PSW Group
1. Do we need a new group?
Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”
2. What would a new movement look like?
At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.
Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”
3. How do we get there?
Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!
4. What’s the desired outcome?
Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way
Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson
“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
Special Report:
Sarah Day Cheeseman from M&M Board came to dispel rumors that M&M benefits will be denied to members from churches that may separate.
Report Back for Regional Group Discussions 2:35
Q1: New Group?
YES!
Q2: What will it look like?
Michigan Report
ABE: stay in there!
ABE: provide a new home for disaffected churches
ABE: a “region”
A few others: Stay in our region, join an existing denomination
Confessional/statement of faith
Northwest Report
Confessional/statement of faith
National footprint
Indiana Report
“Come, Lord Jesus”—a new organization with a new leader
Hope for Indiana Resolution that it might pass
Hope that Exec Ministers will lead the charge
17 execs are sympathetic (over 4000 churches)
Iowa/MN Report
Lean, missional organization
Decentralized
No politics
Northeast Report (NY, New England)
Need new organization
May have to dually aligned churches first
Kansas/Nebraska Report
Missional
Confession of faith
Coalition level
Dually aligned
PSW Report
Unite with existing fellowship: a minority report
Lean, doctrinal core
Without a doctrinal edges
Multi-ethnic
West Virgina Report
Many open possibilities
Must get rid of our will and find the Lord’s
Let ABE hold the banner for a time
ABC of the West
New organization
Association within ABC?
New denomination?
A network!
Let ABE be the organization network
Side-Report: the Great Commission Network (Kaiser, ABCW)
A time to take a stand
History, vision, mission, strategies
Robust doctrinal statement
Must embrace all four strategies (mentoring, coaching, consultation, opening)
Delivery systems
GCN also working with Presbyterians and RCA
See www.greatcommissionwork.net
Q3. How do we get there?
IA/MN: lean mean missional team
PSW: legal entity, empowered group
Have a Core group to work on vision, mission and values
Not an anti-ABC group
Northwest: this group is the core. Use the momentum generated in this room
MI: avoid mistakes of the past; we are in a different context because the regions a are leading the way
Q4: What’s the outcome?
IA/MN: Be on the cutting edge
NW: Support churches doing the primary work: seek and save the lost
Partner with like-minded entities (not just other Baptists)
An extended time of prayer followed before the dinner break. Bill Nicoson urged us to pray for Roy Medley and for the VF staff.
Evening Session 7:00 PM
– Time of worship
– Greeting from Chuck Moore, President of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
Message from Charles Revis (Exec, ABC of the Northwest)
“Launch! What will it take to become a Missional Movement?”
1. We need Mission Clarity
Biblical, concise and compelling
Must be clear on the essence of the gospel
“The world has many religions, but only one gospel.”
John 3:16-18
Romans 6:23
Jesus’ death on the cross
We must believe that the gospel has the power to change the world
To affirm homosexual practice is to deny the life-changing power that is at the heart of the gospel
The power of the message to make converts
The power to create new life
2 Corinthians 3:17: transformation
What has happened to that missionary spirit? It was lost because we lost the reality of the life-transforming power of the gospel. We have lost ground in America!
We must believe that sharing the gospel is job number one.
The importance of Last Words (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8)
We must do the command that Jesus gave us.
When the body and Head are out of sync, it goes spastic—as we now see.
“A church that isn’t a missionary church will soon be a missing church.”
“There is a church because there is a mission, not vice-versa.”
We will not rest until the job is done…
Churches like that will find like-minded churches. Baptist interdependence was founded to enable us to carry out mission.
Imagine a whole tribe of missional churches linking arms together in Christ!
Revis’ experience in NW.
We must embrace NT practices that sustain the missional movement
New forms of connectionalism
Multiple networks
Parachurch style
Historic assosiationalism
Philadelphia Baptist Association 1707
The local church is incomplete
Associations made the churches healthier
Associations made mission stronger
Confession of faith
Disciplined theological stability
Problem solving
I’m happy to say that Revis cited my friend and member of my church, Dr. Howard Stewart…
The practices of the early church
Reflecting on Romans 15
-Mutual refreshment
-Sharing of resources
-Developing and supporting leaders
-Joined together for mission
-Joined together in prayer
Implications for now:
Fellowship
Mission together
Prayer
The example of FBC of Vida, Montana: vital renewal and evangelism
Bill Nicoson closed in prayer.
Tomorrow: we’ll do some work!
END OF FRIDAY REPORT
Friday, September 23, 2005
Lombard Consesus: We Need a New Movement; Charles Revis Lays Out a Vision
All attendees were asked to discuss the problem.
PSW Group
1. Do we need a new group?
Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”
2. What would a new movement look like?
At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.
Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”
3. How do we get there?
Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!
4. What’s the desired outcome?
Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way
Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson
“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
Special Report:
Sarah Day Cheeseman from M&M Board came to dispel rumors that M&M benefits will be denied to members from churches that may separate.
Report Back for Regional Group Discussions 2:35
Q1: New Group?
YES!
Q2: What will it look like?
Michigan Report
ABE: stay in there!
ABE: provide a new home for disaffected churches
ABE: a “region”
A few others: Stay in our region, join an existing denomination
Confessional/statement of faith
Northwest Report
Confessional/statement of faith
National footprint
Indiana Report
“Come, Lord Jesus”—a new organization with a new leader
Hope for Indiana Resolution that it might pass
Hope that Exec Ministers will lead the charge
17 execs are sympathetic (over 4000 churches)
Iowa/MN Report
Lean, missional organization
Decentralized
No politics
Northeast Report (NY, New England)
Need new organization
May have to dually aligned churches first
Kansas/Nebraska Report
Missional
Confession of faith
Coalition level
Dually aligned
PSW Report
Unite with existing fellowship: a minority report
Lean, doctrinal core
Without a doctrinal edges
Multi-ethnic
West Virgina Report
Many open possibilities
Must get rid of our will and find the Lord’s
Let ABE hold the banner for a time
ABC of the West
New organization
Association within ABC?
New denomination?
A network!
Let ABE be the organization network
Side-Report: the Great Commission Network (Kaiser, ABCW)
A time to take a stand
History, vision, mission, strategies
Robust doctrinal statement
Must embrace all four strategies (mentoring, coaching, consultation, opening)
Delivery systems
GCN also working with Presbyterians and RCA
See www.greatcommissionwork.net
Q3. How do we get there?
IA/MN: lean mean missional team
PSW: legal entity, empowered group
Have a Core group to work on vision, mission and values
Not an anti-ABC group
Northwest: this group is the core. Use the momentum generated in this room
MI: avoid mistakes of the past; we are in a different context because the regions a are leading the way
Q4: What’s the outcome?
IA/MN: Be on the cutting edge
NW: Support churches doing the primary work: seek and save the lost
Partner with like-minded entities (not just other Baptists)
An extended time of prayer followed before the dinner break. Bill Nicoson urged us to pray for Roy Medley and for the VF staff.
Evening Session 7:00 PM
– Time of worship
– Greeting from Chuck Moore, President of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
Message from Charles Revis (Exec, ABC of the Northwest)
“Launch! What will it take to become a Missional Movement?”
1. We need Mission Clarity
Biblical, concise and compelling
Must be clear on the essence of the gospel
“The world has many religions, but only one gospel.”
John 3:16-18
Romans 6:23
Jesus’ death on the cross
We must believe that the gospel has the power to change the world
To affirm homosexual practice is to deny the life-changing power that is at the heart of the gospel
The power of the message to make converts
The power to create new life
2 Corinthians 3:17: transformation
What has happened to that missionary spirit? It was lost because we lost the reality of the life-transforming power of the gospel. We have lost ground in America!
We must believe that sharing the gospel is job number one.
The importance of Last Words (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8)
We must do the command that Jesus gave us.
When the body and Head are out of sync, it goes spastic—as we now see.
“A church that isn’t a missionary church will soon be a missing church.”
“There is a church because there is a mission, not vice-versa.”
We will not rest until the job is done…
Churches like that will find like-minded churches. Baptist interdependence was founded to enable us to carry out mission.
Imagine a whole tribe of missional churches linking arms together in Christ!
Revis’ experience in NW.
We must embrace NT practices that sustain the missional movement
New forms of connectionalism
Multiple networks
Parachurch style
Historic assosiationalism
Philadelphia Baptist Association 1707
The local church is incomplete
Associations made the churches healthier
Associations made mission stronger
Confession of faith
Disciplined theological stability
Problem solving
I’m happy to say that Revis cited my friend and member of my church, Dr. Howard Stewart…
The practices of the early church
Reflecting on Romans 15
-Mutual refreshment
-Sharing of resources
-Developing and supporting leaders
-Joined together for mission
-Joined together in prayer
Implications for now:
Fellowship
Mission together
Prayer
The example of FBC of Vida, Montana: vital renewal and evangelism
Bill Nicoson closed in prayer.
Tomorrow: we’ll do some work!
END OF FRIDAY REPORT
PSW Group
1. Do we need a new group?
Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”
2. What would a new movement look like?
At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.
Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”
3. How do we get there?
Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!
4. What’s the desired outcome?
Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way
Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson
“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
Special Report:
Sarah Day Cheeseman from M&M Board came to dispel rumors that M&M benefits will be denied to members from churches that may separate.
Report Back for Regional Group Discussions 2:35
Q1: New Group?
YES!
Q2: What will it look like?
Michigan Report
ABE: stay in there!
ABE: provide a new home for disaffected churches
ABE: a “region”
A few others: Stay in our region, join an existing denomination
Confessional/statement of faith
Northwest Report
Confessional/statement of faith
National footprint
Indiana Report
“Come, Lord Jesus”—a new organization with a new leader
Hope for Indiana Resolution that it might pass
Hope that Exec Ministers will lead the charge
17 execs are sympathetic (over 4000 churches)
Iowa/MN Report
Lean, missional organization
Decentralized
No politics
Northeast Report (NY, New England)
Need new organization
May have to dually aligned churches first
Kansas/Nebraska Report
Missional
Confession of faith
Coalition level
Dually aligned
PSW Report
Unite with existing fellowship: a minority report
Lean, doctrinal core
Without a doctrinal edges
Multi-ethnic
West Virgina Report
Many open possibilities
Must get rid of our will and find the Lord’s
Let ABE hold the banner for a time
ABC of the West
New organization
Association within ABC?
