David Gushee & Path to Discernment on Homosexuality

Baptist ethicist and Associated Baptist Press editorial-writer David Gushee recently put out his third article in the past four months on homosexuality.

Gushee's first article was appropriately titled "On homosexuality, can we at least talk about it?"

Gushee stated his purpose for this series up front:

...to begin a dialogue in this column by simply calling for the rudiments of Christian love of neighbor to extend to the homosexual. And the place to begin is in the church -- that community of faith in which we have (reportedly) affirmed that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Gushee called for the following Christian commitments:

• -- The complete rejection of still-common forms of speech in which anti-homosexual slurs (“queer,” “fag”) are employed either in jest or in all seriousness
• -- The complete rejection of a heart attitude of hatred, loathing, and fear toward homosexuals
• -- The complete rejection of any form of bullying directed against homosexuals or those thought to be homosexuals
• -- The complete rejection of political demagoguery in which homosexuals are scapegoated for our nation's social ills and used as tools for partisan politics
• -- The complete rejection of casual, imprecise and erroneous factual claims about homosexuality in preaching, teaching or private speech, such as, “All homosexuals choose to be that way.”
• -- The complete recognition of the full dignity and humanity of the homosexual as a person made in God's image and sacred in God's sight
• -- The complete recognition that in any faith community of any size one will find persons wrestling with homosexuality, either in their own lives or the lives of people that they love
• -- The complete recognition that when Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, that includes especially our homosexual neighbors, because the more a group is hated, the more they need Christ's love through us

All good commitments. I can't tell you how many times I've "heard" hateful slur terms like "sodomite" used in a certain segment of the Baptist blogosphere...by pastors. But I digress...

Gushee's second article was titled "On homosexuality, whose narrative do we believe?"

Gushee concludes:

The deeper question is posed by the competing narratives presented above. Either homosexual behavior is by definition sinful, or it is not. If it is sinful by definition, then presumably it must be resisted like any other sin. If it is not sinful by definition, then the homosexuality issue is a liberation/justice struggle for a victimized group. Probably the right answer to this question will be very clear to everyone (that is, to 99% of all reasonable Christian human beings) in 100 years, as the proper positions on slavery and Nazism and civil rights and Apartheid are to modern-day Christians. But in real time, right now, it is tearing churches and denominations apart here and around the world.

Now, in his most recent article on homosexuality, The Path to Discernment on Homosexuality, Gushee writes:

I have sought to suggest in a handful of columns in recent months that a rethinking of the church's stance on homosexuality is needed. Reading in the scholarly literature, one sees that some very fine Christian minds are at work on this issue. Moving well beyond old clichés and prejudices, these scholars, many of them quite conservative both methodologically and theologically, are wrestling with the idea that Christians may need to revise centuries-old teaching about homosexuality. Some of these thinkers are concluding that in fact a revision is needed; others are not persuaded. It would be a significant ethical-doctrinal change, though such change is not unprecedented in Christian history (e.g., slavery, segregation, sexism, state killing in the name of Christ, etc.).

And Gushee concludes:

We need a careful, unhurried process of Christian discernment related to scriptural teachings, our theological understanding of homosexuality, and church practices in relation to homosexuals, undertaken by those who are committed unequivocally to every (other) dimension of the classic Christian sexual ethic -- in which sex belongs within marriage (lifetime, exclusive, covenant partnerships), marriage is for life, and the church is a disciplined countercultural community in which these norms are both taught and lived.

The question on the table would be whether Christian homosexuals who live according to these norms should be treated as faithful members of the Christian community.

Gushee promises to continue this much needed conversation in his future columns. If you haven't already, catch up on this important series. The new, nice layout at Associated Baptist Press now allows readers to leave comments. Check that out too.

Also, my theologian friend Michael Westmoreland-White has just completed a 17-part series on homosexuality over at his blog called Levellers. His must-read series is titled GLBT Persons in the Church: A Case for Full Inclusion.

