Rick Warren endorses female pastors as Southern Baptist Convention expels his church

Popular American preacher and author of the best-selling “Purpose-Driven Life”, Rick Warren, has publicly apologized to female Christians for not recognizing them as qualified to be pastors.

Last year, Warren’s church, Saddleback Church, was disfellowshipped from the renowned Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) for declaring his support for and ordaining female pastors after 50 years of preaching against their inability to assume pastoral office.

In a tweet on Saturday, Warren apologized for sidelining women in the work of pastoral ministry.

“My biggest regret in 53 years of ministry is that I didn’t do my own personal exegesis sooner on the four passages used to restrict women. Shame on me,” he said.

After Warren consecrated many women as pastors, the Southern Baptist Convention expelled Saddleback, one of its largest churches, this year. Officials from the SBC determined that Saddleback had violated the SBC’s most current declaration of faith.

Scripture teaches, according to a resolution passed by the SBC in 1984, that “women are not in public worship to assume a role of authority over men.”

The SBC made an amendment to the Faith and Message statement in 1998 to add that a woman should “submit herself graciously” to her husband’s leadership, much as “the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.”

In an amendment to the Faith and Message made in 2000, it was stated that “the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

In the meantime, Warren has resisted the SBC’s decision to expel his 57, 000-member church by defending women pastors from the Bible and criticizing the SBC.

Warren will meet with SBC delegates on Tuesday at their annual convention to present his argument.