New denomination?
A network!
Let ABE be the organization network
Side-Report: the Great Commission Network (Kaiser, ABCW)
A time to take a stand
History, vision, mission, strategies
Robust doctrinal statement
Must embrace all four strategies (mentoring, coaching, consultation, opening)
Delivery systems
GCN also working with Presbyterians and RCA
See www.greatcommissionwork.net
Q3. How do we get there?
IA/MN: lean mean missional team
PSW: legal entity, empowered group
Have a Core group to work on vision, mission and values
Not an anti-ABC group
Northwest: this group is the core. Use the momentum generated in this room
MI: avoid mistakes of the past; we are in a different context because the regions a are leading the way
Q4: What’s the outcome?
IA/MN: Be on the cutting edge
NW: Support churches doing the primary work: seek and save the lost
Partner with like-minded entities (not just other Baptists)
An extended time of prayer followed before the dinner break. Bill Nicoson urged us to pray for Roy Medley and for the VF staff.
Evening Session 7:00 PM
– Time of worship
– Greeting from Chuck Moore, President of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary
Message from Charles Revis (Exec, ABC of the Northwest)
“Launch! What will it take to become a Missional Movement?”
1. We need Mission Clarity
Biblical, concise and compelling
Must be clear on the essence of the gospel
“The world has many religions, but only one gospel.”
John 3:16-18
Romans 6:23
Jesus’ death on the cross
We must believe that the gospel has the power to change the world
To affirm homosexual practice is to deny the life-changing power that is at the heart of the gospel
The power of the message to make converts
The power to create new life
2 Corinthians 3:17: transformation
What has happened to that missionary spirit? It was lost because we lost the reality of the life-transforming power of the gospel. We have lost ground in America!
We must believe that sharing the gospel is job number one.
The importance of Last Words (Matthew 28:19, Acts 1:8)
We must do the command that Jesus gave us.
When the body and Head are out of sync, it goes spastic—as we now see.
“A church that isn’t a missionary church will soon be a missing church.”
“There is a church because there is a mission, not vice-versa.”
We will not rest until the job is done…
Churches like that will find like-minded churches. Baptist interdependence was founded to enable us to carry out mission.
Imagine a whole tribe of missional churches linking arms together in Christ!
Revis’ experience in NW.
We must embrace NT practices that sustain the missional movement
New forms of connectionalism
Multiple networks
Parachurch style
Historic assosiationalism
Philadelphia Baptist Association 1707
The local church is incomplete
Associations made the churches healthier
Associations made mission stronger
Confession of faith
Disciplined theological stability
Problem solving
I’m happy to say that Revis cited my friend and member of my church, Dr. Howard Stewart…
The practices of the early church
Reflecting on Romans 15
-Mutual refreshment
-Sharing of resources
-Developing and supporting leaders
-Joined together for mission
-Joined together in prayer
Implications for now:
Fellowship
Mission together
Prayer
The example of FBC of Vida, Montana: vital renewal and evangelism
Bill Nicoson closed in prayer.
Tomorrow: we’ll do some work!
END OF FRIDAY REPORT
While Differing in Details, Lombard Attendees Agree on the Need for a "New Movement"
Report Back for Regional Group Discussions 2:35
Q1: New Group?
YES!
Q2: What will it look like?
Michigan Report
ABE: stay in there!
ABE: provide a new home for disaffected churches
ABE: a “region”
A few others: Stay in our region, join an existing denomination
Confessional/statement of faith
Northwest Report
Confessional/statement of faith
National footprint
Indiana Report
“Come, Lord Jesus”—a new organization with a new leader
Hope for Indiana Resolution that it might pass
Hope that Exec Ministers will lead the charge
17 execs are sympathetic (over 4000 churches)
Iowa/MN Report
Lean, missional organization
Decentralized
No politics
Northeast Report (NY, New England)
Need new organization
May have to dually aligned churches first
Kansas/Nebraska Report
Missional
Confession of faith
Coalition level
Dually aligned
PSW Report
Unite with existing fellowship: a minority report
Lean, doctrinal core
Without a doctrinal edges
Multi-ethnic
West Virgina Report
Many open possibilities
Must get rid of our will and find the Lord’s
Let ABE hold the banner for a time
ABC of the West
New organization
Association within ABC?
New denomination?
A network!
Let ABE be the organization network
Side-Report: the Great Commission Network (Kaiser, ABCW)
A time to take a stand
History, vision, mission, strategies
Robust doctrinal statement
Must embrace all four strategies (mentoring, coaching, consultation, opening)
Delivery systems
GCN also working with Presbyterians and RCA
See www.greatcommissionwork.net
Q3. How do we get there?
IA/MN: lean mean missional team
PSW: legal entity, empowered group
Have a Core group to work on vision, mission and values
Not an anti-ABC group
Northwest: this group is the core. Use the momentum generated in this room
MI: avoid mistakes of the past; we are in a different context because the regions a are leading the way
Q4: What’s the outcome?
IA/MN: Be on the cutting edge
NW: Support churches doing the primary work: seek and save the lost
Partner with like-minded entities (not just other Baptists)
An extended time of prayer followed before the dinner break. Bill Nicoson urged us to pray for Roy Medley and for the VF staff.
Q1: New Group?
YES!
Q2: What will it look like?
Michigan Report
ABE: stay in there!
ABE: provide a new home for disaffected churches
ABE: a “region”
A few others: Stay in our region, join an existing denomination
Confessional/statement of faith
Northwest Report
Confessional/statement of faith
National footprint
Indiana Report
“Come, Lord Jesus”—a new organization with a new leader
Hope for Indiana Resolution that it might pass
Hope that Exec Ministers will lead the charge
17 execs are sympathetic (over 4000 churches)
Iowa/MN Report
Lean, missional organization
Decentralized
No politics
Northeast Report (NY, New England)
Need new organization
May have to dually aligned churches first
Kansas/Nebraska Report
Missional
Confession of faith
Coalition level
Dually aligned
PSW Report
Unite with existing fellowship: a minority report
Lean, doctrinal core
Without a doctrinal edges
Multi-ethnic
West Virgina Report
Many open possibilities
Must get rid of our will and find the Lord’s
Let ABE hold the banner for a time
ABC of the West
New organization
Association within ABC?
New denomination?
A network!
Let ABE be the organization network
Side-Report: the Great Commission Network (Kaiser, ABCW)
A time to take a stand
History, vision, mission, strategies
Robust doctrinal statement
Must embrace all four strategies (mentoring, coaching, consultation, opening)
Delivery systems
GCN also working with Presbyterians and RCA
See www.greatcommissionwork.net
Q3. How do we get there?
IA/MN: lean mean missional team
PSW: legal entity, empowered group
Have a Core group to work on vision, mission and values
Not an anti-ABC group
Northwest: this group is the core. Use the momentum generated in this room
MI: avoid mistakes of the past; we are in a different context because the regions a are leading the way
Q4: What’s the outcome?
IA/MN: Be on the cutting edge
NW: Support churches doing the primary work: seek and save the lost
Partner with like-minded entities (not just other Baptists)
An extended time of prayer followed before the dinner break. Bill Nicoson urged us to pray for Roy Medley and for the VF staff.
PSW Group
Discussion
All region groups discussed these four questions:
1. Do we need a new group?
Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”
2. What would a new movement look like?
At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.
Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”
3. How do we get there?
Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!
4. What’s the desired outcome?
Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way
Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson
“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
Discussion
All region groups discussed these four questions:
1. Do we need a new group?
Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”
2. What would a new movement look like?
At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.
Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”
3. How do we get there?
Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!
4. What’s the desired outcome?
Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way
Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson
“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
PSW Group Discussion (all attendees got into regional groups, and asked to respond to four questions)
1. Do we need a new group?
Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”
2. What would a new movement look like?
At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.
Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”
3. How do we get there?
Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!
4. What’s the desired outcome?
Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way
Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson
“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
1. Do we need a new group?
Yes, but we don’t want to be a “denomination”
Better: a movement
Join with BGC (Baptist General Conference)?
Home is no longer home…we need to hold together
Logistics a problem for creating a new denomination
We need “something”
2. What would a new movement look like?
At this point, I floated the name “Baptist Churches in America” as a possible new name for the new movement.
Lean, mission-focused
Loose
Commonality
Organized
Doctrinal statement
Multi-ethnic/multi-cultural
Authority of Scripture
Accountability without “hard-edges”
“Classical Christianity”
3. How do we get there?
Maybe PSW could do a DBA of “BCA”
Any organization could do that: Green Lake, Northern, or WVBC
Via regions
The power of Big Mo
Convention
MI’s suggestion: abolish VF (General Secretary’s office)—that kind of model Manageable sub-group to do deal with new structure, values, doctrine, etc.
Need to empower a task force to deal with those issue
Use ABE as a shell
Bathe it in prayer!
4. What’s the desired outcome?
Positive
Multi-cultural
See people won to Christ—in an accelerated way
Need a vision? One articulated by Bill Nicoson
“A group of Baptist congregations committed together to an orthodox, biblical and theological foundation that will result in the growth of the church of Jesus Christ as demonstrated by healthy congregations.”
Paul Ceder Challenges Lombard Attendees
A video from Mission America, Paul Cedar’s organization, followed. It was a humorous take on faulty ways of evangelism.
Paul Cedar, who is a graduate of Northern (’68), spoke. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita: turbulent weather. We’re in turbulent weather as well.
The problem of forgetting the basics
John 17 on authentic spiritual unity. Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer”
John 17:20-23
Authentic unity is not organization or administrative; real unity moves the world to believe that the Father sent the Son.
