A Message To Rick Warren & the SBC

At it’s core, liberalism seeks to blur the lines of objective truth in the name of equality and unity. Proponents of liberal ideology use words as weapons, wielding them to play on the heart strings and consciences of anyone that would dare oppose their views. For example, no one wants to be labeled as oppressive. Yet the woke left champion themselves as defenders of equality and unity. Therefore, if anyone opposes their liberal views, then they are deemed an enemy of equality and unity. The only problem is that liberalism never clearly defines these words. Instead, they redefine them. 

All men and women were created equal by God. They are equal in value and dignity. But equality in kind does not equate to equality in function. God created men and women equal in value, but distinct in their gifts and abilities. Liberalism misuses words like equality to try and erase any differences at all between the sexes. In the eyes of liberalism, women should be able to do anything that men can do, and vice versa. And to believe otherwise is seen as unloving. Liberalism seeks to delete any of the distinctions in the God given roles of men and women. 

But along that line of thinking, as a man I cannot give birth. So according to their ideology, should I feel slighted in the equality department? Shouldn’t I be offended? Of course not! Why? Because God has created women differently than men with different, strengths, gifts, abilities, and responsibilities. Equal in value and dignity, different in function and responsibilities. 

If equality truly means to be the same in kind as well as function, then there would have been no reason for God to create two different sexes. He could have created one sex with the ability to do the job of both male and female. But that is not how the Lord created. God created two different sexes, male and female, with differing strengths and responsibilities so that their differences would serve to complement one another and glorify God.

It is one thing for the lost world to cast stones at the created order of God. But it is alarming when the church begins to adopt the language and ideals of the world. This is exactly what is happening within the Southern Baptist Convention. Our church pulled out of the convention last year after much prayer and many discussions due to the liberal trajectory of the SBC. However, I have no ill will or venom towards the SBC. I am continually praying that the Lord would lead the SBC back to right standing upon His Word. Even though I am no longer associated with the SBC, I am hopefully praying for them from afar.

Currently, the hot button topic that will be addressed within the convention is that of women preachers. Surprisingly, an overwhelming majority of churches and denominational leaders within the convention are siding with Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in his fight to rectify his church’s standing within the convention and receive the SBC’s vote in favor of Baptist churches allowing women preachers. This issue will be brought to the floor of this year’s convention. 

Although I am not at the convention, I have been watching some of the sessions online. SBC president Bart Barber just finished preaching a sermon on how Christians should not focus so much on our differences and instead, look to what is lovely and good. Barber cited the instructions of the Apostle Paul in commanding believers to look upon what is good. 

It was not long in the sermon before President Barber connected the dots in his sermon. Barber stated that within a convention with so many churches, there are bound to be theological differences. Barber stated that instead of focusing so intently on those differences, churches should rejoice in the good things that the convention was doing. Then Barber mentioned the numerous missionaries that the convention sends each year around the world. Barber is correct in part. As Christians, we are to dwell on what is good. But we are also called to identify false teachers and confront those that distort Biblical doctrine. The latter does not appear to be a concern of Rick Warren or the leaders of the SBC.

Sending missionaries for Christ Is a good thing indeed, so long as those missionaries are not compromising the scriptures. And when you have a convention that is blatantly compromising the Bible in so many areas, it’s not a far stretch to say that some of the missionaries sent by the SBC will also hold to many of the same areas of compromise.

The message seems to be consistent within the convention. “Look at the good we are doing, and just overlook our departures from scripture.” The SBC frequently rallies around the slogan, “We’re Better Together.” My questions is, what is the SBC unified around? Better together around what? Good works? Sending missionaries that may or may not be teaching sound doctrine? Or is their goal to be first and foremost unified around the scriptures? Better together sounds great on the surface. But a great many churches have failed to ask what the source of the SBC’s idea of unity is centered upon.

Rick Warren publicly stated that he is not asking all Southern Baptists to agree with his egalitarian views of women preachers. He wrote that he is merely asking that the SBC give their approval to any SBC church that chooses to allow a woman to preach. Warren is asking the SBC to have more of an open door policy pertaining to this doctrine. But by Warren asking the SBC to accept the idea of women preachers, he is shifting the convention even farther away from standing firmly upon God’s Word. And just like most liberals, he is declaring war upon the created order of God.

