This potential removal provided the backdrop for Warren’s speech. Warren’s massive Southern California megachurch, Saddleback Church, has been under scrutiny for installing female pastors, a move that may result in the church being disfellowshipped by the SBC. These two messages represented two different, competing visions of ministry and the local church. I have in mind Rick Warren’s brief address Tuesday from the floor of the convention and Juan Sanchez’ convention sermon Wednesday. But for those paying close attention during the Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning sessions, another conflict of visions was revealed, one that I would argue is far more spiritually significant. Of course, many were fixated on the presidential election, which seemed to represent a clash of two conflicting visions of what the SBC is and ought to be. Something like this occurred at the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Anaheim last week.
The curtain is pulled back, and the heart of a matter is exposed. In just a few brief moments, a whole world of assumptions and beliefs is laid bare. Every once in a while, you witness something that captures in a single snapshot an entire way of thinking.
