Box Turtle Bulletin
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobby“Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife…”
News and commentary about the anti-gay lobbyPosts Tagged As: Baptists
June 1st, 2010
In 1997, a teenage girl was raped and impregnated by a fellow churchgoer at Trinity Baptist Church in Concord, New Hampshire. When she complained to her pastor, Chuck Phelps, he reported the rape to state youth officials, but police were never able to find the victim. That’s because was shipped of to another church member’s home in Colorado, where she was home-schooled and not allowed to have contact with others her age. And all the while, she was told it was her fault she was raped:
The victim said Phelps told her she would be put up for “church discipline,” where parishioners go before the congregation to apologize for their sins. She asked why. “Pastor Phelps then said that (Willis) may have been 99 percent responsible, but I needed to confess my 1 percent guilt in the situation,” the victim told the police.
“He told me that I should be happy that I didn’t live in Old Testament times because I would have been stoned.”
Fran Earle, the church’s former clerk, witnessed the punishment session. At a night meeting of the church’s fellowship in 1997, Phelps invited Willis to the front of the room. Willis apologized to the group for not being faithful to his wife, Earle said.
“I can remember saying to my husband, I don’t understand it’s any of our business why this is being brought up,” Earle said. Phelps then told parishioners a second matter was at hand; he invited the victim to apologize for getting pregnant.
“I can still see the little girl standing up there with this smile on her face trying to get through this,” Earle said.
May 25th, 2010
Jesus hates you, this I know,
for my preacher tells me so.
And if some church should start to doubt,
we’ll just friggin’ kick them out!
Randel Everett
Back in March we told you about Royal Lane Baptist Church in North Dallas who dared (the gall of them) to describe themselves as “a vibrant mosaic of varied racial identities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and denominational backgrounds.”
Well the board at the Baptist General Convention of Texas nearly choked on their Krispy Kremes. Because if there is one thing that a Texas Baptist fears, it’s being thought of as tolerant, open minded, or willing to let others come to a differing interpretation of Scripture.
So when they heard that Royal Lane had actually ordained a gay deacon, they polished up their kicking boot. (Dallas Morning News)
The state’s largest Baptist group officially broke ties today with Royal Lane Baptist Church in North Dallas, citing the church’s acceptance of openly gay deacons.
By an overwhelming margin, the executive board of the Baptist General Convention of Texas voted not to accept funds from Royal Lane. The same resolution asked the church to stop indicating in publications that it is a BGCT affiliate.
Randel Everett, executive director of the BGCT, called the decision “painful” but not difficult.
Of course it might be a bit more difficult for those who it actually impacts.
Doug Washington, a Royal Lane deacon and BGCT executive board member, spoke against the resolution. He said the church has two gay deacons, and he praised them as outstanding leaders.
“To say something is wrong with them is to say God made a mistake,” Washington said. “I can’t buy into that.”
The BGCT requires that executive board members and employees be part of a church in good standing with the denomination. Washington said he would be resigning from the board.
Two Royal Lane members are BGCT employees, and Everett said they would have to find another church if they want to keep their jobs.
It is hard to imagine anyone less Christ-like than Randel Everett. I think Royal Lane Baptist Church should be proud to no longer be affiliated with the likes of him.
Yes, Jesus hates you,
Yes, Jesus hates you.
Yes, Jesus hates you,
my preacher tells me so.
April 6th, 2010
In addition to being the world’s cruelest town, Fulton, MS, is the county seat of Itawamba County. Fulton has a population of about 4,000 and the county has about 22,800. In Fulton (and Itawamba County) there are:
(in order to be strictly accurate, I replaced “0 Christians who believe in treating others the way they want to be treated” with the above language)
March 18th, 2010
The Royal Lane Baptist Church, has served congregants in North Dallas for the past five decades. Although gay member have long been a part of the church family, the board finally decided last month to go public with their welcome. They changed their website to say:
Royal Lane Baptist Church is an inclusive, multi-generational congregation joined in Christian community. We are a vibrant mosaic of varied racial identities, ethnicities, sexual orientations, and denominational backgrounds.
We affirm the sacredness, dignity, and equality of every man, woman, and child and honor each individual’s freedom to worship God and to respond to his or her unique call to ministry and service.
We celebrate worship that challenges the mind, stirs the heart, and lifts the spirit within the context of music, art, and liturgy to express what we can never fully say.
We covenant with one another to love authentically as Christ loved. We put this love into action by ministering in the world, ever alert to the voice of human need wherever it may be heard.
Royal Lane is an ecumenical Baptist congregation affiliated with The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and The Baptist General Convention of Texas.
But not for long. Either the first paragraph or the last will have to be changed.
You see, the Baptist General Convention of Texas takes objection to vibrant mosaics and most certainly does NOT affirm the sacredness, dignity, and equality of every man, woman and child. The gay folks’ freedom to worship God is not honored by them at all. (Dallas News)
The BGCT’s long-held position is that homosexuality is a sin.
The Dallas-based BGCT has decided to place in escrow any funds sent from Royal Lane. It also has asked Royal Lane to remove from church publications any reference to BGCT affiliation.
Randel Everett, executive director of the BGCT, said those conditions will remain until the church says it agrees with the stance on homosexuality.
“It is my prayer that Royal Lane Baptist Church will take the appropriate action to return to these Texas Baptist values and restore its fellowship with the BGCT,” Everett said in a prepared statement.
If Royal Lane and its members choose to continue to define itself as a vibrant mosaic, it may come with some sacrifice.
The stakes are raised in Royal Lane’s case because its membership includes BGCT employees and a BGCT executive board member. BGCT employees must belong to an affiliated church, so a split with Royal Lane could force some to choose between workplace and worship place.
Because that’s what Jesus would want, right?
February 10th, 2010
As expected, the irresponsible coverage of SF State University’s gay couples study by the New York Times continues to be trumpeted on anti-gay media. Today the Baptist Press picked up the story and ran with
Study showing lack of gay monogamy could impact nation’s marriage debate
About half of all male homosexual couples have sex outside of the relationship with the approval of the partner, according to a new study out of San Francisco that some say should have a dramatic impact on the nation’s debate over “gay marriage.”
Anti-gay activists are ready and willing to extrapolate from “couples” to “gay marriage” without even blushing.
“The study demonstrates clearly what we’ve been arguing: That gays bring a different definition to marriage,” Glenn T. Stanton, a sociologist who is the director for family formation studies at Focus on the Family, told Baptist Press. “And it’s not just a different definition that male and female become optional, but that monogamy becomes optional as well. They are coming into marriage with a wholly different view of marriage than anybody has — left, right, conservative, liberal…. They come in with that understanding of openness. These are people who come into marriage with a wholly different and really radical definition of what marriage is about.”
You can bet Stanton will use this as his leading point in his debates from now on.
(The claims made about the study are false. It does not show that “half of all male homosexual couples have sex outside of the relationship with the approval of the partner”.)
November 20th, 2009
Baptists, once known for their delight in self-autonomy and individual determination of God’s direction, have become a highly exclusionary club.
As Broadway Baptist Church learned, it isn’t enough to follow the rules about gay members, you also have to demonstrate deep loathing for all things homosexual. So the Southern Baptist Convention sent them packing.
And while Broadway avoided a similar fate at the Baptist General Convention of Texas by sending visitors and not messengers (voting members), it was pretty clear that any whiff of tolerance, love, or grace would give rise to calls for expulsion.
This seems to have proved to be too much for Marv Knox, editor of the Baptist Standard. In an editorial he wonder if gays in the pews is a cause for expulsion, what other sins might qualify.
Let\’s be clear: Texas Baptists have called homosexual activity sin, and that has been affirmed on this page before. But is homosexuality the only sin or the unpardonable sin?
If Texas Baptists are to be consistent, either we must offer some grace to congregations with which the majority of our convention does not agree (remembering the congregations themselves are not of one mind on this issue), or we must start removing congregations that are home to known sinners.
If we take that route, let\’s begin with churches whose pastors blog about Texas Baptists—gossiping and sowing discord. They harm the BGCT far worse than has Broadway. Then, maybe we should remove churches with adulterous deacons, followed by churches with fornicating teens. And if we have any congregations left, why don\’t we turn the dinner tables and deal with gluttony? Maybe gossip and gluttony don\’t seem as heinous as homosexual sex, but will we blink at heterosexual sex outside of marriage?
My goodness! Mr. Knox is beginning to sound like a, well, a Baptist.
September 1st, 2009
And those were the kindest words Tempe, Arizona, Baptist preacher Stephen Anderson said to Michelangelo Signorile. Anderson appeared in Signorile’s Sirius OutQ program yesterday and, well, you have to hear this for yourself.
Beginning at 4:11:
Signorile: You want all gay people to be executed, correct?
Anderson: That is correct. That’s what the Bible teaches.
Signorile: Yeah, so that, you would like to see as the law of the land. So under the American law right now, if somebody were to go out with a machine gun and spray down a crowd of gay and lesbian people, would you think that was okay?
Anderson: No I would not think it’s okay because I believe in due process and I beleive in ….
Signorile: Would that person be a murderer?
Anderson: I would not judge them as a murderer, no. That’s my….
Signorile: Should that person go to jail? Should that person be…
Anderson: … because they should be given a trial by jury. I believe that we should abide by the law of the land. Okay?
Signorile: So wait, that person should not be given the death penalty for killing thirty people? Let’s say he kills thirty people who he believes are homosexual. Should he not be given the death penalty?
Anderson: Well, you know I’m not a lawyer. I don’t know.
Signorile: Oh you have opinions about every… Wait a minute, you have opinions about everything. And now you’re not a lawyer? Come on! You’re a preacher! Tell me what you think!
Anderson: I’m an expert on the Bible, not an expert on the law.
Signorile: What do you think should happen to that man? You have told us what you think should happen to everybody under… what?
Anderson: …should have been tried and executed in the first place. You’re trying to get me to make all these hypotheticals within a paradigm…
Signorile: So wait, that man should not be executed?
Anderson: Okay, how about the woman who went into the courtroom and shot the pedophile that molested her son? The homosexual pedophile…
Signorile: I don’t know anything about it.
Anderson: She brought a gun into the court room and killed him. It was a really famous case, I think it was ten years back.
Signorile: And she should go to jail for murder. Yes, she’s a murderer. She is a murderer and she should go to jail. So, do you believe that if somebody goes out and shoots a whole crowd of gay and lesbian people, that person should not be executed?
Anderson: I do not believe that they should received the death penalty, no. But I do believe that they’re a criminal, because…
Signorile: Okay, how long should they go away for?
Anderson: … our laws as far as giving people a trial and due process.
Signorile: How long should they go away for for that? A couple of months, what should they do?
Anderson: That’s not for me to decide. I’m not running this country. I’m a preacher. I’m telling you what the Bible says.
At 6:30 in the video:
Anderson: You know why homosexuals go to church, it’s because they probably can get some action with the children. That’s probably why they even go to church.
Signorile: Oh, that’s why they go to church. Why, have you seen a lot of this?
Anderson: I believe that’s why they go to church. Oh yeah, I’ve seen homosexuals infiltrate church and molest kids in Sunday School. You see that in Phoenix almost every day.
Signorile: You know, I’m gay..I’m gay, and I don’t molest any children. What do you think…
Anderson: Well, I’d say you’re lying.
Signorile: Yeah, you think i must be molesting children, right?
Anderson: Exactly, right.
Signorile: Do you pray that I’ll died tonight?
Anderson: If you’re a homosexual, I hope you get brain cancer like Ted Kennedy. [Click]
And with those words, the good pastor hung up. Michelangelo explained in his blog why it was important to have Anderson on his show:
I had Anderson on the show… because I believe we can’t afford to ignore these violence-inciting individuals, not in this time in which Republicans are whipping them into a frenzy. One of the men who brought an assault weapon to President Obama’s speech in Phoenix a couple of weeks ago attends Anderson’s church. Better to expose them and let the world hear them.
And by the way, has anyone noticed the deafening silence from fellow pastors?
July 21st, 2009
Last month, Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern issued her loopy “Proclamation for Morality” that blamed gays (among others) for our economic crisis and held that the United States was created for Christians and Christians only. That was bad enough, but an Oklahoma-based newspaper, The Baptist Messenger, decided to take it a step further by making it official — or at least official looking:
Yep. The Baptist Messenger — an established weekly newspaper with a paid circulation of over 85,000 — decided to photoshop Governor Henry\’s signature on the embarrassing and archaic “Proclamation for Morality.” And to try and make the piece of right wing trash look even more legitimate, they placed the text of proclamation onto Executive Department letterhead and forged the signature of Secretary of State M. Susan Savage next to the state seal of Oklahoma.
The Lost Ogle blog has the complete scan of the proclamation. Having suspended the ninth commandment (or the eight commandment if you use the Catholic/Lutheran method of counting), The Baptist Messenger tried to make amends by offering their non-apology apology with a message from the editor posted to their web site’s front page:
In the July 16 Messenger, the graphic representation of the Oklahoma Citizen\’s Proclamation for Morality was misleading, indicating that Oklahoma Gov. Brad Henry and Secretary of State Susan Savage had signed the document. This is not the case, and the Messenger staff apologizes for the oversight and error.
