennesseean