Posted on 06/06/2014 6:39:56 AM PDT by robowombat
Southern Baptists Face a Moment of Decision on Gay Marriage (and You Will Too)
Al Mohler | President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary | Monday, June 02, 2014 ChristianHeadlines.com SOUTHERN BAPTISTS FACE A MOMENT OF DECISION ON GAY MARRIAGE (AND YOU WILL TOO)
10 Comments Print Email #gay marriage #church #opinion #southern baptists Southern Baptists will be heading for Baltimore in just a few days, and the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is to be held in a city that has not hosted the convention since 1940. This time, Baptists attending the meeting will face an issue that would not have been imaginable just a few years ago, much less in 1940 — a congregation that affirms same-sex relationships.
Just days before the convention, news broke that a congregation in suburban Los Angeles has decided to affirm same-sex sexuality and relationships. In an hour-long video posted on the Internet, Pastor Danny Cortez explains his personal change of mind and position on the issue of homosexuality and same-sex relationships. He also addressed the same issues in a letter posted at Patheos.com.
In the letter, Cortez describes a sunny day at the beach in August of 2013 when “I realized I no longer believed in the traditional teachings regarding homosexuality.”
Shortly thereafter, he told his 15-year-old son that he “no longer believed what he used to believe.” His son responded with an even more direct word to his father: “Dad, I’m gay.” As Cortez writes, “My heart skipped a beat and I turned towards him and we gave one another the biggest and longest hug as we cried. And all I could tell him was that I loved him so much and that I accepted him just as he is.”
According to the pastor, events then came rather quickly. On February 7, 2014, his son, Drew, posted a “coming out video” on YouTube. Two days later, the pastor told his church about his new position on the issue (also posted on the Internet). In his message to the New Heart Community Church congregation, Cortez admitted that his “new position” represented a “radical shift” that put him into conflict with both the position of the church and the convictions of the denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. He acknowledged that his change of heart on the issue of homosexuality put him at odds with the SBC’s confession of faith, the Baptist Faith & Message.
In his letter, the pastor said that his aim was to see the congregation “allow for grace in the midst of disagreement.” To his regret, he said, many in the church were not pleased and the church had to consider whether to terminate the pastor. After voting on March 9 to prolong the time of consideration and prayer, the church voted on May 18 not to dismiss the pastor and “to instead become a Third Way church.”
Cortez cited Vineyard pastor Ken Wilson’s book, released earlier this year, A Letter to My Congregation. Wilson, who serves a Vineyard church in Ann Arbor, Michigan, describes his book as “an evangelical pastor’s path to embracing people who are gay, lesbian, and transgender in the company of Jesus.” Wilson argues that, even as he has come to affirm same-sex behaviors and relationships, the issue need not divide congregations or Christians.
Pastor Cortez cited Wilson’s argument as foundational to the position he and his church are now taking — “agree to disagree and not cast judgment on one another.”
But, there is no third way. A church will either believe and teach that same-sex behaviors and relationships are sinful, or it will affirm them. Eventually, every congregation in America will make a public declaration of its position on this issue. It is just a matter of time (and for most churches, not much time) before every congregation in the nation faces this test.
The impossibility of a “third way” is made clear in Pastor Cortez’s own letter.
In one paragraph, he writes:
“So now, we will accept the LGBT community even though they may be in a relationship. We will choose to remain the body of Christ and not cast judgement. We will work towards graceful dialogue in the midst of theological differences. We wee that this is possible in the same way that our church holds different positions on the issue of divorce and remarriage. In this issue we are able to not cast judgement in our disagreement.”
But in the very next paragraph, he writes:
“Unfortunately, many who voted to remain traditional will now separate from us in a couple of weeks. We are in the period of reconciliation and forgiveness. Please pray for us in this. Then on June 8, we will formally peacefully separate, restate our love for one another, and bless each other as we part ways. It has been a very tiring and difficult process.”
In two successive paragraphs the pastor refutes himself. His church is not going to take a middle ground. He states clearly that “we will accept the LGBT community even though they may be in a relationship.” And his church did not unanimously “agree to disagree,” for a significant portion of the church is leaving on June 8, just 48 hours before the Southern Baptist Convention convenes in Baltimore. Many “who voted to remain traditional” are now forced by conviction to leave the church.
Why? Because there is no “third way.” The New Heart Community Church has voted to “accept the LGBT community even though they may be in a relationship.” Even if it is claimed that some continuing members of the church are in disagreement with the new policy and position, they will be members of a church that operates under that new policy. At the very least, their decision to remain in the congregation is a decision to stay within a church that affirms same-sex behaviors and relationships. That is not a middle position. It is not a “third way.”
For some time now, it has been increasingly clear that every congregation in this nation will be forced to declare itself openly on this issue. That moment of decision and public declaration will come to every Christian believer, individually. There will be no place to hide, and no place safe from eventual interrogation. The question will be asked, an invitation will be extended, a matter of policy must be decided, and there will be no refuge.