Southern Baptists Called On To Reach Homosexuals

During the report of the Richard Land's Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, Southern Baptist Bob Stith, the national strategist for gender issues for the Southern Baptist Convention called on Southern Baptist pastors to "reach out to homosexuals."

Follow the Jesus pattern and show 'em some love, says Stith

Here's what Bob Stith actually said:

“We must become known as people of redemption and people who hold out hope and people who offer change...I want us to be driven [by] a passion to reach homosexuals for Christ and not merely driven by a passion to defeat the homosexual agenda...We’re not communicating to our people how they can walk alongside homosexuals and lead them to Christ...Our silence will be a death sentence for many people.”

And how did the ERLC of the Southern Baptist Convention "reach out to homosexuals" in the year 2008?

Well, the ERLC was one of the first religious organizations to vehemently oppose a bill that would have protected homosexuals under current hate crimes law.

If the Southern Baptist Convention was really interested in "reaching out to homosexuals," you'd think their own ERLC wouldn't be so quick to loudly oppose a piece of legislation designed persons who are often victimized by criminals on the basis of their sexuality or "lifestyle" as most SBCers say.

The folks at the ERLC consistently hide behind the argument that hate crimes legislation is a violation of the 14th Amendment's guarantee of equal protection under the law by creating a special protected status for a group of people. It seems consistency would demand that the ERLC should also argue that the protection of African-Americans under current hate crimes law is also a violation of the 14th amendment. But the ERLC won't make that argument. It's abundantly clear to any reasonable observer that the ERLC's issue is not with the 14th Amendment but instead with the fact that a piece of goverment legislation wants to protect a group of people dubbed as "sinners" - who rank near the top of the Southern Baptist hierarchy of "sinners."

If Southern Baptists like Bob Stith and the ERLC are actually interested in "reaching out to homosexuals," they would be well-served to first listen to the wise words of Baptist ethicist David Gushee (a former collaborator with Richard Land & the ERLC) and follow the Christian Commitments listed below:

-- The complete rejection of still-common forms of speech in which anti-homosexual slurs (�queer,� �fag�) are employed either in jest or in all seriousness

-- The complete rejection of a heart attitude of hatred, loathing, and fear toward homosexuals

-- The complete rejection of any form of bullying directed against homosexuals or those thought to be homosexuals

-- The complete rejection of political demagoguery in which homosexuals are scapegoated for our nation�s social ills and used as tools for partisan politics

-- The complete rejection of casual, imprecise and erroneous factual claims about homosexuality in preaching, teaching or private speech, such as, �All homosexuals choose to be that way.�

-- The complete recognition of the full dignity and humanity of the homosexual as a person made in God�s image and sacred in God�s sight

-- The complete recognition that in any faith community of any size one will find persons wrestling with homosexuality, either in their own lives or the lives of people that they love

-- The complete recognition that when Jesus calls us to love our neighbors, that includes especially our homosexual neighbors, because the more a group is hated, the more they need Christ�s love through us

There is more to be said. But this is at least a place to start.

ABP Lands Interview with John McCain's Pastor

Greg Warner of the Associated Baptist Press has landed an exclusive interivew with John McCain's pastor, Dan Yeary of North Phoenix Baptist Church in Phoenix, Arizona.

Here's a snippet:

PHOENIX (ABP) -- John McCain has a deep and personal Christian commitment despite his reluctance to speak publicly about it, according to the man the presumptive GOP presidential nominee claims as his pastor.

Dan Yeary, pastor of North Phoenix Baptist Church, described the Arizona senator and his wife, Cindy, as “very unobtrusive” people who don’t seek special attention when they are able to come to worship. “They come in the side door. They’re very pleasant. They talk to people. They’re very approachable.”........

Yeary has been reluctant to talk to the news media about the McCains or his relationship with them. He has turned down many media requests in order to protect his relationship with the family and their privacy. But he initiated an interview with Associated Baptist Press in an attempt to quell continued journalistic curiosity about McCain’s faith, saying he trusts the independent national news organization’s reputation for fairness.