Rick Warren is a social justice warrior. He is a Marxist. This is not hearsay or slander. Rick is very open about what he believes, and his statements foot the bill. In a recent letter Warren sent to churches in the SBC, he wrote, “In 1995, at the 150th annual meeting in Atlanta, there was another historic, Christ-honoring moment when Southern Baptists corrected a grievous historic evil by adopting the “Resolution on Racial Reconciliation.”In that humble resolution, Southern Baptists lamented and repented of the sin of slavery, repudiated racism, apologized to our African American brothers and sisters, and humbly asked for the process of reconciliation to begin.”

Southern Baptist’s repented of the sin of slavery? I certainly believe that the era of slavery in our world was a grievous evil. All men, regardless of ethnicity, were and are created equal. We are all one family together in Christ. But I can assure you that I have nothing to repent of in regards to slavery. I have never enslaved anyone in my entire life. I stand firmly against the injustices of racism in our world. So if a person is not a racist, what do they have to apologize for? 

If we are called to repent of the past sins of our fathers regarding racism, then why stop there? Then shouldn’t we also repent of the lies, adultery, fornications, and other transgressions against God and man committed by former generations? What ever happened to the belief that in Christ, all past sins are washed away? If that is so, then why does Warren and so many other liberal pastors call for Christians to continually look backwards and repent, as well as call for believers to make reparations for sins that they had no part in? 

I mention this because it sheds light upon the intentions of Rick Warren. His desire to have women preachers is not due to a heart felt conviction to remain true to the scriptures. Rather, it is his olive branch to the world. He is just kicking his liberal agenda further down the field. Warren’s compromises mirror exactly what we are currently seeing play out in the world of politics and culture. Women can be men. Men can be women. And as the narrative goes, to say otherwise is narrow minded. Pastor Warren’s beef is not with Christians who point out the difference roles and responsibilities of men and women. In reality, Rick Warren’s problem is with the God who created and instilled those differences within the DNA of the sexes. 

Defenders of Rick Warren’s call for women pastors in the SBC have regularly pointed to this verse in scripture to uphold their views. They claim that the verse mentions daughters prophesying, or proclaiming God’s word. But context is key when interpreting scripture.

“And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams;” Acts 2:17.

Peter said this when he preached before thousands at Pentecost. This was not in a church setting. And Peter was not talking about church polity or church structure. He was speaking generally regarding the call of all believers to be a royal priesthood in proclaiming, or prophesying, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Woman can absolutely teach others about Jesus. They can absolutely prophesy and proclaim the Gospel of Christ. They just cannot assume this role preaching over men in a church setting.

In contrast to the verse in Acts, Paul says this in 1 Timothy;

“I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” 1 Timothy 2:12.

Remember, proper interpretation requires knowledge of the context of the scripture in question. 1 Timothy was written by the Apostle Paul to a young pastor named Timothy. And Paul wrote to Timothy so that he would know how to teach people to conduct themselves in the house of God, the church.

“if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth.” 1 Timothy 3:15.

1 Timothy is talking about the Lord’s ordering of the church in regards to headship, function, and roles. And just as in Paul’s Ephesians 5 instructions on the ordering of the marriage relationship where the man is commanded to be the spiritual head, representing Christ, the image and ordering of God is consistently the same in regards to the church. Women can teach other women and children in the church. But they are commanded not to exercise preaching authority over men in the church. Rather, in regards to preaching corporately over men and women, they are to remain quiet. Meaning they are not to teach. 

“And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ.” Ephesians 4:11-12.

Pastor Scott Aniol made a very helpful observation in one of his recent blogs. He noted that the things mentioned by Paul in Ephesians 4:11-12 are not spiritual gifts, as men like Rick Warren would say. Rather, they are offices in God’s church. There is an ordering to God’s household. And men and women in churches have many different and distinct gifts. They are equal in value, but God made them different in function within the church. The Lord’s church body is made up of many different working parts that complement one another.

“If all were a single member, where would the body be? As it is, there are many parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”1 Corinthians 12:19-20.

Pastor Rick Warren references great female missionaries like Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong as example of women preachers in hopes of defending his views. But Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong were missionaries, not pastors of churches. They were teaching and proclaiming Christ, but not from a pulpit. Rick Warren elevates his liberal views by manipulating words, scriptures, and even Christian history in an attempt to play upon the ignorance of some so that his liberal narrative will advance. 

Rick Warren has written an open letter to SBC pastors, pleading with them to consider allowing women to preach in baptist churches. I have a message for the SBC and Rick Warren.

Repent.

Stop looking to the world for direction and guidance and look to the scriptures. Remember that we are not better together unless we are anchored to an objective truth. Your ways are not higher than God’s. Brothers and sisters, pray earnestly for the SBC this week. Pray that they would be unified, not around worldly ideologies, but upon the unchangeable anchor of God’s Word.