There is no third way on this issue. Several years ago, I made that argument and was assailed by many on the left as being “reductionistically binary.” But, the issue is binary. A church will recognize same-sex relationships, or it will not. A congregation will teach a biblical position on the sinfulness of same-sex acts, or it will affirm same-sex behaviors as morally acceptable. Ministers will perform same-sex ceremonies, or they will not.
Interestingly, a recent point of agreement on this essential point has come from an unexpected source. Tony Jones, long known as a leader in the “emerging church” has written that there is no “third way” on same-sex marriage. As Jones notes, denominations may study the issue for some time, but eventually it will take a vote. At that point, it will either allow for same-sex marriage, or not.
In his words:
“And the same goes for an individual congregation. At some point, every congregation in America will decide either, YES, same-sex marriages will take place in our sanctuary, performed by our clergy; or NO, same-sex marriages will not take place in our sanctuary, performed by our clergy. There is no third way on that. A church either allows same-sex marriages, or it doesn’t.”
Tony Jones and I stand on opposite sides of this issue, but on the impossibility of a “third way” we are in absolute agreement. Conservative evangelicals have understood this for some time. It is interesting that those on the left now understand the issue in the same “binary” terms. There is no middle position. Once again, Tony Jones gets right to the essential point:
“What I’m saying is that a church or an organization can study the issue in theory, and they can even do so for years. But this isn’t really a ‘third way’ or a ‘middle ground.’ Instead, it is a process. And at some point, that process has to end and practices have to be implemented. At that point, there’s no third way. You either affirm marriage equality in your practices, or you do not.”
Actually, as we have seen, Pastor Cortez makes the same point. The practice of his congregation is now to accept openly-gay members and members in openly-gay relationships. That does not allow for any middle ground, and that is why his church faces an exodus of members next Sunday.
Now, the Southern Baptist Convention also faces a moment of unavoidable decision. A church related to the Convention has officially adopted a gay-affirming position. The Baptist Faith & Message, the denomination’s confession of faith, states that homosexuality is immoral and that marriage is “the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime.”
Furthermore, the Convention’s constitution states explicitly that any congregation that endorses homosexual behavior is “not in cooperation with the Convention,” and thus excluded from its membership.
There is nothing but heartbreak in this situation. Here we face a church that has rejected the clear teachings of Scripture, the affirmations of its confession of faith, and two millennia of Christian moral wisdom and teaching. But the Convention also faces a test of its own resolve and convictional courage.
I am confident that the Southern Baptist Convention will act in accordance with its own convictions, confession of faith, and constitution when messengers to the Convention gather next week in Baltimore. But every single evangelical congregation, denomination, mission agency, school, and institution had better be ready to face the same challenge, for it will come quickly, and often from an unexpected source. Once it comes, there is no middle ground, and no “third way.”
Sooner or later — and probably sooner — the answer of every church and Christian will be either yes or no.
I am always glad to hear from readers. Just write me at mail@albertmohler.com. You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/albertmohler
Publication date: June 2, 2014
As a member of a SBC church and the mother of a woman legally married to another woman in DC., I pray my church holds firmly to the Bible. Unlike Cortez, I didn’t change my mind because one of my children has chosen to practice homosexuality in spite of having been raised in the church.
Rather I pray for her repentance daily.
If the SBC caves in to this sin America is truly lost.
obviously!
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.”
That about sums it up. Hoping the Southern Baptists will remain true to Christian teaching on sexuality. The truth is not based on majority vote.
The large Southern Baptist Church that I had attended, and to which my mother still belongs, has at least one member that I know of in an open, homosexual relationship (he used to be my boss.) I don’t know what the church’s extent of knowledge on this relationship is, but when they do become aware of it, it will be interesting to see what happens. The church subscribes to the “welcoming” philosophy of “doing church,” and I don’t think they have ever ex-communicated anyone. The first time will likely be a house shaker, if it even happens.
Sick.
Yes, I know what you are saying. The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints is sometimes difficult to understand. The very proof that you truly believe is remaining in the faith and obedience to God’s commands. Hebrews teaches that if someone can turn apostate with no repercussions, then they probably were never truly saved. I do believe that our faith is given and maintained by God, not ourselves.
Have a blessed day!
I’m glad you posted it, because religion, or more properly a relationship with the living God by the only means He has given, the Lord Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on our behalf, is not isolated from how the believer lives in society.
True believers are reading/studying the Word of God and learning how to live in this world, which is temporal, by believing what God has said and by obeying Him in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit—until the day they are taken to their true home in heaven to be with the Lord.
One of the things God has said in His Word is that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again (to this earth, literally) to judge both Israel and the nations for their rejection of Him and for their unwillingness to repent of their sins so they can be forgiven.