Three ingredients of authentic spiritual unity
1. John 4:31-34. Jesus didn’t come to do His “own thing.” He came to do the will of His Father. That’s the basic foundation of Christian ministry. Not doing the “latest thing”, but doing the will of the Father. Call it Fidelity to God and His revealed word. That means denying yourself, taking up the life of the cross and following Jesus. You cannot have spiritual unity with people who are not following Jesus as Lord. Jesus also came to “finish His work”. That work was the cross—the heart of it all.
2. Next is Focus: the Great Commission. He turns to the disciples and tells them of their task: “the fields are ripe for harvest.” Unity is never an end in itself, but a means to the end of winning the lost who grows to become like Jesus.
3. Finally, the role of the Spirit—the Fullness of the Spirit.. Jesus says He will depart so that the Holy Spirit will come. John 13-17, Acts 1. The danger of having “church” without the Holy Spirit. Dead orthodoxy will not do!
Today has the potential of being a kind of Pentecost.
GL: I wonder what role Mission America may have in the emerging movement.
“Our Leader is waiting for us to ask us to lead us.”
Bill Nicoson thanked Paul: 15 minute break.
Paul Cedar, who is a graduate of Northern (’68), spoke. Hurricanes Katrina, Rita: turbulent weather. We’re in turbulent weather as well.
The problem of forgetting the basics
John 17 on authentic spiritual unity. Jesus’ “High Priestly Prayer”
John 17:20-23
Authentic unity is not organization or administrative; real unity moves the world to believe that the Father sent the Son.
Three ingredients of authentic spiritual unity
1. John 4:31-34. Jesus didn’t come to do His “own thing.” He came to do the will of His Father. That’s the basic foundation of Christian ministry. Not doing the “latest thing”, but doing the will of the Father. Call it Fidelity to God and His revealed word. That means denying yourself, taking up the life of the cross and following Jesus. You cannot have spiritual unity with people who are not following Jesus as Lord. Jesus also came to “finish His work”. That work was the cross—the heart of it all.
2. Next is Focus: the Great Commission. He turns to the disciples and tells them of their task: “the fields are ripe for harvest.” Unity is never an end in itself, but a means to the end of winning the lost who grows to become like Jesus.
3. Finally, the role of the Spirit—the Fullness of the Spirit.. Jesus says He will depart so that the Holy Spirit will come. John 13-17, Acts 1. The danger of having “church” without the Holy Spirit. Dead orthodoxy will not do!
Today has the potential of being a kind of Pentecost.
GL: I wonder what role Mission America may have in the emerging movement.
“Our Leader is waiting for us to ask us to lead us.”
Bill Nicoson thanked Paul: 15 minute break.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
Mood Before Conference is Positive
Now (in)famous photo posting.
Inside the Linder Conference Center
The Linder Conference Center
Chatting with three unnamed but prominent ABC leaders revealed a consistent pattern: they are upbeat, and emboldened by the Parchment Valley Agreement. (See the earlier posting.) They believe that VF continues to live in deep denial ("They're in lala land," quipped one.)
Oddly enough, when two of the three learned who I was, they both made reference to the now (in) famous picture I posted a few days ago. See above. A picture says...well, you know what is says.
Stay tuned for developments...
EXECUTIVE MINISTERS FORGE ALLIANCE
BREAKING NEWS
EXECUTIVE MINISTERS FROM WV, PSW, OH, NJ, MAINE, PENN/DEL AND IND/KY HAVE MET IN WV AND FORMED AN ALLIANCE THAT EMCOMPASSES 40% OF THE EXISTING ABC/USA.
DALE SALICO, OF PSW, SAYS HE EXPECTS SEVERAL OTHER EXECS TO SIGN.
THE PARCHMENT VALLEY AGREEMENT IS DATED TODAY, SEPT 22, 2005 AND WILL CERTAINLY IMPACT THE MEETING IN LOMBARD, IL, STARTING TOMORROW.
Stay tuned...
FYI: Parchment Valley is the Conference Center of the WVBC.
EXECUTIVE MINISTERS FROM WV, PSW, OH, NJ, MAINE, PENN/DEL AND IND/KY HAVE MET IN WV AND FORMED AN ALLIANCE THAT EMCOMPASSES 40% OF THE EXISTING ABC/USA.
DALE SALICO, OF PSW, SAYS HE EXPECTS SEVERAL OTHER EXECS TO SIGN.
THE PARCHMENT VALLEY AGREEMENT IS DATED TODAY, SEPT 22, 2005 AND WILL CERTAINLY IMPACT THE MEETING IN LOMBARD, IL, STARTING TOMORROW.
Stay tuned...
FYI: Parchment Valley is the Conference Center of the WVBC.
ABC STORY PERCOLATES UPWARD (?) TO WASHINGTON POST
The same story you're read over and over again (the AP/LA time story) is now on the Washington Post website. I wonder if Woodward and Bernstein had to sign off on this...
Lombard Conference Coverage
A few items on the coverage of the Lombard Conference:
1. Despite what I'd been told (second-hand, I have to admit), the Linder Conference Center is NOT wi-fied (is that a word?). So I will make a lenghty post Friday evening, say 9 PM central, of the events of that day. Another post will be made around 9 PM Pacific Saturday.
2. I will post tonight...I wrangled an invitation to a dinner at Northern Seminary and will nose around the attitudes here and post. Boy, do they have a great web address: www.seminary.edu !
I may well post some pics of the Conference Center, etc., this PM.
Stay tuned...
1. Despite what I'd been told (second-hand, I have to admit), the Linder Conference Center is NOT wi-fied (is that a word?). So I will make a lenghty post Friday evening, say 9 PM central, of the events of that day. Another post will be made around 9 PM Pacific Saturday.
2. I will post tonight...I wrangled an invitation to a dinner at Northern Seminary and will nose around the attitudes here and post. Boy, do they have a great web address: www.seminary.edu !
I may well post some pics of the Conference Center, etc., this PM.
Stay tuned...
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
The Godfather of Soul
Your humble blogger is now in Chicago (Lombard to be exact) and had a classic L.A. moment while leaving LAX today. Who'd be going through security nearby other than James Brown, the Godfather of Soul. Just another day in LALA Land...
LIBERAL ROGER WILLIAMS FELLOWSHIP WEIGHTS IN ON PSW ACTION
Once again, absurdities are bolded.
RWF Press Release on PSW withdrawal from ABC/USA
Tuesday, September 20, 2005 at 10:59AMRWF Web Editor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MEDIA CONTACT PERSON:
Rev. Jerrod H. Hugenot, President of RWF Board Telephone (913) 281-3814 Email: reverendbubba@juno.com Web site: http://www.rogerwilliamsfellowship.org
On Tuesday, September 20, 2005, the following statement was issued to the media by Rev. Jerrod H. Hugenot, on behalf of the board of directors for the Roger Williams Fellowship, a longtime American Baptist interest group:
The Roger Williams Fellowship (RWF) has provided a historic and ongoing voice for Baptist principles and freedoms held dear within the American Baptist Churches/USA and in the larger Baptist family. The RWF board regrets the decision taken by the ABC/PSW Region to withdraw from fellowship with our denomination.
American Baptists have historically lived in a “big tent” in which our common commitment to Jesus Christ as Lord has allowed us to worship and serve together despite our theological and cultural differences. Our life together has been richer because of this diversity.
[What is interesting here is the equation of theological and cultural differences. That tells us volumes about the mindset of the RWF.]
The Roger Williams Fellowship board regrets that the PSW regional board and staff wishes to draw divisive lines rather than preserve fellowship and continue to work out a common life. Historic Baptist principles such as local church autonomy, the priesthood of all believers, and the freedom of Christian conscience are rarely mentioned among those who are more inclined toward separation than unity in our denomination. If a stated position on human sexuality is sufficient cause to divide our fellowship, where do we stop? Baptists are divided about matters of biblical interpretation, such as the relating of the Bible to economic concern as well as the role of women in leadership. Shall we divide over these issues as well?
[Apparently, the RWF thinks that this is a peripheral issue. Give me a break; it's at the heart of their current agenda.]
We join with the National Executive Council and the Executive Committee of the General Board of the American Baptist Churches/USA in expressing deep sorrow and regret for the actions taken by the PSW board. We strongly commend the vision of General Secretary A. Roy Medley, who calls American Baptists away from partisan alignments and toward a common confession of being a denomination "Centered in Christ." We affirm a return to the polity that makes the ABC/USA a strong and richly diverse denomination.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
A Calm Day...
Today's news
- PSW works on new name. I am told what it could be, but have been asked to keep it mum, so I shall. It is simple and reasonable. No "Orthodox Missionary Steller Super Cool Baptist Churches of the Bottom Left Coast."
- Your humble blogger did talk with a media type today, but it was for background.
- Don't forget that I will be live-blogging the Lombard Conference on Friday and Saturday.
- Sola deo gloria.
An Ecumenical Take on Things...
If you're in a rush, scroll down to the bolded material.
ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH THROWS DOWN GAUNTLET ON GAY PRIESTS
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Lutherans and Baptists head in opposite direction
News Analysis
http://www.virtueonline.org
By David W. Virtue
The Roman Catholic Church which is struggling to extricate itself from priestly pedophile scandals that has cost the church tens of millions of dollars in lawsuits is moving quickly to eliminate from its 229 seminaries, men who have engaged in homosexual activity and those with "strong homosexual inclinations".Pope Benedict XVI has given his approval to a new Vatican policy document that bans men with homosexual tendencies from being ordained as priests, reports Catholic World News.The policy statement is a direct result of the pope's concern about the pedophilia scandal in the church - especially in the U.S.The new document, prepared by the Congregation for Catholic Education in response to a request made by the late Pope John Paul II in 1994, will be published soon. It will take the form of an "Instruction," signed by the prefect and secretary of the congregation: Cardinal Zenon Grocholewski and Archbishop Michael Miller, according to the report.The Vatican made it clear that not only is homosexual misbehavior forbidden, homosexual orientation is totally unacceptable and investigators from the Vatican are US-bound to clean out the seminaries.The seminaries, which have more than 4,500 students were last reviewed about 25 years ago and took six years to complete.
