Rick Warren has now changed his position on women holding authority over men. Wait until you see what he based it on...

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I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. - 1Timothy 2:12-14 (ESV)

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This subject just never seems to go away. That is because every two months or so, someone in Christian "leadership" comes out in favor of female preaching and teaching over men in the church. I have heard all of the arguments and they do not supersede the key verses for today, which are directive and explicit. There is no antagonist position to these verses. They are that clear. The best people can do is argue cultural arguments, which ironically is what sinners do today to pretend the bible doesn't say what it does. Or they bash Paul, completely forgetting that we believe in divine inspiration, which means God wrote these verses. Now we can add Rick Warren to the list of false teachers who dismiss the key verses in favor of their own carnal desires. The link above addresses Warren's conversion to this new position, as he exits active leadership at Saddleback Church. Let us reason once more together.

Three years ago, former Saddleback Church pastor and founder Rick Warren found himself in the unenviable position of repenting for a stance concerning the church he had held for many, many years. Since founding Saddleback Church in California in 1980, Warren held the widespread belief that women should be allowed to have authority within the body of Christ and to preach the gospel. It's something he simply took for granted. But in 2020, when the COVID pandemic hit, Warren, who retired from his position at Saddleback last year, began "reading every book I could find on the Great Commission and on church history." On a recent podcast interview with former Southern Baptist Church Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Russell Moore, Warren said he read over 200 books on the subject and that of church missions, and he began to question his own steadfast beliefs on whether or not women belonged in the pulpit or in places of authority. The issue became especially volatile last month when the Southern Baptist Convention expelled Saddleback from the SBC over its decision to hire a female pastor. When Warren retired, Andy Wood and his wife, Stacie, took over the duties as lead pastors." - Charisma News

True to form, Rick Warren likes to throw around "Christianese" lingo without realizing what he is actually saying. In order to make this carnal decision appear pious, Warren invokes the term repentance. This has a very specific biblical definition. It is the acknowledgment and turning from sin. So, the position Rick Warren is staking out here is that it is a sin to forbid women from holding positions of authority. Warren even admits here that this position is held by a widespread amount of people. All of them now are called sinners by Rick Warren. What is worse, when reading the key verses today, Rick Warren calls the Apostle Paul a false teacher and in doing so calls God a liar. And why? Based on what did Rick Warren change a core doctrine he had held for decades? Books. Specifically, books other than the bible. What a shock. Beloved, in these days of rapid information, one can find affirmation for any opinion with a single keystroke. The bible however does not have multiple opinions. The bible does not change. Warren gives away the real reason here by admitting this only become a problem when his replacement at retirement came as a married package.

We see this phenomenon play out across Christendom today. One does not marry into becoming a pastor. Yes, I am sure the wife plays a crucial role for the husband, as the bible lays out but that does not make her suddenly his equal when it comes to the calling. In most instances this is just so there can be two salaries drawn from the local church with the pastor and the pastor's wife serving in some relegated capacity such as children's church. Nepotism is a conversation for a different day however. This common occurrence also blows up to where the wife serves in ministerial leadership roles over men, teaching roles over men, as well as direct preaching to the flock. I get the pro-arguments. I know women who can preach the paint off the walls. Ability does not equal calling. I know often it is hard to find men willing to stand in the gap and yes, I know what century we are living in. These are all carnal arguments that cannot change the key verses for today. It must have been a tough spot for Warren to realize that his replacement followed one norm of modern churchianity that he did not! Instead of teaching them and insisting on biblical accuracy, he chose to read a bunch of books to change the biblical opinion he held. Truly sad.

"Because Stacie Wood's role was that of a "teaching pastor," the church was found to not be in friendly cooperation with the necessary credentials under the Southern Baptist Convention, as reported by Baptist Press. Warren told Moore that his study of the Great Commission "caused me to change my view about women. I came upon three different Scriptures. We like to call ourselves Great Commission Baptists, and we claim that we believe the Great Commission is for everybody, both men and women are to fulfill the Great Commission. But not really." Warren cited Matthew 28:19-20, when Jesus told his disciples, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. "There are four verbs in the Great Commission: 'go,' 'make disciples,' 'baptize' and 'teach," Warren said. "Women are to go. Women are to make disciples. Women are to baptize and woman are to teach, not just men. This is one of the reasons why Saddleback Church has baptized more people than any church in American history"57,000 baptisms in 43 years. Anybody can baptize anybody that they led to Christ." Warren said it was Jesus who authorized women to teach. "Jesus said 'all authority is given to Me, therefore baptize.' If you have a problem with the Great Commission, you have a problem with Jesus. I had to repent when I took a hard look at the Great Commission. I had to say it's not just for ordained me, it's for everybody." - Charisma News