Hunting around for two fraudulent signatures, a fake letterhead and an legible image of seal of the State of Oklahoma, don’t accidentally get attached to a loopy proclamation because of an “oversight and error.” Their apology is about as misleading as the Photoshopped proclamation. It’s about as credible as well.
May 22nd, 2009
National City Christian Church, Washington D.C. - Disciples of Christ
“Mainline Christianity” has deep roots and wide branches. With about 18% of Americans (and 24% of all voters), the denominations that makeup this more-liberal end of the Protestant Christian world trace to the founding of our nation. When Americans think of church – the steeple, the stained glass windows, the minister in a clerical collar – these are probably the Christians that come to mind.
However, in today’s sound-bite driven media and take-no-prisoners politics, moderate Christians with nuanced positions and non-combatant values don’t make for good television. Instead the fire-breathing “Bible believing” family values culture warrior gets to speak for all of Christianity. So to non-believers, the impression is that Christianity is at war with the rest of the world, and gays are enemy number one.
But a recent survey of Mainline ministers finds quite another Christian response to gay and lesbian Americans. On most issues, these denominations are quite supportive.
The six denominations included, in order of support are:
(for those unfamiliar, American Baptist Churches is a smaller Baptist organization that is not affiliated with the very conservative Southern Baptist Convention)
Mainline Protestant Clergy Views on Theology and Gay and Lesbian Issues: Findings from the 2008 Clergy Voices Survey was released this month. And it provides us with better understanding of the beliefs of clergy in Mainline Denominations.
In general, these ministers are supportive of gay civil rights. Additionally, they are fairly supporting of the inclusion of gay persons into the body of the church – though that differs by denomination.
Some of the more interesting public policy issue findings are:
The one area where there is not majority support is for marriage equality. Only 33% support gay marriage with another 32% supporting civil unions. However, as I discuss in another commentary, support for marriage goes up to 46% when religious assurances are given.
There is also a large variance between denominations on this issue.
After clergy were reassured that churches and ministers would not be forced to conduct such marriages, support for civil marriage laws were over 50% for all denominations other than United Methodist and American Baptist.
The report goes on to break Mainline Christianity into three camps in relation to gay and lesbian issues; 29% are a supportive base, 30% are an opposing base, and 41% are in an uncertain middle. They find that on most issues the middle tends to side with the supporting base.
They also found that 45% of mainline clergy report that they are more supportive than 10 years ago. Only 14% are more conservative. The following is how those who became more supportive explain the change.
Among clergy who reported becoming more liberal on gay and lesbian issues, the top factors they cited as being very or extremely important to this change were discernment through prayer and reflection (66%), having a friend, congregant or colleague who is gay or lesbian (58%), and additional Bible study (55%).
We have long known that coming out is a valuable way to influence public opinion. Those who have real life examples from which to draw – rather than lies and stereotypes from anti-gay activists – are more likely to find that gay men and women are a valuable part of the social fabric.
But those within the Christian fold will also find it interesting that prayer, reflection, and Bible study can yield greater support for gay persons. Religion, when applied by devout and sincere people seeking to find meaning from sacred Scriptures for real life situations, need not be the enemy of freedom and equality.
As for the inclusion of gays and lesbians into religious life, the study found
These denominations have the potential to become strong allies in our question for civil equalities. Already many ministers from these denominations are active in showing legislators and voting citizens People of Faith who do not agree with the political agenda of “Christian” and “Family” groups that seek the exclusion of gay persons from civil equalities.
As time goes on, it is increasingly likely that Mainline Christianity is going to move in the direction of fuller acceptance, inclusion, and support. We should, as a community, be appreciative of their help and proactive in efforts to build bridges to these churches.
June 20th, 2008
One doesn’t expect that Baptists in Texas would be particularly balanced in their discussion of same-sex marriage. But this article in the Baptist Standard, the Texas Baptist news journal, was surprisingly informative.
If featured a the viewpoints of Barry Lynn, a minister in the United Church of Christ and the head of Americans United for Separation of Church and State and Maggie Gallagher, an orthodox Catholic and the president of the Institute for Marriage and Public Policy.
Gallagher argues that the government should recognize only such marriages are are determined by religions:
“A real alternative would be for government to recognize and enforce religiously distinctive marriage contracts so long as they serve the government’s interest—say, permanent ones for Catholics,” she continued. “But what people who talk about ‘separating marriage and state’ really propose to do is simply to refuse to recognize religious marriage contracts at all. This is not neutrality; it is a powerful intervention by the government into the lives of religious people.”