American seminaries have come under sharp review by the Vatican as a result of the sexual abuse scandal that swept the priesthood in 2002. Church officials in the United States and Rome agreed that they wanted to take a closer look at how seminary candidates were screened for admission, and whether they were being prepared for lives of chastity and celibacy.The issue of gay seminarians and priests has been in the spotlight because a study commissioned by the church found last year that about 80 percent of the young people victimized by priests were boys, said the report.More than 10,000 teenage boys were sodomized, raped and fondled in the US alone with more than 100 priests removed from the priesthood in Boston alone. Some five bishops have been removed from office with the church's leading Roman Catholic Cardinal Bernard Law forced from office and sent to Rome.An American archbishop who is supervising the seminary review said last week that "anyone who has engaged in homosexual activity or has strong homosexual inclinations," should not be admitted to a seminary.While some would make a distinction between those abusing children were not necessarily homosexual some church officials in the United States and in Rome, including some bishops and many conservatives, attribute the abuse to gay priests.
The previous Pope, John Paul II did not, in his declining years, comprehend the extent of the abuse, but the election of Pope Benedict XVI who views homosexual acts as "intrinsically disordered" has called for an overhaul of the seminaries. He has spoken out on the need to "purify" the church. At its core what the Roman Catholic Church is asking is whether the doctrine on the priesthood presented by the seminary is "solidly based on the church's Magisterium," or teaching, and whether teachers and seminarians "accept this teaching."
NOW IT IS IRONIC that while the Roman Catholic Church is toughening its stance on homoerotic behavior and orientation, American mainline Protestant denominations are sweeping in exactly the opposite direction causing major dissent and pending splits within their ranks.Last week leaders representing 300 American Baptist churches in Southern California and parts of other Western states announced that they have taken the first steps to break with their national denomination, the ABC-USA because they said it had failed to declare homosexual practice incompatible with Christian Scripture.Citing irreconcilable differences over homosexuality and Scriptural authority with their comparatively liberal denomination, American Baptist Churches USA, the board of directors of the denomination's Pacific Southwest Region recently approved a resolution to begin withdrawing from the 1.5-million member national denomination. The board also announced its intention to cut off its contributions to national headquarters as of Dec. 31. The headquarters of the ABC-USA is in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania.
At the same time, a theologically conservative lay leader in the West Virginia Baptist Convention, the largest in the national denomination, said that he and his allies were preparing to follow suit. They said they would propose a secession resolution at next month's regional meeting in Clarksburg, W.Va.
If the two regions pulled out, their withdrawal could mark the largest single exodus of member congregations from any Christian denomination in the nation over the volatile issue of homosexuality. There are more than 5,800 local congregations in the denomination reports Larry Stammer of the Los Angeles Times.
But it is not just American Baptists in trouble over homosexuality, the Presbyterian Church USA is pleading for unity even as Presbyterians prepare to split on homosexuality.A special panel of the U.S. Presbyterian Church appealed recently for the church's 2.4 million members to seek unity as they continue their divisive debate over homosexuality and the Bible.The panel urged the church's 2006 national General Assembly to make no changes to a 1997 law that limits clergy and lay officeholders to sex within heterosexual marriage, although liberals have submitted bills to repeal the rules.Instead, the panel outlined a strategy in a 39-page report it says "is designed to help the church maintain peace, unity, and faithfulness to scriptural and theological principles while that debate continues." One doubts that Presbyterian Church advocates of homosexuality will cease pushing for acceptance of their behavior, and short of divine intervention it will be a fait accompli in time. Some conservatives consider the differences in beliefs within the denomination so distinct they have discussed whether a time may come to split off from the church altogether. The liberal Covenant Network of Presbyterians and conservative Presbyterian Lay Committee will study the report and go head to head when the time comes. The report will be mailed to the denomination's 11,000 congregations next month for discussion, then go before the General Assembly next June.
THE Evangelical Lutheran Church in America at their national meeting in Orlando recently rejected a proposal that would have allowed gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy under certain conditions. The measure affirmed the church ban on ordaining sexually active gays and lesbians, but allowed bishops and church districts called synods to seek an exception for a particular candidate - if that person was in a long-term relationship and met other restrictions.Delegates voted against the measure 503-490. This amounts to the Episcopal Church version of local option. Delegates voted 851-127 to keep the church unified despite serious differences over homosexuality. They also rebuffed what many saw as an attempt to push the denomination toward approval of blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.Nobody was particularly happy. Conservatives said the ordination proposal would have effectively overturned prohibitions against non-celibate gays in the Lutheran ministry and advocates for gays weren't satisfied, either. They said the measure would have created a second-class roster for homosexual clergy in the church.
The theological struggle over what the Bible says about homosexuality which has been tearing at Protestant denominations for years is coming closer to a head, and if these denominations approve, in any form, homoerotic acts they will self destruct.Proof of this has been the rising tide of independent Evangelical Protestant churches and denominations that are holding the line on sexual issues. Parents do not want their children exposed to homoerotic behavior, and they are running as fast as they can in the opposite direction.
THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCH which in 1970 reported 10.7 million members in the U.S. has declined significantly over the past 35 years; they reported 8.3 million in the year 2000, a membership loss which has averaged about 77.000 per year. They are the third largest Christian denomination and the second largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. Like its other mainline Protestant brothers and sisters the UMC is embroiled in homosexuality. Some UMC members have suggested that the current conflict over sexual orientation and behavior within the denomination may cause a church schism similar to that which occurred at the 1844 General Conference.The Rev. William Lawrence, dean and professor of American church history at Southern Methodist University's Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, TX says the North American cultural debate over equal treatment of homosexuals and same-sex committed couples, including the right to marry, is mirrored within the denomination."The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church" regulates the activities of the denomination world-wide. It contains a few references to homosexuality, including two which cover the core disputes: "Since the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching, self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be accepted as candidates, ordained as ministers or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church." It also affirms that the sanctity of the marriage covenant that is expressed in love, mutual support, personal commitment, and shared fidelity between a man and a woman. They argue that ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions shall not be conducted by their ministers and shall not be conducted in their churches. They do support equal rights for persons of all sexual orientations in certain restricted areas.It remains to be seen whether the UMC will undergo a new schism over sexual orientation, or will be able to find a compromise path between unanimity and schism -- one that will accommodate diversity of beliefs and perhaps of actions.
BUT IT IS THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH USA that has gone right over the pulpit's edge and into a sexual swamp.It publicly consecrated its first openly homosexual bishop two years ago; it has allowed the ordination of avowed homosexuals and lesbians to its pulpits, with many dioceses experimenting with rites for same-sex blessings, though this has never passed officially through General Convention.The result of all this is that the Episcopal Church is now in impaired or broken communion with 22 provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion with Global South, largely African Archbishops, leading the charge in declaring they will no longer walk with the Episcopal Church unless it repents of its position. That seems most unlikely.The Episcopal Church is doing its best to stay at the Anglican table by calling for more "listening" processes and spinning the Windsor Report to say that while they feel the pain of their brothers in the Global South they have no intention of changing their mind on homoerotic behavior.
Author and social critic Dr. Os Guinness recently charged here that the Episcopal Church has demonstrated the worst and most extreme capitulation to the spirit of the age in its embrace of modern sexual mores.Calling ECUSA's liberal hierarchy "kissing Judases"(taken from Soren Kierkegaard) --followers of Jesus who betray him and his teachings--Guinness ripped ECUSA, citing "a troubling growth [therein] of those who bend every nerve to reach successive generations of the cultured despisers of the Gospel: and then join them and become like them and no longer faithful to Jesus Christ. Some have surrendered to Enlightenment ideas, and become skeptics about God's sovereignty, or skeptics about human sin, or skeptics about the possibility of the supernatural and any world beyond the here and now."Guinness was speaking to several hundred persons attending an awards dinner for four orthodox Anglican archbishops in New York recently."The result is an Alice in Wonderland church in which "Christian" leaders now openly deny what all Christians have believed and many have died to defend. There are denominational leaders who now celebrate what their faith once castigated; who advance views closer to their foes than to their founder; who deny the faith, but stay on shamelessly as leaders of the faith they deny, Guinness charged.
There can be little doubt that if America's mainline denominations continue down their present pathway they will find the endorsement of pansexuality a fatal attraction leading to their extinction with millions of faithful Christians fleeing to Evangelical, Roman Catholic and other orthodox jurisdictions that offer a safe haven on matters of faith and morals.
Monday, September 19, 2005
ABC CRISIS GETS PRESS IN NORTH CAROLINA
Yes, more of the same. There was also an article from Santa Barbara about the reaction of ABC churches there, but I could not read it with a subscription. If you have access to it, please email it to me at glennlayne@pastors.com.
Monday, Sept. 19, 2005
American Baptist region withdraws, may trigger split in denomination
From wire reports
In what may be the beginnings of a national split over homosexuality, leaders in a regional group of the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) voted Sept. 8 to begin leaving the denomination. Sixty-five churches in West Virginia will also consider the issue at their October meeting.
Directors of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest (ABCPSW) have initiated the process of disassociating from the Pennsylvania-based denomination by the end of the year. Although the vote was taken Sept. 8, the news was not made public until Sept. 13, when a pastor in the region posted Internet versions of the letters he received announcing the news.
In a Sept. 12 letter to the region's pastors and churches, Dale Salico, the region's executive minister, said the Pacific Southwest board "has determined that the time has come to create distance between the ABCPSW and the ABCUSA so that both may move ahead in the mission God has given them without continued conflict."
In an accompanying letter, Brian Scrivens, president of the region's board of directors, said his board took the action "[b]ecause the deep differences of theological convictions and values between the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest and the American Baptist Churches in the USA are understood by the Board of Directors of the ABCPSW as irreconcilable."
The letters were made public by Glenn Layne, pastor of First Baptist Church in Temple City, Calif., on a weblog he runs, called Durable Data.
In a statement Sept. 14, members of the National Executive Council of American Baptist Churches USA said they "deeply regret the action taken by the ABC of the Pacific Southwest, whom we love in Christ...."
"Our denomination has been blessed by the historic commitment by our regions to interdependent dialog and action for mission in the name of Christ," the statement said. "We grieve when partners in ministry move away from that covenantal relationship."
