“I’m not looking to engage in denominational battles. I’d really like to be a unifier of people – to help, love and support pastors in the SBC.”
On a recent Sunday morning, in the sanctuary of Saddleback Church, Lead Pastor Andy Wood opened with a shout-out to the congregation’s newest female teaching pastor – his wife Stacie Wood., author of the blockbuster bestseller “The Purpose Driven Life” and one of the most renowned figures in evangelical Christianity, who founded Saddleback in California’s Orange County nearly 43 years ago – before Wood was born. Today, it’s a multi-site ministry reaching about 40,000 people worldwide.
In 2021, Warren ordained three women as pastors, prompting the denomination to consider expelling the megachurch — the second largest in its fold. Warren made an emotional speech in June at thestanding by his ordination of women. He told delegates who debated the issue, “We have to decide if we will treat each other as allies or adversaries.”“The church should be a place where both men and women can exercise those spiritual gifts,” he said.
“Following some of the patterns at other megachurches like having multiple sites and embracing diversity are good steps,” he said. “The key here is to probably not make too many waves right away, but allow the people of Saddleback to know him as a human being.” During a recent 40-minute sermon about courage, Wood seamlessly wove in personal stories, Biblical tales and plenty of humor. He talked about his CrossFit workout with a former Marine. He told the emotional story of how a neighbor first introduced his family to church.
At 25, while leading Breakthrough Church, Wood wrote down his plan for a global church that would operate “across continents and metropolitan areas of the world” – cities like Singapore and Dubai. In the U.S., he envisions satellite campuses outside the Bible Belt – from New York and Boston to Seattle, Chicago, Washington and Miami. He sees that plan as a blueprint for Saddleback.
“When Echo took over, they made it clear there was no desire to do any of that,” Hough said, asserting that the merger destroyed what made his church special. He resigned from Echo in September 2020, citing an unhealthy work environment.