Saddleback Church — Los Angeles Campus — Church Directory

Quick Facts

Pastor — the shepherd God holds accountable Andy Wood (lead) / Sam Stephens (campus community pastor)

Founded Verify

Denomination Southern Baptist (SBC) — disfellowshipped 2023

Service Times Sunday Worship — verify times on website

Men's Ministry No

Kids Ministry Yes

Website saddleback.com/locations/campus-page/los-angeles-campus/

10-Point Theological Scorecard

Christology

Is Jesus the only way? (John 14:6)

Saddleback's confessional drift is over gender and BF&M 2000 not over the person of Christ; cautious yellow pending closer review.

Caution

Scripture

Inerrancy affirmed? Final authority?

Disfellowship was over BF&M 2000 Article VI departure rather than a denial of inerrancy; cautious yellow.

Caution

Men's Discipleship

Intentional formation for men?

Female teaching pastor in the broadcast pulpit undermines the men-as-pastor pattern.

WARNING!

Soteriology

Faith alone? How is salvation presented?

Not directly named in the SBC Credentials Committee finding; cautious yellow.

Caution

Gender / Biblical Design

Biblical manhood and womanhood by God's design — patriarchal, complementarian, egalitarian, or affirming gender ideology?

Stacie Wood serves as 'teaching pastor' system-wide; this campus receives the broadcast rotation.

Stacie Wood functions as 'teaching pastor' across all Saddleback campuses. SBC Credentials Committee specifically cited 'a female teaching pastor functioning in the office of pastor' as the disfellowship trigger. BF&M 2000 Article VI reserves the office of pastor for men.

WARNING!

Leadership Structure

Male elders/pastors? Accountability?

Senior pastor Andy Wood and teaching pastor Stacie Wood are husband-and-wife; Stacie functions in the office of pastor, contrary to BF&M 2000.

WARNING!

Preaching Style

Expository or topical/therapeutic?

Stacie Wood preaches in the broadcast rotation received at this campus.

WARNING!

Mission Clarity

Great Commission central?

Cooperative Program participation severed at convention level June 2023; cautious yellow.

Caution

Cultural Alignment

DEI/CRT language? Social justice crowding out gospel?

After 2023 disfellowship, Saddleback doubled down on female pastoral leadership rather than remediate.

WARNING!

Accountability Structure

Denominational home, elder plurality, or external network — is the pastor answerable to anyone?

Disfellowshipped by the SBC Executive Committee February 21, 2023; appeal denied at the New Orleans annual meeting June 13, 2023; left CSBC October 2023.

WARNING!

Assessment

Saddleback Church Los Angeles is the Wilshire-corridor satellite of Saddleback Church (lead pastor Andy Wood, teaching pastor Stacie Wood). The campus receives the same broadcast preaching rotation as the Lake Forest mother campus. Saddleback was disfellowshipped from the SBC February 2023 over Stacie Wood functioning as 'teaching pastor'; appeal denied June 2023; church left CSBC October 2023. This record exists for drift documentation only.

#sbc#drift#female-pastor#disfellowshipped-2023#credentials-committee-referral#ca#los-angeles#needs-review#saddleback-satellite

MOOP Engagement Tracker

How this church was personally verified by the MOOP directory team:

✓ Researched church website

Sources & Evidence

Enrichment Notes

Address verified via saddleback.com Los Angeles campus page (5515 Wilshire Blvd). Campus pastor: Sam Stephens. Disfellowship history verified via Christianity Today and NPR coverage.

These are the URLs consulted to arrive at this church's scoring. Score-note claims are synthesized from homepage content, denominational directories, and public statements of faith at the time of review. Church websites change frequently; we're progressively adding Internet Archive snapshots to prevent link rot.

[1] Live source saddleback.com/locations/campus-page/los-angeles-campus/
[2] Live source christianitytoday.com/2023/02/saddleback-church-southern-…
[3] Live source npr.org/2023/06/14/1182141691/southern-baptist-convention…

Transparency note: MOOP ratings are researcher judgments about publicly available theological and ecclesial evidence. They are not infallible. If a church's public posture has changed since our review, or if we've mis-read evidence, tell us — we publish corrections.