Tensions over the issue of homosexuality have come to a head in recent months in the ABC, which counts 1.5 million members in 5,836 churches. Although the group adopted a resolution opposing homosexual conduct in 1992, many conservatives in the denomination have complained ABC leaders have done little to "enforce" it on the denomination's agencies or congregations.
Regional fellowships are the channel through which local congregations relate to the national body. In recent years, several gay-friendly churches have been expelled from some of those regional bodies. The ABC General Board changed the denomination's rules in 1999 to allow churches to join regions outside of their geographical area if the region is willing to accept them.
As a result, some pro-gay ABC churches have joined with more like-minded regions outside their geographical area. However, some American Baptist conservatives have sought to get rid of that option, thus effectively expelling gay-friendly churches from the ABC.
Several ABC regional bodies issued calls to the national denomination to deal decisively with the issue during its biennial meeting, which took place in July. Some of their leaders said they were left unsatisfied with what they perceived as a lack of sufficient action on the issue.
"I don't think the biennial solved anything, in terms of the future of the denomination," Mike Williams, executive minister for the American Baptist Churches of Michigan, said in July.
In addition, the governing board of the ABC Ministers' Council rebuffed an anti-homosexuality measure Aug. 22. It would have required members in good standing to be ministers who believe sexual intimacy is only appropriate in the context of heterosexual marriage.
Most national leaders of the ABC have cited support for traditional Baptist principles of local-church autonomy and the priesthood of every believer, rather than theological support for homosexuality, in opposing such moves.
"We stand at a crossroads," ABC General Secretary Roy Medley told delegates at the biennial meeting, according to the American Baptist News Service. "In our world, the path of radical discipleship -- the path of radical love -- is the road less taken. We dare not choose another. We dare not choose the wrong road ... the road that leads to separation. That choice will certainly unite you with like-minded people but will give you small souls and make you comfortable Christians."
Medley and ABC's national president, Peggy Johnson, met with regional leaders from the Pacific Southwest just prior to their vote to leave the denomination.
"After these meetings the [ABCPSW] board of directors concluded the theological convictions and values of the ABCUSA and the ABCPSW were irreconcilable, and that it was in the best interest of both for the ABCPSW to withdraw from its present standing in the denomination," Scrivens said in his letter.
Ken Pennings, executive director of the pro-gay Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, said Sept. 14 he was "disappointed in the region's professed rationale of 'irreconcilable' convictions and values. As Baptists we have long believed that it is possible in the grace of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit for people to strongly disagree and to embrace one another in love."
Members of 65 American Baptist Churches aligned with a group called "West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth" (WVBBT) will also decide at their convention next month whether or not they will withdraw from the ABCUSA, Jay Wolfe, chairman of the group, said in a news release Sept. 14. Wolfe said it was time for the churches to break with the national denomination since it condoned "flagrant sin in the church."
Wolfe told Baptist Press that the issue of homosexuality has been a problem in the ABCUSA for more than 14 years. He said he and others raised concerns in the early 1990s when a group known as American Baptists Concerned, now the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB), were permitted to have an exhibit at the denomination's biennial convention. He and others responded with repeated calls to have the denomination declare that homosexuality is incompatible with Christianity, an effort that resulted in the 1992 statement on homosexuality.
But conflict over homosexuality in the ABCUSA did not cease, Wolfe said. He said one church in Ohio and four in California, dis-fellowshipped by conservative churches for affirming homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, found fellowship with the Rochester/Genesee Region of New York -- a move allowed after the General Board changed its bylaws to allow the congregations to seek fellowship outside of their region.
"We are pleased to know that our Christian brothers and sisters on the Left Coast are the first to do the right thing and stand on God's Word," Wolfe said of the Pacific Southwest Region. But his group is also taking a stand. In a letter to about 460 Baptist churches in West Virginia Sept. 9, WVBBT indicated that denominational leadership had ignored their concerns and refused to deal with the issue of homosexuality.
"Rather than modeling support of the 1992 resolution on homosexuality, the ABC/USA leaders are either voting or appointing individuals to fill important positions within the denomination who are either openly homosexual or members of AWAB churches," the WVBBT letter charged.
Monday, Sept. 19, 2005
American Baptist region withdraws, may trigger split in denomination
From wire reports
In what may be the beginnings of a national split over homosexuality, leaders in a regional group of the American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) voted Sept. 8 to begin leaving the denomination. Sixty-five churches in West Virginia will also consider the issue at their October meeting.
Directors of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest (ABCPSW) have initiated the process of disassociating from the Pennsylvania-based denomination by the end of the year. Although the vote was taken Sept. 8, the news was not made public until Sept. 13, when a pastor in the region posted Internet versions of the letters he received announcing the news.
In a Sept. 12 letter to the region's pastors and churches, Dale Salico, the region's executive minister, said the Pacific Southwest board "has determined that the time has come to create distance between the ABCPSW and the ABCUSA so that both may move ahead in the mission God has given them without continued conflict."
In an accompanying letter, Brian Scrivens, president of the region's board of directors, said his board took the action "[b]ecause the deep differences of theological convictions and values between the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest and the American Baptist Churches in the USA are understood by the Board of Directors of the ABCPSW as irreconcilable."
The letters were made public by Glenn Layne, pastor of First Baptist Church in Temple City, Calif., on a weblog he runs, called Durable Data.
In a statement Sept. 14, members of the National Executive Council of American Baptist Churches USA said they "deeply regret the action taken by the ABC of the Pacific Southwest, whom we love in Christ...."
"Our denomination has been blessed by the historic commitment by our regions to interdependent dialog and action for mission in the name of Christ," the statement said. "We grieve when partners in ministry move away from that covenantal relationship."
Tensions over the issue of homosexuality have come to a head in recent months in the ABC, which counts 1.5 million members in 5,836 churches. Although the group adopted a resolution opposing homosexual conduct in 1992, many conservatives in the denomination have complained ABC leaders have done little to "enforce" it on the denomination's agencies or congregations.
Regional fellowships are the channel through which local congregations relate to the national body. In recent years, several gay-friendly churches have been expelled from some of those regional bodies. The ABC General Board changed the denomination's rules in 1999 to allow churches to join regions outside of their geographical area if the region is willing to accept them.
As a result, some pro-gay ABC churches have joined with more like-minded regions outside their geographical area. However, some American Baptist conservatives have sought to get rid of that option, thus effectively expelling gay-friendly churches from the ABC.
Several ABC regional bodies issued calls to the national denomination to deal decisively with the issue during its biennial meeting, which took place in July. Some of their leaders said they were left unsatisfied with what they perceived as a lack of sufficient action on the issue.
"I don't think the biennial solved anything, in terms of the future of the denomination," Mike Williams, executive minister for the American Baptist Churches of Michigan, said in July.
In addition, the governing board of the ABC Ministers' Council rebuffed an anti-homosexuality measure Aug. 22. It would have required members in good standing to be ministers who believe sexual intimacy is only appropriate in the context of heterosexual marriage.
Most national leaders of the ABC have cited support for traditional Baptist principles of local-church autonomy and the priesthood of every believer, rather than theological support for homosexuality, in opposing such moves.
"We stand at a crossroads," ABC General Secretary Roy Medley told delegates at the biennial meeting, according to the American Baptist News Service. "In our world, the path of radical discipleship -- the path of radical love -- is the road less taken. We dare not choose another. We dare not choose the wrong road ... the road that leads to separation. That choice will certainly unite you with like-minded people but will give you small souls and make you comfortable Christians."
Medley and ABC's national president, Peggy Johnson, met with regional leaders from the Pacific Southwest just prior to their vote to leave the denomination.
"After these meetings the [ABCPSW] board of directors concluded the theological convictions and values of the ABCUSA and the ABCPSW were irreconcilable, and that it was in the best interest of both for the ABCPSW to withdraw from its present standing in the denomination," Scrivens said in his letter.
Ken Pennings, executive director of the pro-gay Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, said Sept. 14 he was "disappointed in the region's professed rationale of 'irreconcilable' convictions and values. As Baptists we have long believed that it is possible in the grace of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit for people to strongly disagree and to embrace one another in love."
Members of 65 American Baptist Churches aligned with a group called "West Virginia Baptists for Biblical Truth" (WVBBT) will also decide at their convention next month whether or not they will withdraw from the ABCUSA, Jay Wolfe, chairman of the group, said in a news release Sept. 14. Wolfe said it was time for the churches to break with the national denomination since it condoned "flagrant sin in the church."
Wolfe told Baptist Press that the issue of homosexuality has been a problem in the ABCUSA for more than 14 years. He said he and others raised concerns in the early 1990s when a group known as American Baptists Concerned, now the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists (AWAB), were permitted to have an exhibit at the denomination's biennial convention. He and others responded with repeated calls to have the denomination declare that homosexuality is incompatible with Christianity, an effort that resulted in the 1992 statement on homosexuality.
But conflict over homosexuality in the ABCUSA did not cease, Wolfe said. He said one church in Ohio and four in California, dis-fellowshipped by conservative churches for affirming homosexuality as an acceptable lifestyle, found fellowship with the Rochester/Genesee Region of New York -- a move allowed after the General Board changed its bylaws to allow the congregations to seek fellowship outside of their region.
"We are pleased to know that our Christian brothers and sisters on the Left Coast are the first to do the right thing and stand on God's Word," Wolfe said of the Pacific Southwest Region. But his group is also taking a stand. In a letter to about 460 Baptist churches in West Virginia Sept. 9, WVBBT indicated that denominational leadership had ignored their concerns and refused to deal with the issue of homosexuality.
"Rather than modeling support of the 1992 resolution on homosexuality, the ABC/USA leaders are either voting or appointing individuals to fill important positions within the denomination who are either openly homosexual or members of AWAB churches," the WVBBT letter charged.
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK: PSW CHURCHES WILL HAVE TO ACT INDIVUDUALLY TO EXIT ABC/USA
In an effort to slow and blunt the actions taken by PSW, this was released today. Absurdities are bolded.