I found this portion of the article quite interesting. Check it out:

Yeary, who has a reputation as a conciliator, carefully avoids hot-button religious issues that often dominate in politics. He said a recent article by the Reuters news agency that explored McCain’s faith mischaracterized the pastor’s position on homosexuality, making him sound like a “right-winger.”

“The reporter asked if I am accepting and affirming of homosexuality,” Yeary said. “I am accepting because we accept everyone. We accept all sinners. You’re a sinner, I’m a sinner. Are we accepting of their lifestyle? No, because it’s a biblical issue.”

The pastor is aware of a dozen or more gays who are members of North Phoenix Baptist. Yeary said he has told them they are welcome, but that he can’t “encourage their lifestyle.”

One can only wonder...will the same Southern Baptists who were hollering for Broadway Baptist Church of Fort Worth to be ousted from the SBC now holler for the 7,000 member North Phoenix to be ousted? After all, North Phoenix like Broadway has gay members.

The Broadway Baptist Church Controversy: Finale

The ongoing Controversy at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth has made its way from the world wide web and blogosphere into several secular newspapers.

First, an article titled Broadway Baptist group seeks ouster of pastor written by Max Baker appeared in the Forth Worth Star-Telegram.

Also, The Christian Post has an article titled, Baptist Conflict Intensifies with Call to Oust Pastor.

Today, the Dallas Morning-News printed an article authored by Sam Hodges titled Members of Fort Worth's Broadway Baptist Church call for pastor's firing. Here's a snippet:

Deacons of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth are recommending that an anniversary pictorial directory have no family photos, an effort to defuse a controversy over whether gay couples should be included.

But troubles for the moderate Baptist congregation are mounting, with some members calling for the firing of Senior Minister Brett Younger, saying he has mishandled the directory issue and led the church in too liberal a direction on homosexuality and theology.

And the conclusion:

Dr. Younger and the deacons had asked Broadway members not to debate the church's troubles in the press, and they have almost unanimously obliged. But the latest developments, including statements for and against Dr. Younger, have made their way onto Web sites and blogs.

More and more, church fights are playing out on the Internet, said Quentin Schultze, a professor of communication arts and sciences at Calvin College in Michigan.

"It tends to make it more difficult to come to a peaceful agreement," he said.

Finally, Ken Sury has a short column on the website of the Waco-Tribune. Here it is:

The religion blog on the Dallas Morning News has this entry about some members of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth calling for the dismissal of pastor Brett Younger over a pictorial directory.

Younger, a Baylor alum who previously pastored at Lake Shore Baptist Church, is scheduled to speak at Chapel at Baylor on Feb. 27. He also is the author of the book Who Moved My Pulpit? and writes ongoing columns for Baptists Today and the online editions of the Baptist Standard.

The two bloggers who took this Controversy public in the blogosphere have also weighed in:

How are we going to act? by The Whited Sepulchre (spouse of Broadway staffer)

The Battle for Broadway by J. Coleman Baker (Broadway member)

The Whited Sepulchre has decided to stop the chitter-chatter and stay silent on Broadway issues for the time being. J. Coleman Baker of ProgressiveBaptist.net is not taking that vow of silence.

He writes:

Yesterday, after reading The Whited Sepulchre’s statement that he would stop blogging about Broadway Baptist for a while, I was tempted to follow his lead. But then, I discovered that The Fort Worth Star-Telegram had printed an online article referencing my site. Then this morning there was this article in print and on the web. Needless to say, the terribly painful news about BBC is now out in the open, and I see no reason to stop blogging.

Those on the other side think that if we fire Younger, we will be on the path to being the historic, conservative church they want. That is not the case. If they succeed in firing Younger, we will still have all the same questions, conflicts, and problems that we currently face.

My hope, and the hope of a vast number of BBC members, is that rather than focusing on the pastor, we would begin to focus on the matter of direction and future. Let’s begin a process of determining what kind of church BBC will be. Let’s all agree to enter a process of dialouge and decision. Let’s listen to each other, pray with each other, and move forward in God’s hope.

