Rick Warren, Feminism, and Saddleback's Rejection of Biblical Authority

In this case, it's the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) once again. Rick Warren's business and therapy oriented approach to ecclesiology made him rich and famous. He became a friend of African dictators, was invited into the circles of the Atlantic political order, and built himself a global brand. In recent years he's become little more than a huckster, selling a diet plan that claims to be rooted in Scripture but can only do so by means of wishful thinking and tortured hermeneutics. Warren isn't one to let that stop him. He knows his audience and their ignorance and they continue to fall for his scams.

And now he has capitulated to the aggressive feminist wing within Evangelicalism by 'ordaining' multiple women in connection to his 'church'.

Was he looking for another photo-op? Is there a book in the offing? Will he make the rounds and give interviews on major networks as he offers his 'wisdom' concerning the present zeitgeist within the SBC and the culture at large?

Regardless of what one thinks of Rick Warren, his move demonstrates that the only 'purpose' he's driven by is the need for fame and relevance. His celebrity star has slipped in recent years and this has certainly made headlines. Though it's ridiculous to suggest, he's actually considered a conservative by the mainstream culture and so this move is significant.

And it throws the SBC into another quandary. Will the denomination allow more congregations to flagrantly violate the Scripture? There have been various loopholes that have allowed denominational liberals to operate and women to openly preach. And there are even some conservatives who hide behind the manufactured ecclesiology that differentiates between associate/assistant pastors and a 'senior' pastor. It's a loophole that allows women into office as long as they avoid the 'senior' position. It's all absurd as the entire ecclesiastical structure is off-base and unscriptural.

But bit by bit, little by little, feminism is becoming normalised. And as conservatives rise up to challenge it they're finding that the average folk in the pews have already capitulated and find their opposition to be troubling and even offensive. And so because the SBC is like every other denomination – in other words a business first and foremost – it too will tread lightly. There's nothing they fear more than mass defections and lost revenue. With the SBC we're into the hundreds of millions of dollars and some figures top its annual intake at over a billion. That's quite a stumbling block for those who want to draw hard lines – lines that needed to be drawn decades ago.

Rick Warren is effectively a joke. Many of us knew that over twenty years ago. The question is, has the SBC as a whole become more or less the same?

See also:

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2016/09/rick-warrens-continued-drift.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2019/06/kagame-and-warren.html

https://pilgrimunderground.blogspot.com/2018/01/can-western-evangelicals-condemn.html

https://proto-protestantism.blogspot.com/2018/07/disquiet-in-southern-baptist-convention.html