American Baptist News Service (9/19/2005)
—The American Baptist Churches USA General Board Executive Committee, meeting September 16-17, 2005 in Atlanta, issued the following statement:
We grieve and are profoundly saddened by the decision of the Board of Directors of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest (PSW) "to initiate the process to withdraw from the Covenant of Relationships." This decision will separate the region from the American Baptist family and our mission if the region completes its action.
Although much of our attention is focused on responding to the greatest natural disaster in U.S. history, Hurricane Katrina, by mobilizing work teams, transporting relief supplies, and engaging in triage relocation efforts, we are concerned by the serious implications of the PSW Board's action.
Contrary to published reports, ABCUSA does have policy statements and resolutions related to homosexuality. Our Family Life Policy Statement (1984) states, "We affirm that God intends marriage to be a monogamous, life-long, one flesh union of a woman and a man....We affirm God's blessing and active presence in marriage relationships..." In 1992 the General Board adopted this statement: "We affirm that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching."
In 1993 the General Board called for continuing dialogue on issues of human sexuality. In June 1998, the General Board reaffirmed the prior actions and rewrote the "We are American Baptists" statement to more strongly affirm the importance of Biblical authority. All of these policy statements and resolutions remain in effect.
The General Board, however, does not set policy for local congregations on theological or other issues. We are not hierarchical or episcopal because we are a denominational family related by a series of voluntary covenantal relationships among autonomous congregations to partner together in mission.
Nothing in our structure allows us to dictate theological interpretations. That authority rests solely with local congregations and individual American Baptists. We are not and do not seek to be a legislative body since we respect the autonomy and primacy of the local church.
[The most intolerant people I've known are New Agers and Unitarians. Particularity of beliefs cannot be tolerated. You make the application.]
The General Board Executive Committee is taking the following actions on this issue:
- Working with the Office of the General Secretary (OGS) to send a letter to PSW churches explaining that their congregational affiliation with ABCUSA will remain in effect despite the separation of the PSW region from the Covenant of Relationships. Individual churches in PSW can disaffiliate with ABCUSA only through a separate congregational vote.
[Comment: Valley Forge to PSW churches: "We own you. You just don't know it."]
- Working with the OGS to set up meetings in the Pacific Southwest to inform congregations about how they may continue to partner with the mission and ministry of American Baptist Churches USA as full member congregations while also informing them of the implications of leaving the American Baptist family.
- Working with congregations to determine future American Baptist regional affiliations.
- Working with OGS, Program Boards, MMBB, and other American Baptist organizations to explore the full ramifications and consequences of the PSW Board's decision to withdraw.
We pray for God's guidance and unity within the family for our congregations, regions, and national boards. We reaffirm the strong leadership of General Secretary Roy Medley, President Peggy Johnson, Vice President Arlee Griffin, and our national staff. We also pledge to remain focused on implementing the exciting vision that God has given American Baptist Churches as reflected in the Mission Statement recently adopted by the General Board:
"American Baptists are a Christ-centered, biblically grounded, ethnically diverse people called to radical personal discipleship in Christ Jesus. Our commitment to Jesus propels us to nurture authentic relationships with one another, build healthy churches, transform our communities, our nation, and our world, engage every member in hands-on ministry, and speak the prophetic word in love....
Our vision for mission energizes a multitude of servant ministries of evangelism, discipleship, leadership, new church development, social justice, healing, peacemaking, economic development, and education. Empowered by the Holy Spirit, we work together in mutual trust, humility, love, and giving that the gospel might be preached and lived in all the world."
We strongly believe that now is the time for unity and mission.
Remember the Poll...
Remember the Poll on the name of the new movement...please scroll down to Saturday's postings.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Christianity and Homosexuality
I have found carm.org a reliable source mostly for cult research. This is from the carm website.
CARM is the creation of Matt Slick (M.Div., Westminster Seminary 1991)
Source: http://www.carm.org/issues/homosexuality.htm
The homosexuals and lesbians have gained considerable political and social momentum in America. They have "come out" as the term goes, left their closets, and are knocking on the doors of your homes. Through the TV, Radio, Newspapers, and Magazines, they are preaching their doctrine of tolerance, equality, justice, and love. They do not want to be perceived as abnormal or dangerous. They want acceptance and they want you to welcome them with open, loving arms, approving of what they do.
In numerous states in America several bills have been introduced by the pro homosexual politicians to ensure that the practice of homosexuality is a right protected by law. Included in these bills are statements affecting employers, renters, and schools. Even churches would be required to hire a quota of homosexuals with "sensitivity" training courses to be "strongly urged" in various work places. There is even legislation that would make the state pick up the tab for the defense of homosexuality in lawsuits, while requiring the non homosexual side to pay out of his/her pocket.
The Christian church has not stood idle. When it has spoken out against this political immorality, the cry of "separation of church and state" is shouted at the "religious bigots." But when the homosexual community uses political power to control the church, no such cry of bigotry is heard. It is okay for the homosexual community to impose its will upon churches, by not the other way around. After all, it isn't politically correct to side with Christians.
What does the Bible say?
The Bible, as God's word, reveals God's moral character and it shapes the moral character of the Christian. There have been those who have used the Bible to support homosexuality, taken verses out of context and reading into them scenarios that are not there. Quite simply, the Bible condemns homosexuality as a sin. Let's look at what it says.
1, 10nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, shall inherit the kingdom of God."
With such clear statements against homosexuality, it is difficult to see how different groups can say the Bible supports homosexuality. But they try by redefining love, marriage, sex, homosexuality, etc. But the truth is that God created man and woman, not man and man or woman and woman. But since the Bible is such a powerful book, the homosexuals often try and make the Bible agree with its agenda. But it doesn't work. The Bible does not support homosexuality.
Unlike other sins, this sexual sin has a judgment administered by God Himself: They are given over to their passions (
Of course, these brief paragraphs can in no way exhaust the issue of homosexuality's moral equity. But, the family is the basis of our culture. It is the most basic unit. Destroy it and you destroy society and homosexuality is not helping the family.
What should be the Christian's Response to the Homosexual?
Just because someone is a homosexual does not mean that we cannot love him (or her) or pray for him (her). Homosexuality is a sin and like any other sin, it needs to be dealt with in the only way possible. It needs to be laid at the cross and repented of.
Christians should pray for the salvation of the homosexual the same they would any other person in sin. They should treat homosexuals with the same dignity as they would anyone else because, like or not, they are made in the image of God. However, this does not mean that Christians should approve of their sin. Not at all. Christians should not compromise their witness for a politically correct opinion that is shaped by guilt and fear.
In fact the following verses should be kept in mind when dealing with homosexuals.
"Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. 6 Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned, as it were, with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person," (
3) That where homosexuality is mentioned in the Bible it is not how we relate to it in the 21st century. It meant something different to the people in Biblical times and has nothing to do with modern day homosexuality.
The four Scriptures listed above refute this idea. Let's look at what they say and see if there is some misunderstanding? The first scripture in Leviticus says that it is an abomination for a man to lie with another man as he would lie with a woman. Obviously this is referring to sexual relationship and it is condemned. The second scripture in Leviticus says the same thing. The third scripture in 1 Corinthians outright condemns homosexuality. And finally, Romans clearly describes a homosexual act as being indecent. There is no mistake about it, the view of homosexuality in the Old Testament as well as the New, is a very negative one. It is consistently condemned as being sinful. Whether or not people of the 21st-century think homosexuality is acceptable or not has absolutely no bearing on whether or not it is sinful before God. God exists and he is the standard of righteousness. Whether or not anyone believes this or believes that morality is a flowing and vague system of development over time, has no bearing on truth. God has condemned homosexuality as a sin in the Bible. It is a sin that needs to be repented of the same as any other sense and the only way to receive this forgiveness is through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.4) That the sin of Sodom was actually the sin of inhospitality.
This is a common error made by supporters of homosexuality. The problem is this explanation does not account for the offering of Lott's daughter to the man outside the home, a simple act indeed, but one that was rejected by the man outside who desire to have relations with the two angels and lots home. Exodus 18:20 says that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was "exceedingly grave." Not being hospitable to someone has never been considered an exceedingly grave sin, especially in the Bible. But, going against God's created order in violation of his command to fill in multiply the earth in the act of homosexuality, is an exceedingly grave sin. In fact, we know that it is exceedingly grave because in Romans we read about the judgment of God upon the homosexuals in that he gives them over to the depravity of their hearts in their minds. This is a serious judgment of God upon the sinner because it means at the sinner will not become convicted of his or her sins and will not then repent. Without repentance there is no salvation and without salvation there is damnation. Therefore, the argument that Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed because they were not hospitable, carries no validity.
1. The word "homosexual" in the NASB version is the Greek aρσενοκοίτης (arsenokoites). It occurs two times in the New Testament. The KJV translates it as “abuser of (one’s) self with mankind” once, and “defile (one’s) self with mankind” once. 1 one who lies with a male as with a female, sodomite, homosexual. (Strong, J. (1996). The exhaustive concordance of the Bible : Showing every word of the test of the common English version of the canonical books, and every occurence of each word in regular order. (electronic ed.) (G733). Ontario: Woodside Bible Fellowship.) The 1901 ASV, the KJV, translate it as "abusers of themselves." The NASB and NKJV translate it as "homosexuals." The NIV as "homosexual offenders." The RSV as "sexual perverts."
The Bible and Homosexuality Today
By Peter MooreSince the hermenutical and theological issues surrounding homosexuality will no doubt be bantered about with increasing shrillness in coming days, I will be posting some of the best material on the subject. This is an excellant example from an evangelical Episcopalian point of view. --Glenn Layne
In The Great Divorce, C. S. Lewis depicts a saintly lady and her husband having a conversation somewhere just beyond death, but not quite in Heaven. The lady is an ordinary woman named Sarah Smith from Golders Green. She stumbles upon her husband Frank, who presumably has just died, and is on his way either to Heaven or Hell. As the two talk, Sarah tries to put right what was obviously wrong in their marital relationship. She also urges Frank to join her back in Heaven.