And in the end, let’s agree to respect the decision of the majority of the church. And if we don’t like the kind of church Broadway comes out as on the other side, let us gracefully exit.

A couple of notes: J.C. Baker's reasoning behind his decision to continue blogging is weird to say the least. It was he who helped publicize the "terribly painful news about BBC." Once folks like Robert Saul took their complaints to the web and once folks like Baker and The White Sepulchre responded to those complaints in the blogosphere, it was inevitable that secular newspapers, Christian publications and other bloggers such as myself would report on that conflict.

The solution that the deacons reached sounds utterly ridiculous. No family photos? Will the infants and toddlers have to pose ALONE for the church directory as well? If photographed alone, I suspect some families will take up an entire page!

More pictures = more money for Olan Mills, I guess.

At least someone comes out on top in this Controversy.

Such an odd compromise is only a temporary solution to the bigger problems that Broadway obviously faces. Read J.C. Baker's post. I think he understand that. He writes that Broadway needs to, through dialogue and discussion, "begin the process of determining what kind of church BBC will be." Sounds like a wise guy. Calm discussion and honest dialogue are always preferred over fighting and bickering. And at least both sides of this controversy are committed to seeing Broadway remain a Baptist church. The last thing Baptist life needs is another historic church ashamed of actually being Baptist.

Please see: The 5-Part series on The Broadway Baptist Church Directory Controversy

Part 1: The Broadway Baptist Church Directory Controversy (11/16/07)
Part 2: Broadway Baptist Postpones Directory Decision (12/2/07)

Part 3: More Drama & Division @ Broadway Baptist Church (2/9/08)
Part 4: Follow Up On Recent Broadway Baptist Controversy (2/12/08)
Part 5: The Broadway Baptist Church Controversy: Finale (2/13/08)

The Broadway Baptist Church Directory Controversy

An interesting story coming out of Fort Worth concerning Broadway Baptist Church (BBC is the former home of Stephen Shoemaker of Myers Park in Charlotte):

Gay couples trigger debate at church

By MAX B. BAKER
Star-Telegram staff writer

FORT WORTH -- A new pictorial directory was supposed to be part of Broadway Baptist Church's 125th birthday celebration.

Established in 1882 near the infamous Hell's Half Acre, where gamblers and prostitutes once thrived, the church wanted to sing the praises of its missions and its members by publishing a book that included information about its programs and a directory featuring yearbook-style photographs of its members and families.

But since three gay couples asked to have their pictures included, Broadway Baptist has been involved in an increasingly divisive struggle over whether allowing the portraits to appear would be an endorsement of homosexuality by the congregation.

"Baptists are not quiet people. We're dealing with a difficult issue on which we have different opinions that we're not afraid to share," said the Rev. Brett Younger, the church's pastor. "We disagree, but we do so respectfully."

The church will vote in December on a proposal to allow gay members to appear in individual photos, but not as couples. The directory is scheduled to be distributed next year.

Church members have been reluctant to talk about the dispute. Seen as a moderate church within the Baptist denomination, Broadway has about 1,500 members, with about 600 attending Sunday services.

"I think we are a family trying to work out our problems," said Kathy Madeja, chairman of the board of deacons. "I think we are Baptists being Baptists. We are not the only church struggling with this issue." Read the rest here.

A blogger named Scott Jones who is familiar with BBC offers a few criticisms here

And a member of Broadway Baptist Church offers a few thoughts over at Jesus Politics.

Regardless of the wording used in any articles you've read on this subject, very few Broadway Baptist Church members seem to "ride the fence" on this issue.

We're a diverse bunch of people.

Many members are openly opposed to gay inclusion. Other members want to welcome them as they would any other Christians. (I honestly don't think that any gay couples were requesting to have their pictures taken "as a couple"....as I understand it, they merely showed up like any other family. And were surprised by the controversy.)

Cecil Sherman, an ex-Broadway pastor, once ended a North Carolina segregated worship service in the early 1960's WITHOUT the traditional invitation hymn. He let his church know that until the church was open to everybody, it shouldn't be open to anybody.