After God pours out His wrath in judgment, Jesus is going to literally set up His kingdom on earth and rule and reign from Jerusalem for 1000 years. Then comes the final judgment of the ungodly before God and their eternal separation from God. They this present earth and heavens will be burnt up. There are other details, but this is the general sequence of events.
So if you know this and you believe it, it is going to affect the way you live NOW. This is the way the apostle Peter put it in 2 Peter 3:7-13:
7 But the present heavens and earth by His word are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. ...9 The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.
11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.
So, all ungodliness will, in the end, be recompensed by a holy God, and Romans Chapter 1 is clear enough as to this particular form of ungodliness that is mentioned in the title of this article. Romans 1.
Yes correct. As someone raised within the SBC I was taught that. Each church is a self governing commonwealth. It just has to endorse basic beliefs of Biblical Innerantcy to be SBC. SBC membership means being able to be part of a large retirement fund and other resource pooling arrangements. Churches join and leave the SBC all the time. The Jimmy Carter baptists have set up something called the ‘Cooperative baptists Convention’ which would not, i suspect be uncomfortable with a ‘gay friendly’ agenda. The Baptist church my parents were members of from its founding decided (its in the Va suburbs of DC) to leave the SBC and become a Carter Baptist church. This gay acceptance stuff has been around in the shadows in the SBC for decades. A recent grad of the seminary in Richmond and the son of prominent members of my folks church preached a sermon there about 1980 where he used Aeosopian language but clearly was endorsing queerdom as a ‘lifestyle’. Few caught the inference. My mother did and let his mother know what she thought of it. This guy dumped the ministry in a couple years and went to being an ‘investment adviser’.
Some churches will choose to follow Christ and others will choose to follow Satan.It has always been this way. Only the defining issue has changed.
>>> The Baptist Church embraces the apostasy of “Once Saved Always Saved” so this isn’t a great stretch.
It is one thing to state your position on a doctrine such as this. It is quite another thing to call it apostasy.
Apostacy is related to heresy. More frequently I’ve been noticing opponents to this doctrine come out and flatly call it a lie. This is an extremely dangerous stand to take in comparison to unbelief.
If you are wrong, and it is sound doctrine based on the word of God, then you are essentially calling the Word of God a lie. God’s word is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
I hope you understand where this is heading, and what you are saying... because speaking against the Holy Spirit is clearly unforgivable.
Membership numbers are not more important than distinction of sin verses obedience to God. If homosexuals and their sympathizers leave the Church, they leave the Church. If the Church condones sin for membership numbers, it is NOT the Church, and the Christian will not associate with it.
This is already happening in other denominations, and persecution for not cooperating with the homosexual community’s agenda will come. This will result in the true Church being purged of non-Christians, and with the deadwood identified and removed from the Church, with God’s help, may even be more effective in a spiritual revival.
Romans 8:28. Something to look forward to. Let’s roll!
Thank you for your thoughtful reply. I’m not a theologian (I’m not even a Southern Baptist, but an independent Baptist)We have seen many people make a profession of faith (ala “going forward”) in our rural church, but few have ostensibly remained in the faith. I don’t have the ultimate answers about Biblical interpretation (issues such as the Trinity, Sin unto Death, etc.) I Just believe that our Faith is given to us and maintained by Jesus and noone can pluck them out of His hand. This would be a good discussion on another thread. I do love the SBC and the epic battles they won against modernisn in the 1980’s. They are attacked because they are the largest Bible-believing denomination in America.
I don’t believe that a ‘true believer’ that is ‘truly saved’ will ever stop believing and abandon Christianity. If they do, they weren’t.
No we don't.
Wow. You are a truly amazing and inspirational woman. I can’t imagine what that must be like for you. I will pray for you and your daughter.
I believe this is mainly a formality. The SBC has been trending more conservative, not less, on a number of issues. Al Mohler is a good example of that. But things like admission to fellowship are necessarily addressed by the convention, because being in fellowship has a number of advantages, and those advantages should be limited to only those member groups in good standing. Hence the decision making cannot be careless and informal. There must be a coordinated action. Think of it as church discipline at the level of congregations rather than individuals. I know we are living in strange days, and unpleasant outcomes are always possible, but I am cautiously optimistic in this particular situation.
I hope you’re right, and I hope this convention adheres strictly to the bible. I will wait and see.
On a side note, I just had a conversation with a young lady who was violently opposed to the bible, and was extremely ticked off at me when I said it was the absolute truth.
She said it’s like any story and embellished. I said either Jesus is a liar or he’s not, which is it? I was accused of being of inferior intelligence. I tend not to argue much, just tell the truth to a person’s face and let the Holy Spirit do his thing.
This is the kind of attitude it seems which has been around since the biblical days. Messages aren’t well received.
We all need to stick to our biblical guns no matter what society says.
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