Frank is not so sure. Or at least the ghost he is connected to is not so sure. You see, attached to Frank by a chain is a grotesquely comic creature Lewis calls "the Tragedian." This is Frank's alter ego, and he has Frank securely in his grasp. The last thing he wants is for Frank to give him up and follow Sarah to Heaven.
The Tragedian's answer
While Sarah talks only to Frank, the Tragedian tries to answer for both himself and his captive creature. At first, thanks to Sarah's love, Frank begins to grow from his small monkey-on-a-chain size, to a more normal human size. As he does, the Tragedian shrinks. Eventually, however, the Tragedian takes over the conversation, and Frank shrinks into virtual
nothingness.
The heart of the struggle that is going on inside Frank is a tug-of-war between joy and pity. He is drawn by Sarah's evident joy; but he has succumbed most of his life to self-pity. He doesn't really believe that Sarah ever loved him, and now that Sarah's love for him is no longer based on a need for him, he takes double offence. Sarah appeals to Frank to let the Tragedian go; but he has too firm a grip on Frank. Sarah finally says:
Pity was meant to be a spur that drives joy to help misery. But it can be used the other way round, Frank. It can be used for a kind of blackmail. Those who choose misery can hold joy up to ransom, by pity. You see, I know now. Even as a child you did it. Instead of saying you were sorry, you went and sulked in the attic . . . because you knew that sooner or later one of your sisters would say, 'I can't bear to think of him sitting up there alone, crying.
In this analysis of the structure of sin, Lewis gives us a parable. It is not about homosexuality or heterosexuality. It is about God's summons to joy, to healing and wholeness, and the many reasons why people like you and me prefer to hold onto a past that is slowly destroying us. The Tragedian is our "old nature" in Pauline terms; and it is at war with our
new one (Romans 6). Which will win out?
Lewis has also given us a picture of how a good value, pity, can be misused. The pitied can use the misery it feels not as a spur to get help, but as blackmail — as a way of holding joy up to ransom. This, I think, does speak to the issue we are dealing with this afternoon. If joy is the wholeness to which God calls us, a joy in which all our selfish disorders are redeemed, can we allow pity to hold it ransom? Out of pity, will we surrender our desire to see people who are caught in sexual sin of whatever kind really brought into the freedom of the children of God?
And, finally, Lewis has constructed a pastoral situation for us to ponder. A woman very much aware of her own failings, pleading with a broken man to go free. She is not superior to him in rectitude. She comes alongside him and urges him to give up his bondage. It reminded me of the fact that only those who have pastorally ministered to people in their brokenness, and sought to understand their struggle, have earned the right to speak to the broader moral issues connected with their behavior.
An assumption
Of course, by saying all this, I am assuming that certain types of sexual behavior are sin; and that's the issue that has brought us all here today.
Presumably, we all believe that certain forms of sexual behavior are sin. Fathers should not have sex with their daughters, brothers should not have sex with their sisters, shepherds should not have sex with their lambs, nor husbands with the wives of their best friends. Most of us don't believe that our teen aged daughters should have sex with our neighbor's teen-aged sons.
But what of homosexuality? Here we are divided. Some would say that all homosexual relations are good, as long as they are mutual, and not abusive, risk-taking, or promiscuous. Others would not go that far, but say that lifelong, committed, monogamous homosexual relations are good. Still others would say that homosexual relations are fundamentally disordered, but must be tolerated in the Church and in society. And still others would say that under all circumstances homosexual relations are contrary to God's will for us. I'm in this latter group; but not perhaps for the reasons that some might suppose.
Our day today has been structured in such a way that our conversation centers around the Bible and how we read it — that is, how we interpret it, and what authority we give to it. And while I do want to talk about the Bible, I want to say two things right off:
First, what the Bible says about homosexuality is not the only basis on which I believe moral judgements should be made. There are biological, sociological, psychological, and medical reasons that come into consideration, and I want to touch on them too.
And, second, not all people who come to the conclusion I have come to, read the Bible exactly as I do. There are Fundamentalists for whom the issue is settled by a verse or two, perhaps taken out of context. There are traditionalists who put Scripture and Tradition on the same level. For them, natural law often come into play. There are some who take a canonical approach to the Bible, and read it through the eyes of the historical community in which it has been received. There are some who read the Bible with a much more liberal attitude than I might have. Some of them have ended up at the same place as I. And, of course, there are some outside the Christian tradition completely, Jews for example, who bring their own historical perspective to bear and come to the same conclusion also.
Bearing these two caveats in mind, then, how does the Bible speak to the issue of homosexuality?
The classical texts
The classical texts are Genesis 19 (Sodom and Gomorrah); Judges 19 (the rape of the Levite's concubine); Leviticus 18 and 20 (the Holiness Code); Romans 1; I Corinthians 6; and I Timothy 1. But they must be placed within the larger context of the biblical writings as a whole, particularly as they touch on God's will for human sexuality.
Sex permeated the ancient world, connecting the fertility cycles of nature with the gods above who were themselves sexual. In this ancient context certain forms of homosexuality were tolerated. But, while Israel was continually tempted to fall into this sexualized view of the universe, the biblical writers instituted a sexual revolution. Marriage was to be the context in which sex found its fulfillment. Homosexuality was not to be tolerated, indeed it was particularly abhorrent. God had made woman for man, and man for woman.
In Genesis 2, sex is so connected to our creative purpose, that marriage becomes the re-unifying of two different people, a man and a woman, neither of whom separately can reflect the image of God. The image of God is in our maleness and femaleness, according to Genesis 1:27.
As one Old Testament scholar put it: "woman was created from the rib of man not to indicate submission. Rather, since the rib protects the essential organs of heart and lungs, and the muscles of the diaphragm, the rib can be seen as the bone that draws breath." Therefore, the creation of Eve establishes an "intimate, life-giving, and lively reciprocity between man and woman."
So important was marriage to Jewish life that the prophets continually linked it to the divine covenant. There were concessions to the polygamy of the ancient world. But they weren't the norm, at least according to Jesus (Matthew 19:5,6). Indeed in the Old Testament, the family was the basic unit of society, not the nation or the individual. And within this family context, the dignity of women rose, as might be expected. For where homosexuality flourishes, as it did in ancient Greece, the role of women declines, and an idealized concept of man becomes the focus of intellectual and physical activity.
As for the classical texts, I believe that in Genesis 19 where it says that the men of Sodom wanted "to know" Lot's visitors, it refers to homosexual activity, and that the "abomination" in Sodom, to which Genesis, Ezekiel (16:49-50), and Jude (7) refer, was not just a breach of hospitality, nor just an act of rape, but same-sex intercourse which was considered immoral.
We're told that the two texts in the Leviticus Holiness Code don't apply to us any more because they forbid, among other things, sex during menstruation (15:24, 18:19), eating meat with blood, tattooing (19:28), and making cloth out of wool and cotton together (19:19) — things that were clearly ceremonial in nature.
But I am impressed with the fact that there are many things in Leviticus that are not merely ceremonial, nor have only to do with ritual purity. For example, these same passages forbid incest, bestiality, stealing, lying, taking vengeance, defrauding hired servants, and using slander.
Furthermore, it is in these same passages that we read we are "to love our neighbor as ourselves" (19:18). Clearly these injunctions are part of the enduring moral law. So why should we not see the prohibitions against "lying with a man as with a woman" as part of that same enduring moral law?
It is argued that the brutality of the punishments meted out for sins in those days means that we can sit loose to the sins themselves. You were supposed to stone rebellious children, according to Deuteronomy 21:21. We dismiss such extreme measures today. You were supposed to kill those who performed same sex intercourse then. Again, it is said, we can dismiss that prohibition.
But two things make me pause. First, there is no evidence that these severe punishments were actually carried out. And, second, as Christians we don't live under a theocracy, as ancient Israel did. So the particular punishments no longer apply. But does this mean that in God's eyes these sins don't matter? If, for example, in the Old Testament the sin for incest was death (Leviticus 20:11), but in the New Testament it's "delivering a man to Satan," wouldn't it seem that the New Testament, if anything, strengthens rather than weakens the punishment?
No, it would seem that the New Testament draws much of its opposition to same-sex intercourse from Leviticus, and Leviticus is itself was an expanded commentary on the Ten Commandments (with its prohibitions against idolatry, witchcraft, stealing, lying, adultery and incest).
St. Paul's teaching
So then what of St. Paul? Amazing that he is so often depicted as an uncompromising mysoginist! Given where the ancient world was on the place of women, Paul's view was actually a great advancement.
Furthermore, Paul showed a remarkably tender attitude towards some moral failings. For example, when the incestuous man of I Corinthians 5 showed signs of repentance, Paul urged the fellowship to receive him
back (2 Corinthians 2:7).
But my reading of Paul, especially in Romans 1, where homosexuality and lesbianism are stated to be "against nature," shows that Paul believed same-sex intercourse to be against God's creative plan. The "nature" Paul speaks of is not our natural inclinations, but the nature of how we are made, of how we ought to be. The parallel between idolatry in the early part of Romans 1 and homosexuality at the end of the chapter, shows that Paul was thinking both vertically and horizontally.
Both idolatry (the vertical) and homosexuality (the horizontal) were contrary to the way things were created by God. And just as idolatry was a deliberate suppression of the truth available even to pagans, so too was same sex intercourse. Why? Because of the anatomical complementarity of male and female.
Robert Gagnon, a professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary whose recent studyThe Bible and Homosexual Practice, just published by Abingdon, is the most comprehensive survey yet, argues that the male and female bodies are constructed in such a way as to give us clues to the complementarity God intended. "This is a complementarity that enables procreation and the capacity for mutual and pleasurable stimulation.
These clues make clear that neither the orifice for excreting waste products, nor the orifice for taking in food, are complimentary orifices for the male member. For Paul it was a commonsense observation of human anatomy and procreative function. Even pagans, who were oblivious to God's direct revelation in the Bible, had no excuse for not knowing this" (p. 256).
