Thursday's Catch: 'Ouster of Saddleback and Fern Creek from SBC over women pastors is affirmed' And More

Ouster of Saddleback and Fern Creek from SBC over women pastors is affirmed
Saddleback, whose case was argued by founding pastor and best-selling author Rick Warren, had been ousted for naming a woman to its pastoral team.

See also: Messengers deem Saddleback, two other churches not in friendly cooperation with SBC and SBC upholds ousting of Saddleback Church over woman teaching pastor

Motion to amend BF&M passes, task forces approved
Messengers voted to amend the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, the statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention, to clarify the role of pastor Wednesday, June 14, at the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans. The convention also approved the appointment of a task force to study the impact of the Great Commission Resurgence recommendations adopted in 2009 and a task force to study how the Convention should regard churches “in friendly cooperation.”

SBC task force granted another year to combat sexual abuse, unveils online database prototype
The Southern Baptist Convention's Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force (ARITF) has been granted another year to fulfill mandates outlined by SBC messengers last year to help churches combat sexual abuse within their ranks.

Alabama megachurch votes to remain with UMC amid schism on homosexuality
As thousands of congregations have voted to leave The United Methodist Church since last year, one megachurch in Alabama has voted to stay with the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States.

Four ways to leave your denomination: How churches are disaffiliating from the UMC
To date, 5,550 of the United Methodist Church’s approximately 30,000 US churches have disaffiliated from the country’s second-largest Protestant denomination since 2019.

As Methodist Exits Hit 5,500, Some Churches Find Paths Blocked
The costs and complications of UMC disaffiliation are leaving many congregations stuck.

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America Doesn’t Have Enough Churches
How large would denominations be if they managed to grow at the same rate as the general population of the United States?

Reversing the Shrinking Share of Americans Who Regularly Attend Church
An increasing percentage of Americans say they never attend church, indicating a shift among those who previously attended services regularly.

‘Conscious Uncoupling’ from Church Is the New Temptation
Dones and “umms” are leaving the sanctuary or loitering outside the door. But when have they actually left?

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There are No Solo Heroes in the Kingdom of God
None of us are meant to travel our journey alone. Foundationally, discipleship is a community endeavor. You cannot disciple yourself. Literally, it takes two people!