I do not have a problem with the Great Commission Rick. I have a problem with heretics like you butchering it for your own carnal lusts. You see, what Rick Warren is doing here is what I call theological sleight of hand. We are not talking about the Great Commission. We are talking about women serving in authoritative positions over men within church structure. Let me spell it out for you:

Women are to "go"

Women are to Make disciples

Women are to baptize

Woman are to teach

Women are NOT to hold positions of authority over men within the organized church system

Wait a minute preacher, what do you mean teach? Ahh, therein lies the rub. Rick conveniently leaves off the context of what Jesus was speaking about - "teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you." Teaching who? THEM. Well, who is them? In this context it is obviously speaking about the people you have baptized. Jesus is not speaking about widespread teaching ministries within the organized church structure. He is speaking about individual discipleship outside of the church structure. We know this because the first command is Go! The charge of making disciples is of all nations! To use the Great Commission to dismiss the clear directive scriptures found in the key verses is hermeneutically criminal.

"A passage in Acts 2 also helped Warren change his thinking: "The second thing that changed my mind was the day of Pentecost," Warren said. "A few things happened that day. We know women were in the Upper Room. We know women were filled with the Holy Spirit. We know that women were preaching in languages other people couldn't understand."' - Rick Warren

Once again, apples and oranges from the master of biblical manipulation. I agree women were probably in the Upper Room. I agree they were probably filled with the Holy Ghost because there is no prohibition against that! They were NOT however preaching in other languages. Yes, the spirit enabled supernatural tongues so everyone heard them in their own native tongue but the only thing they were telling them according to the scriptures were the "mighty works of God." Testifying yes, preaching, no. How can we be sure? Because Peter then goes and preaches the first sermon of the church! Pentecost was a fantastic day in our faith but it still occurred decades before God would write the key verses, where He quite clearly prohibits women from teaching with authority over men in His church.

"A third verse of evidence for women in church authority came in John 20:17, when Jesus told Mary Magdalene to tell the disciples about His resurrection, and that Jesus "chose her to be the first preacher of the gospel." Warren said that during his studies, he looked at more than 300 commentaries on those verses and came to the conclusion that "everyone gets to preach and everyone gets to prophesy." "The people who don't like that ignore those verses," Warren said. "John MacArthur doesn't' even cover that verse, he just skips over it. Jesus told a woman to deliver the message to men." Indeed, Warren now supports women becoming pastors." - Charisma News

This is a common refrain from the pro-preaching crowd for women and it remains pathetic and paper-thin. The women went to the tomb first because they were responsible for preparing the body, not because God was planning to make a grand theological statement about women in ministry. I do not ignore the verses, but I also do not use them and twist them out of context to fit a preferred narrative. Once again, the deliverance of a message is not the same as allowing women to teach in authority over men within the church structure. It is not even close. It is almost laughable. What does this story have to do with church structure? Nothing. What does it even have to do with preaching and teaching? Absolutely nothing. I am sure you can find plenty of books that present this as absolute proof that women should preach and teach with authority over men, but the bible is not one of them. Rick Warren found a bunch of unbiblical books and he changed his belief he held for decades. All to avoid confronting his replacement at Saddleback Church. Mercifully this article concludes:

'"I have to say with humility, it doesn't bother me if you disagree with me," Warren says. "For 2,000 years, the church has debated the role of women in culture. "If I'm wrong, I'll say I'm wrong. But it's just everyone's interpretation of Scripture."' - Charisma News

He started with sleight of hand and so he concludes with one. This is not a debate about the role of women in culture and he knows it. That is why there is no humility in his position. He does not care if people disagree with him and in the same sentence declares he is speaking with humility! He then tries to write the whole thing off! You are a teacher, allegedly teaching the children of God and you conclude if you are wrong oh well, you'll just admit it then. There is only one interpretation of scripture that is the correct one. You are either right or wrong. God does not operate in shades of gray. The key verses cannot be clearer beloved. God does not permit! He even tells us why! Because the woman was the one deceived. Just like Rick Warren is the one deceived to this very day.

Reverend Anthony Wade - March 17, 2023

Authors Bio:
Credentialed Minister of the Gospel for the Assemblies of God. Owner and founder of 828 ministries. Vice President for Goodwill Industries. Always remember that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.