In later Pauline passages (I Corinthians 6 and I Timothy 1), there are three Greek words for homosexual intercourse: malakoi, arsenokoitai, and pornoi. Malakoi, literally soft ones, seem to refer to the passive partners in homosexual intercourse — not as some have tried to make the word, a reference to prostituting males. The Jewish writer Philo clearly uses malakoi to refer to the passive partner. Arsenokoitai, literally "one who lies with men," was a neologism occurring only here and in I Timothy 1:10. Some writers want to make this refer only to exploitative or commercial sex. But it appears to refer to the active partner in homosexual sex. Porneia is a catch-all phrase referring to all kinds of sexual immorality.
But why was Paul so adamant about this? Not just because he tied sex to procreation. Nor just because he found sex, or homosexuality, unclean, nor just because in the ancient world it was often exploitative, or connected with idolatry. But rather Paul rejected homosexuality because it turned males into females, violating the male-female anatomical complementarity. Furthermore, it went against both the creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2, and the Levitical prohibitions.
Jesus' teaching
What about Jesus? Some take comfort in the fact that Jesus never seemed to mention homosexuality. Moreover, he treated people who had failed sexually with unusual compassion. So some surmise that he would take a tolerant attitude towards homosexuality. But I find little reason to believe that Jesus shared any different attitude towards this sin than was current in the Judaism of his day. I think his treatment of homosexual persons would have paralleled his treatment of the woman taken in adultery in John 8.
But what of the argument that in Paul the Law was rendered null and void, and the Gospel replaced it as the believer's new internal monitoring system? It's true that in terms of justification, the law was powerless.
Moreover, the ceremonial law had been superceded by Christ's sacrifice, and the juridical law no longer applied to the new international community of believers. But the moral law still held. Why would Paul base so much of his ethical teaching on it; and why would Jesus say that "not one jot or tittle" of the law would pass? Clearly, they saw a continuing place for the law in the life of believers.
Then there's the logical argument: if you throw out some of the Old Testament's sexual prohibitions, such as those on homosexuality, are you left with any firm basis for rejecting the other things the Old Testament prohibits? Like incest, adultery, bestiality, polygamy, paedophilia. Each of these can lay claim to being tender, loving, gentle, even mutual, and therefore acceptable. This is why when I read William Countryman's Dirt, Greed and Sex, I am not surprised that he sees no problem for a Christian committing a little bestiality or polygamy. Countryman's antinomianism demands acceptance of these activities (p. 243-4).
Clearly, the coming of Christ reordered the early church's perception of the place of law-keeping, and brought a whole new dynamic to play. But the moral law as a reflection of God's character, and a litmus test of human behavior, has always been part of our reading of Scripture. And so we say in the Prayer Book, in response to the Decalogue, "Incline our hearts to keep this law."
Some more questions
There is so much more to say. But let me leave the Bible here, and in the remaining minutes, touch on some other areas growing out of my reading of Scripture. I want to put them in terms of questions:
First, must we still hold onto the Bible's view of homosexuality when our view of the role of women, slavery, and divorce have changed over the years?
Well the difference between homosexuality and these issues is that in all three of these issues you see development within Scripture. Scripture moves in the direction of the changes we now take for granted. But there is no such development in the Bible's view of homosexuality. It's view is unremittingly negative.
With respect to women, I have argued in a paper of which I have a few copies here, that there is a trajectory towards a greater and more affirming role for women throughout the Scriptures. From near obscurity in large parts of the Old Testament, they rise to prominence in the ministry of Jesus and the Apostles, far beyond what might be expected, given the culture of the day. They are equipped with the Holy Spirit, sent on missions, at the center of congregational life, called to instruct unenlightened preachers, given prophetic messages, and commissioned to be primary witnesses to the resurrection (Matthew 28:7). Paul says that in Christ there is neither male nor female.
With respect to slavery, while it's true that there were slaves in Israel, Israel did not have a slave economy, and the Bible protected slaves by various regulations. It also used the metaphor of gaining freedom from slavery to refer to the act of salvation in both Testaments; and in the case of Onesimus, Paul does everything possible, short of an outright command to Philemon, to free his slave. He tells the Corinthians: "Were you a slave when you were called? Never mind. But if you can, gain your freedom." (I Corinthians 7:21) Why Christians didn't see the trajectory of Scripture on the matter of slavery is a black mark on our history. But the trajectory is there, and many finally saw it.
And, on divorce. While divorce is repugnant to God (Malachi 2:16), there were cases where it was the lesser of two evils. There is the Mosaic permission, "for the hardness of your hearts" (Matthew 19:8), the Matthaean exception, "except for adultery" (Matthew 5:32), and the Pauline consent, "If the unbelieving partner desires to separate, let it be so" (I Corinthians 7:15)
Second, how can we say that homosexuality is wrong if some people are born that way?
This subject could take all afternoon. Suffice it to say that earlier efforts to discover a gay gene have foundered on the hard rocks of statistics. In the year 2000, in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Michael Bailey admitted that his former studies with twins were biased and unscientific. If homosexuality were genetic, then there should be a 100% correlation of identical twins. The actual occurrence is about 11%.
This is not to say that there might be some correlation between genetics and sexual orientation; but the facts are just not there. Environment has a lot to do with whether a person develops a homophile orientation or not.
Moreover, some people are born with a predisposition for anger, or violent behavior, or alcoholism. Does this mean that they have no need to bring these unruly emotions under self-control, or that they shouldn't be held responsible for actions that spring from their inclinations? Greenberg, who supports gay rights, has built a strong case against the idea that homosexuality is an immutable, genetic condition. Even feminist scientists react to how Darwinian theory has been used to reinforce prejudices against women, and say that "biological predisposition does not mean biological destiny" (Globe and Mail, 7/2/94, "A Little Elbow Room, Please, Dr. Darwin.")
And Christians have never said that sin must be freely chosen. As Richard Hays argues in his Moral Vision of the New Testament, "the very nature of sin is that it is not freely chosen. That is what it means to live 'in the flesh' in a fallen creation" (p.390).
Third, what harm is there if people indulge their sexual whims, as long as the context is loving, mutual, and monogamous? Isn't this what heterosexuals have a right to do, so why not homosexuals?
The harm that homosexuals do is multi-leveled. There is the physical harm that is done to the human body that is not made for anal sex. Study after study demonstrates the medical problems associated with this activity. One statistic says that in any given year approximately 40% of homosexual men get some sexually transmitted disease (Thomas E. Schmidt, p. 118), and the danger of serious illness is constant and cumulative. Life expectancy is seriously shortened, and the rising incidence of AIDS indicates that high risk behavior is once again becoming popular in large sections of the gay community.
Moreover, there is little indication that homosexuals are monogamous, or even want to be. Multiple partners are expected, even among many of those who are in committed relationships (62% according to a Dutch study quoted by Gagnon, p.456), and the contrast between heterosexuals and homosexuals is interesting.
In America 80% of all men and 90% of all women had only one sexual
partner in the preceding year, and 75% of all men and 85% of all women had never had an extramarital affair (The National Health and Social Life Survey, Laumann, et al, 1992). But a book focusing on the sexual habits of "stable" gay couples, indicated that of 156 couples studied, only 7 had remained monogamous, and not one of them had reached the 6-year mark. (McWhirter and Mattison, The Male Couple: How Relationships Develop, 1984)
But why should homosexual couples remain monogamous? At both "Beyond Inclusion" conferences in the Episcopal Church, (1997,1999) speakers argued that the stifling model of heterosexual monogamy should not be foisted on homosexuals. And one seminary professor has argued that the model of monogamous relationships should be replaced by "sexual friendships."
What does this say about male sexuality? It argues that men need to be socialized into enduring, monogamous relationships. Men are easily stimulated and aroused. They need a caring relationship with a woman to bring what is so often an unruly sexual drive into a socially constructive pattern.
Fourth, what about healing for the homosexual?
Some dogmatically say that any such healing is impossible. But they do so in the face of studies and testimonies to the contrary. Not that healings are easy, immediate, or complete. All healing of any kind, this side of death, is temporary, partial, and usually time consuming. Some homosexuals who are highly motivated to change have done so. For some of these change means a reduction in homosexual temptation, for others a change to an exclusively heterosexual orientation. For others it means happy, fulfilling marriages, with children.
Since most psychotherapists say that a 30% success rate is about what you can expect in any treatment — AA has a 25-30% success rate — it's impressive to note that one study of 14 different therapists and therapeutic approaches treating homosexuals, over a 50 year period, showed a 28% change from considerable to complete. (Satinover, p.186-187)
Finally, does it really matter?
I have argued that it matters to God. God has a design for human sexuality.
It matters to people. We all know friends, colleagues, or fellow-Americans who are dying of AIDS. I've walked with parishioners who died of AIDS. Even if a cocktail or a pill were developed tomorrow to stem the tide of this terrible disease, and let's hope one is, homosexual behavior involves serious health risks.
It matters to society. Our society increasingly tolerates homosexuals as people, even though studies show that it consistently disapproves of homosexual conduct. Clearly homosexuals have rights like the rest of us.
My wife and I sold our first home to a homosexual couple. Far too many homosexuals have lived in fear, and know irrational rejection and hatred, including self-hatred. The church needs to minister to them. They need the gospel, and frequently respond to the gospel.
But love involves more than tolerance and acceptance. It involves the kind of deep ministry that will help people of whatever sexual orientation come to terms with the unruly emotions that surround our sexual impulses. It involves caring enough to help people work through the brokenness of past hurts and failures, and to seek the healing that Christ gives. It involves confronting the self-pity that refuses help, and it involves inviting people to experience joy.
The Very Rev. Dr. Peter Moore is dean and president of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry. He is the author of the award-winning Disarming the Secular Gods (IVP), One Lord, One Faith (Nelson), and A Church to Believe In (Latimer), and most recently the editor of Can a Bishop Be Wrong?: Ten Scholars Challenge John Shelby Spong (Morehouse, 1998).
"The Bible and Homosexuality Today" was given at a "Day of Sacred Dialogue" in the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore, on November 3, 2001, sponsored by the diocese's ad hoc committee on human sexuality.
Copyright Peter C. Moore, 2001.
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