NewSpring Church of Anderson, which meets on 13 campuses across the South Carolina, has withdrawn from the Southern Baptist Convention, according to a recent letter addressed to the SBC Executive Committee.
“After prayerful consideration, we’ve decided to withdraw from national SBC participation,” an announcement to church members signed by NewSpring’s leadership team states. “This decision is not about disagreement with the SBC’s core commitments but about preserving unity in the body of Christ. We don’t want our affiliation to distract from the Great Commission or cause division in churches preaching the gospel.”
Initial concerns
The SBC Credentials Committee contacted NewSpring last September regarding concerns that the church did not “closely identify” with the convention’s statement of faith, particularly in relation to the role of women in ministry. After reviewing the church leaderships’ responses, committee members deemed that NewSpring was in “friendly cooperation” with the SBC.
The Credentials Committee’s decision has remained a subject of controversy within the SBC, however, since the church has a woman serving as a teaching pastor.
“The committee needs to take another look at this one,” SBC President Clint Pressley posted on X in February. “Our statement of faith is clear about qualifications for a pastor.”
Then, Texas pastor Juan Sanchez issued an open letter in March urging the SBC to revisit an amendment during the June annual meeting that called for churches to appoint or employ “only men as any kind of pastor of elder as qualified by Scripture.” The amendment failed to receive the second of two required successive votes at last year’s meeting in Indianapolis. Sanchez’s letter was signed by six other pastors.
In the withdrawal letter sent to the SBC Executive Committee on March 26, lead pastor Brad Cooper said NewSpring believes it is “operating under the full authority of Scripture and in alignment with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000.”
The church affirms both men and women are gifted for ministry and leadership, Cooper said, adding, “We will continue to uphold the conviction that the role of elder/overseer (or lead pastor) is reserved for qualified men, as outlined in Titus 1:6 and 1 Timothy 3:1–2. In keeping with this biblical standard, NewSpring’s leadership team and campus pastors are and will remain qualified men.”
In answering the Credentials Committtee’s inquiries last fall, NewSpring’s leaders further explained, “While we do not believe that women can biblically fill the role of lead pastor/elder/overseer, we fully affirm the significant and vital role women play in ministry and leadership within the church. Women are encouraged to lead, preach, teach, and serve in various capacities under the authority of male elders.”
‘All things considered’
Representatives from both the local Baptist association and the state convention have met with NewSpring to discuss the matter.
“I have personally met and prayed with NewSpring Church’s elders and have spoken to lead pastor/elder Brad Cooper many times through this season,” said Tony Wolfe, executive director-treasurer of South Carolina Baptists. “I have been thankful for the way the church has responded both privately and publicly throughout the unfolding of this matter. They have exhibited a gracious spirit, a Christlike attitude, a prayerful deliberation, and a genuine kindness toward Southern Baptists even through the most challenging of conversations.”
“Because the state and national conventions are autonomous, and because our state organization and credentialing philosophy differs from the SBC, the church’s relationship with the state convention can only be determined by the messengers in annual session,” Wolfe said. “All things considered, NewSpring’s withdrawal from the SBC comes with a sense of spiritual and organizational heaviness to SCBaptists. Organized, strategic cooperation is the joy of Southern Baptists, so to end cooperation is always a solemn decision regardless the circumstances.”
The statement sent to church members, the withdrawal letter sent to the SBC Executive Committee, and NewSpring’s answers to questions from the SBC Credentials Committee are posted here.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Todd Deaton and originally published by South Carolina’s Baptist Courier.