Oddly, I could be persuaded to support this idea. If the government were to allow churches to define marriage and then recognized and enforced those religiously distinctive marriage contracts, gay people could marry in every state of the union and in any nearly every city that had a Unitarian Universalist fellowship, a Quaker meeting, or a United Church of Christ congregation.
Of course, Gallagher really means that the government should recognize and enforce the contracts of her denomination and not those who disagree with her.
Lynn believes that the government should be out of the marriage granting business and instead should offer civil unions to all and let the churches provide marriages to whom they wish.
“Everybody recognizes that you don’t have to have a religious marriage. State legislatures write out the rules of marriage, the rights and responsibilities of this civil institution,” he said.
“If people have to sign documents or register before an official, it in no way impugns the integrity of the religious promises that are made during a sectarian or religious ceremony
Kudos to the Baptist Standard for providing a clear presentation of two differing views on this subject.
April 17th, 2008
Rev. Brett Younger, the gay-tolerant pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth has decided to give up his efforts to bring about unity and peace in his church.
After surviving months of bitter infighting over the philosophical direction of his church, the Rev. Brett Younger, senior pastor at Broadway Baptist Church, is stepping down to work on the faculty of a divinity school in Atlanta.
Younger, 47, is going to work at McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta. Members of the church leadership were told about his resignation earlier this week. His last day at Broadway Baptist will be June 8.
I’m saddened by his decision and hope that it does not encourage those at Broadway who were intolerant and unkind to feel justified in their behavior.
See also:
Broadway’s Pastor Calls It Quits
Broadway’s Anti-Gays Vote
Broadway Baptist Finds a Happy Compromise
Broadway Baptist Punts on Gay Members’ Photos
More Baptist Controversy
March 10th, 2008
We have followed the story on Broadway Baptist in Fort Worth and their debate over whether to include gay people in their church directory. They decided to do away with the term “family” and allow individuals to have their pictures in “groups” instead. Sadly, this wasn’t enough of a rejection of gay families for some members.
But members were sharply divided last fall over whether gay couples should be pictured in the church’s 125th anniversary photo directory.
That fight led to a bigger one, over Dr. Younger. A group called Friends for the Future of Broadway accused him of ineffective leadership and of leading the church in too liberal a direction.
So they tried to oust the pastor. But the vote has been taken and the anti-gays just didn’t have enough votes.
The vote was 499 for retaining Brett Younger and 237 against, giving the pastor a two-thirds majority.
Let’s hope that their drama is over. We wish Pastor Younger continued support and we wish much healing for Broadway Baptist.
See also:
Broadway’s Pastor Calls It Quits
Broadway’s Anti-Gays Vote
Broadway Baptist Finds a Happy Compromise
Broadway Baptist Punts on Gay Members’ Photos
More Baptist Controversy
February 25th, 2008
We’ve been following the drama of the membership book at Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX.
The moderate church includes a number of gay members and seeks to be open to all who want to worship. But trouble arose when it came time to prepare a directory that included family pictures; two men showed up for their family shot.
Some of the more conservative members didn’t want gay couples listed as “family”. The men offered to have separate pictures taken.
But some of the more liberal members were angry that gay people were being disrespected and treated as second class members. What to do?
Well after several months, meetings, church discussions, “scholarly presentations and an in-depth look at the Scriptures”, and much anguished hand wringing, the church has found a compromise:
In a 294-182 vote, members approved a recommendation by the church’s board of deacons to publish a directory that would include member photos in “candid, small and large group pictures” but not include family portraits.
What an elegant solution. Now each group may seek to define for itself what members comprise their group (that isn’t a family, you know).
But regardless of the ridiculousness of renaming family as “a candid small or large group”, I believe that this process has been good for the church and for Christianity as a whole. As people struggle with the issue of including gay couples in communion, they have to deal with the realities of those people that they know and love. They can no longer pretend that their heterosexism is benign nor that passive anti-gay attitudes harm no one.
Church members voted after a sermon by Pastor Brett Younger in which he asked parishioners to look people in the eye and question what they see and how they react.
“If we look into the eyes of a gay Christian, we may have to rethink some of our opinions,” Mr. Younger said.
Very true, Pastor.
And give my regards to… um, your church.