The church immediately called a business meeting, and voted to integrate the church.

Broadway now faces a similar issue.

So does my family.

We had an impromptu family business meeting last night, and decided that if our gay friends can't be in the church directory, we're not going to be in the church directory.

That's as far from the "fence" as we can get, and still be members.

P.S. - Ironically, Cecil Sherman preached the only anti-gay sermon I've ever heard....

Broadway Baptist Church is one of the most historic congregations in the Baptist General Convention of Texas. BBC was the home to John Claypool from 1971-1976, Welton Gaddy from 1977-1983 and Cecil Sherman from 1985 to 1982. Throughout the SBC Controversy, Sherman was one of the most outspoken voices on the moderate side. He helped form the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and became the CBF's first Executive-Director in 1992.

Another historical tidbit - William Douglas Hudgins pastored Broadway Baptist from 1936-1942. Hudgins was a main character in Charles Marsh's award-winning God's Long Summer where he hid behind certain Baptist doctrines to avoid taking a stand against the activities of the Ku Klux Klan.

Black Baptists and Gay Unions

The Washington Post has an interesting story about a rift over gay unions in an affirming African-American congregation in D.C.

The decision of co-pastors Dennis and Christine Wiley of Covenant Baptist Church to conduct the union ceremony of Robert Renix and Antonio Long has caused quite a ruckus. Some members have expressed their worries that Covenant Baptist was getting a reputation as a "gay church." Some estimate that perhaps 200 longtime members have left the church over the unions. However, the majority have chosen to stand firmly in support of their pastors.

Never in a "million years" did Robert Renix think he would find a Baptist church that would accept someone like him: a black Baptist gay man. Never mind one that would allow what happened one Saturday last month, when a tuxedo-clad Renix stood in front of the pulpit at Covenant Baptist Church in Anacostia, exchanging vows with his partner, Antonio Long.

It didn't turn out to be that simple, though.....

In the pews at the church's 10:45 a.m. service on Sundays, gay and transgender people sit among heterosexual families and elderly retirees.

Although the Wileys face opposition, they say they believe they are being called by God to preach acceptance of gays as part of the social justice agenda long embraced by black churches.

"We, as African Americans, should be the last people in the world, based on our history, to turn around and oppress others," said Dennis Wiley, who took over as Covenant's pastor from his father, the Rev. H. Wesley Wiley, 22 years ago....

The 62-year-old church has gone through changes before. It was largely white until the 1960s, when white families began to move out of Anacostia and black families moved in. Covenant slowly rebuilt itself as a black congregation. Its renovated sanctuary features 13 huge stained-glass windows reflecting the African American experience, with images of civil rights figures Malcolm X, Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. A shimmering stained-glass black Jesus clad in purple and white towers over the pulpit.

The church also has a long history of activism and community involvement. It was one of the first churches in the Washington area to launch an AIDS ministry in the early days of the epidemic in the 1980s. It offers HIV testing, and church volunteers teach computer classes Saturday mornings and offer college-prep classes to neighborhood high school students.

From the pulpit, the Wileys have preached impassioned sermons urging tolerance of gay, transgender and bisexual people, and they have led Bible studies making that point. "When we look at Jesus Christ, who he was and how he ministered to what he called 'the least of us,' he would be right here with us on this issue," Dennis Wiley said.

The following portion especially captured my interest:

But those familiar with {gay unions} say it isn't surprising at all: Congregations that appear to be accepting of gays often suddenly rebel when it comes to religious rituals that appear to legitimize same-sex relationships.

"It's sort of the ecclesiastical version of the elephant in the room," said Jay Johnson, acting executive director of the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, Calif. "It's one thing to say, 'Okay, we're going to accept gays and lesbian people in our congregation. We'll even accept having gay and lesbian couples in our pews.' But when you take the step to publicly affirm or bless or recognize, in a liturgical or ritual way, their relationship, then you've removed the possibility of ignoring it."

