KANSAS CITY — BY JOSEPH COTTLE
Matthew Barrett, a prominent author and key thought leader in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), announced in a recent Substack post that he is leaving the denomination to join the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). Barrett joins former prominent SBC leader and teacher Beth Moore who left the SBC in 2021.
Barrett indicated that the SBC’s refusal to include the Nicene Creed in the Baptist Faith and Message forced his hand. “When the resolution was presented before the Executive Committee…the committee officially rejected the creed’s inclusion. Regardless the reason, I cannot stay in a denomination where the Nicene Creed has been officially rejected from inclusion and remains blatantly absent,” Barrett wrote.
His departure follows other key departures from the denomination, including Rick Warren and Saddleback Church who separated from the SBC over disagreements about women in leadership. The denomination has been plagued by infighting and partisanship over political and cultural issues, many of which remain unresolved.
Barrett explained further in his post, “Some will assume I am becoming Anglican because I don’t want to be Southern Baptist. But that’s only half the story. In the rage of the storm the Lord took me to a quiet nook deep in the cleft of a rock where clarity waited along with the peace of God. There I met Anglicanism as if for the first time. There I found the church. And she was beautiful indeed.”
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) reported unprecedented growth in membership and attendance according to documents released at the church’s Provincial Council in June. “We’ve grown in every category that we track,” said Dan Hassler, director of ACNA administration and operations. “We are at highest attendance and membership of all time.”
Barrett is also ending his tenure and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary to join the faculty at Trinity Anglican Seminary.