See also:
Broadway’s Pastor Calls It Quits
Broadway’s Anti-Gays Vote
Broadway Baptist Finds a Happy Compromise
Broadway Baptist Punts on Gay Members’ Photos
More Baptist Controversy
December 3rd, 2007
As we told you earlier, there is a debate at Fort Worth’s Broadway Baptist Church over whether the photos of gay members can be included in a church directory.
Broadway views itself as inclusive and no doubt cannot see the message that is inherent in, “If we put your picture in the directory, we are endorsing your sin”. Nor do we hear discussion about the double standard of excluding gay members but not excluding others for their sins or non-orthodox theology.
The church was scheduled to vote yesterday on a compromise – include gay people but only photograph them as individuals, not couples – but the Dallas News reports that the body could not come to conclusion.
Members were to vote Sunday after morning worship. But in a clear indication that they are divided over how accepting to be of homosexuality, they met for an hour and then postponed any decision until deacons make a recommendation on Feb. 24.
“We will continue to discuss this issue together as a church family,” Kathy Madeja, chair of the deacons, said in a prepared statement. “We do not want to rush to make a decision, but rather to continue to listen to each other and for God’s leading for our church.”
The pastor is offering another alternative which is to forgo members’ pictures altogether and focus instead on church ministries. Though I believe the pastor’s intentions are honorable, this option reminds me of those school districts that will ban all student groups in order to keep gay students from forming a support club. Sadly, too often excluding gay people becomes the highest priority and anti-gays are quick to restrict the privileges of all people to ensure that gay people cannot participate.
We’ll let you know what the church ultimately decides.
See also:
Broadway’s Pastor Calls It Quits
Broadway’s Anti-Gays Vote
Broadway Baptist Finds a Happy Compromise
Broadway Baptist Punts on Gay Members’ Photos
More Baptist Controversy
November 16th, 2007
Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, TX, is a moderately welcoming church. Although they have had gay members for many years, they seek to neither “endorse or condemn homosexuality.” This neutrality has served them well, allowing gay people to feel welcome but also allowing those Texas Baptists who’s religious convictions persuaded them of homosexuality’s sinfulness to join in worship without direct confrontation.
But sometimes confrontation comes unexpectedly, as it did for Broadway Baptist. The church decided to celebrate its 125th anniversary with a book describing its missions and displaying pictures of its members.
But when a gay couple showed up to have their picture taken for the directory, Betty Price, the directory coordinator, was having none of it. She raised a stink and spread her discontent – even calling the General Baptist Convention of Texas – before resigning from the position.
So now the church is having to face the decision of how to treat their gay brothers and sisters. Would they include the couple as a family, would they include individual photos, or would they decide that gay members are not worthy of inclusion in a directory.
The pastor, Brett Younger, discussed the problem at a Wednesday night church service (Star-Telegram):
Younger said that the church has had gay members for decades but that no couple had ever been pictured in the directory. He said to change directions would understandably be “troubling to many.”
On the other hand, Younger wrote that other church members think that the congregation’s gays, who “worship, serve and give just like everyone else,” should not be treated like “second-class members.”
The response has been varied. The church staff recommended to exclude them from the directory. The deacons considered letting families decide for themselves who was in their family, but voted that down and could come to no further decision. Those attending a monthly business meeting voted to present the idea to the congregation (for their vote) to list the couple together in the telephone directory but to show two separate photographs. The vote will be on December 2.
One of the more interesting aspects of this story, to me, is the attitude of the couple in question. They refused to allow their names to be published and they willingly took separate photographs because they did not want to be “poster child[ren] for a division in the church”.
“We are at the church to learn and to serve,” one of the men said. “There are people out there who are destined to be activists. I don’t feel like one of them.”
Often it is those who are quietly living their lives with integrity that most impact the world around them.
As a side note, perhaps it is not surprising that the pastor at Broadway Baptist from 1992 to 1999 was Rev. Stephen Shoemaker, currently the pastor at Myers Park Baptist.
See also:
Broadway’s Pastor Calls It Quits
Broadway’s Anti-Gays Vote
Broadway Baptist Finds a Happy Compromise
Broadway Baptist Punts on Gay Members’ Photos
More Baptist Controversy
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Tony Perkins’ Family Research Council submitted an Amicus Brief to the Maryland Court of Appeals as that court prepared to consider the issue of gay marriage. We examine just one small section of that brief to reveal the junk science and fraudulent claims of the Family “Research” Council.
The FBI’s annual Hate Crime Statistics aren’t as complete as they ought to be, and their report for 2004 was no exception. In fact, their most recent report has quite a few glaring holes. Holes big enough for Daniel Fetty to fall through.
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