I guess not all "welcoming and affirming" congregations take the "affirming" part to it's logical extension: gay ordination and gay unions. Also, notice that the reporter used the term "homosexuality" instead of "homosexual behavior." Such is a poor word choice as many Christian bodies differentiate between orientation and behavior. Nonetheless, this is a fascinating story since there are relatively few affirming Black Baptist churches in the world.

HT: Religious Left Online

They're Booing Herschel Hobbs!!!

Yes. It's that time of year. Time for the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.

This time it's in San Antonio - not too far away from the "hotbed of Baptist liberalism" where I reside.

Ben Cole has summed up SBC Life over the past 12 months with a concise 47-point timeline.

And here's his #45:

Julie-Pennington Russell becomes the first woman to pastor the First Baptist Church of Decatur, GA, further evidencing the “vast feminist conspiracy” of the Baptist left.

In more news, the SBC recently announced the creation of the Ministry to Homosexuals Task Force. The director of this Task Force, Rev. Bob Stith of Carroll Baptist Church in Southlake, Texas, will "speak the truth about homosexuality being a sin, while reaching out in redemptive ways to those who struggle with same-sex temptation."

Why Stith?

According to, James T. Draper Jr., immediate past president of LifeWay, said it was extremely important for the person selected to direct the ministry to have a pastoral background.

"As a pastor he dealt with this issue, ministered effectively in this area, and confronted critics," Draper said of Stith.

However, in an interview with the Fort-Worth Star Telegram, Stith admitted that no one in his church or family had "struggled with homosexuality."

Stith is indeed the man for the job. Ah, I digress.

Back to the Annual Meeting.

The days of messengers booing elder statesmen like Hobbs are long gone. Just last year, messengers cheered and celebrated the death of one of God's Creations.

So here's to tacky!

Perhaps even William I. Gay Jr. (NC) will reintroduce last year's motion to "refrain from using the word 'gay' when referring to homosexuals in sermons, publications and in the media."

One can't make this stuff up...



-"They're booing Herschel Hobbs. Am I at the Southern Baptist Convention?...They're booing Herschel Hobbs. What is happening to us??" - Marse Granted, editor Biblical Recorder, 1980.

The patriarch of the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message was booed at the 1980 Annual Meeting held in St. Louis after warning the crowd to "beware the lures of creeping creedalism."

Gay-Friendly Authors Populate SBC's Lifeway Site

Yep. That's correct. The Southern Baptist Convention's bookstores are stocking their catalog/shelves with "gay-friendly authors," Wal-Mart style.

Horrors? Or Hypocrisy?

Not a believer. Check out this article from EthicsDaily.com

Here is a snippet...

In 2005 the Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution urging churches to be on guard against homosexual influences in public schools. But a conservative Web site says the nation's largest Protestant body might first want to get its own house in order by checking out shelves of the SBC's publisher, Lifeway Christian Resources.

Baptist Press last week bemoaned that Wal-Mart is still dabbling in support of "the homosexual agenda," despite warnings of a boycott by religious conservatives. A writer challenged readers to type the word "gay" into the search engine for Wal-Mart's online bookstore, reporting that more than 1,000 titles turn up.

On Friday Paul Proctor at NewsWithViews.com followed two earlier columns warning about Christian book sites that promote authors who are "heretics and false teachers" with a similar challenge.

Check out the list of Gay-Friendly books being sold by Lifeway at EthicsDaily.com. Follow their instructions and you can do your own search at Lifeway.

The Southern Baptist Convention is anti-gay. No argument there. In the last six months alone, Missouri Southern Baptists have threatened to boycott Wal-Mart due to their "pro-homosexual policies" and North Carolina Southern Baptists flat out kicked gay-friendly congregations to the curb. Ok, so what's the deal?

Why the double standard? Lifeway doesn't stock President Frank Page's Trouble With The Tulip but will sell Gifted by Otherness: Gay and Lesbian Christians in the Church....

Southern Baptists, are you bothered?

Again, let me conclude this post with the words of the 13th Apostle - Rufus - from Kevin Smith's classic Dogma...

"And that, my friends, is hypocrisy..."