Earlier this week, pictures of Beth Moore serving the Eucharist at an Anglican church in Texas – which has become her new home after leaving the Southern Baptist Convention – surface, causing a social media uproar.
According to Church Leaders, the screenshots were taken from this past Sunday’s service at St. Timothy’s Church in Spring, Texas. The images show Moore dressed in a clerical gown, carrying a candle in the recessional, administering the Eucharist, carrying the cup of wine and receiving the Eucharist during the service.
Moore, the founder of Living Proof Ministries, departed from the Southern Baptist Convention in March of this year. In a series of tweets in October, she shared that God led her and her husband Keith to visit a small liturgical church in June.
According to blogger Elizabeth Prata, Moore and Keith became members of the church in September. Prata also noted that Keith was raised by “staunch Catholics,” and Moore has openly taught that Catholicism “is another denomination akin to Methodists and Baptists.”
The pictures of Moore were met with mixed responses from some SBC leaders.
“No, conservative Southern Baptists aren’t ‘mad’ Beth Moore went Anglican. We’re saying we were right all along. She’s an egalitarian mystic who never liked the Baptist statement of faith and rejects [the] sufficiency of Scripture. When the SBC was no longer making her money, she left,” Gabriel Hughes, associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Lindale, TX, wrote.
No, conservative Southern Baptists aren't "mad" Beth Moore went Anglican. We're saying we were right all along.
— Gabriel Hughes (@Pastor_Gabe) December 20, 2021
She's an egalitarian mystic who never liked the Baptist statement of faith and rejects sufficiency of Scripture. When the SBC was no longer making her money, she left.
“They say there is no drift; however, we will never know fully the impact Beth Moore has had on the majority of the women in our churches. Unfortunately, many credit her for their ‘strong’ faith,” SBC pastor Timothy Pigg of Fellowship Church and steering council member for the Conservative Baptist Network tweeted.
“I am concerned that Lifeway continues to have Beth Moore’s Bible Studies available to be purchased. How can she be considered a “trusted source,” he added.
I am concerned that @Lifeway continues to have Beth Moore’s Bible Studies available to be purchased. https://t.co/x0zgnDdl0F
— Timothy Pigg (@PiggTimothy) December 20, 2021
How can she be considered a “trusted source?”
Pastor and Baylor University professor Steve Benzer defended Moore and Lifeway against Pigg, writing, “Not sure I follow your reasoning here. If Anglicans are not welcome to be sold at Lifeway, then you can clear JI Packer from the shelves, as well. Beth is participating within the confines of an evangelical church which is, incidentally, complementarian.”
Not sure I follow your reasoning here. If Anglicans are not welcome to be sold at Lifeway, then you can clear JI Packer from the shelves, as well. Beth is participating within the confines of an evangelical church which is, incidentally, complementarian.
— Steve Bezner (@Bezner) December 20, 2021
Pastor and author Rev. Dr. Glenn Packiam also defended Moore, writing, “People, leave @BethMooreLPM alone. She left the only denomination she’s ever known and found light and beauty in the historicity and simplicity of the sacraments and the liturgy – and petty people come after her there too. The leaven of the Pharisees is in every tradition. God help us.”
People, leave @BethMooreLPM alone. She left the only denomination she’s ever known and found light & beauty in the historicity & simplicity of the sacraments & the liturgy— & petty people come after her there too. The leaven of the Pharisees is in every tradition. God help us.
— Rev. Dr. Glenn Packiam (@gpackiam) December 20, 2021
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Terry Wyatt/Stringer
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
