{"id":2555,"date":"2011-08-23T06:00:42","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T12:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=2555"},"modified":"2011-08-23T01:11:08","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T07:11:08","slug":"pflag-baptist-churches-autonomy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/?p=2555","title":{"rendered":"PFLAG, Baptist Churches & Autonomy"},"content":{"rendered":"

What’s up with local Baptist Associations?\u00a0 Several seem to have been quite busy in recent weeks, expelling member churches from their ranks.\u00a0 First, Surry Baptist Association, in Mt. Airy, NC, voted to oust Flat Rock Baptist Church within 16 days of the church calling a woman, Bailey Edwards Nelson, as their pastor<\/a>.\u00a0 For those not familiar with Southern Baptist doctrine, calling a female pastor is not only highly discouraged, but it is well likely the only violation of pastoral qualifications (see 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1) that will get a church kicked out of the fold.\u00a0 Churches who call ill-tempered or greedy pastors or pastors who don’t have control over their own household (all violations of the Scriptural qualifications for elders or pastors) never have to worry about their local fellowship of Baptist churches throwing the book at them.<\/p>\n

The Southern Baptist Convention’s confessional statement — the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 — specifically prohibits women from serving as pastors.\u00a0 The BF&M2000, adopted in 2000 by the messengers to that year’s\u00a0Annual Meeting of the SBC, is a consensus statement\u00a0setting forth\u00a0“certain definite doctrines that Baptists believe, cherish, and with which they have been and are now closely identified”<\/em> (see Preamble to the BF&M2000<\/a>).\u00a0 However, unlike some other religious groups or denominations who have a heirarchical\u00a0polity, the Southern Baptist Convention is comprised of 45,000 autonomous churches who willingly choose to cooperate together for the sake of missions and ministry.\u00a0 According to the SBC’s own By-Laws:<\/p>\n

While independent and sovereign in its own sphere, the Convention does not claim\u00a0and will ever attempt\u00a0to exercise any authority over any other Baptist body, whether church, auxiliary organizations, associations, or convention” (Article IV.\u00a0 Authority.\u00a0SBC By-Laws<\/a>).<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What does that mean?\u00a0 Quite simply, the SBC\u00a0cannot dictate to a local church (or\u00a0local Association of churches or a State Convention of churches) what\u00a0that individual church must believe or practice.\u00a0\u00a0Although local Southern Baptist churches maybe affiliated with the national SBC, a State Baptist Convention, or a local Association, each church remains autonomous, and no other organization (“body”) has power over the local church.\u00a0 While Southern Baptist churches would\u00a0not view themselves as independent (like Independent Fundamental Baptist churches), there remains\u00a0both a freedom to partner with other churches to fulfill the Great Commission and\u00a0freedom from outside control.\u00a0 Autonomy, while not a perfect\u00a0model for “doing church,”<\/em> is certainly preferable to a centralized authority\u00a0which demands\u00a0both theological and methodological\u00a0conformity through creeds<\/p>\n

But, it appears that not everyone shares the belief that autonomy of the local church is a cherished principle worth keeping.\u00a0 Folks might say that they support local church autonomy, but more and more, we are seeing an erosion of autonomy.\u00a0 The principle of local church autonomy will not erode all at once, but rather gradually, over time, with direct (and more likely, indirect) assaults on the practical outworkings of autonomy.<\/p>\n

One such indirect assault happened in Owensboro, KY in early August, when a local Baptist Association kicked out a church over the issue of homosexuality<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0To be\u00a0clear,\u00a0Southern Baptist churches\u00a0“which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior”<\/em> will\u00a0be automatically deemed not to be in friendly cooperation with the SBC.\u00a0 However, unlike the issue of female pastors, a church’s\u00a0pro-gay stance was\u00a0such a grave concern (and rightly so) with the churches of\u00a0the Convention that the By-Laws were amended\u00a0to make it clear that churches which chose to affirm the gay lifestyle were also choosing\u00a0not to cooperate with other SBC churches.<\/p>\n

While I was highly critical of what I saw as Surry Baptist Association’s “graceless response”<\/em> to Flat Rock’s call of a female pastor<\/a>, I would not use the same language to describe the\u00a0disfellowshipping\u00a0of Journey Fellowship (f\/k\/a Seven Hills Baptist Church) from the Daviess-McLean Baptist Association.\u00a0 Even though\u00a0the church’s\u00a0Facebook page had a\u00a0post which said, “Grace takes it on the chin,”<\/em> that simply does not seem to be the case.<\/p>\n

The recommendation to oust the church was made at a special called business meeting for that purpose.\u00a0 In addition, the Credentials Committee — which in most local Associations is responsible for bringing recommendations to disfellowship\u00a0a sister church —\u00a0brought the recommendation to\u00a0sever ties with\u00a0Journey Fellowship.\u00a0 If an Association is going to take the extraordinary step to remove a church from their fellowship, the process that the Daviess-McLean Baptist Association followed is, on its face, more fair and grace-filled than the truncated process used to oust Flat Rock Baptist Church in Mt. Airy.<\/p>\n

However, just because the process was fair does not mean that there are no questions that should be asked regarding why the church was disfellowshipped in the first place.\u00a0 These questions are not so much directed at the Association’s Biblical stance on homosexuality (with which I would agree), but rather what could be perceived as an indirect assault on local church autonomy.\u00a0 As the old legal maxim states, “bad cases make bad law.”\u00a0 The case of Journey Fellowship fits that description.\u00a0 The Association’s final adjudication of the case involving Journey is one that has some potentially “bad” consequences, particularly where autonomy is concerned.<\/p>\n

From a quick perusal of Journey Fellowship’s website (here<\/a>), there is no question that this church is on a journey that most Southern Baptists, including me, would label theologically liberal.\u00a0\u00a0There are\u00a0moderate Baptist churches that abound, but Journey ain’t one of them!\u00a0 Two links on their website’s Home Page — one to the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists<\/em> and the other to what’s known as Believe Out Loud<\/em> — would strongly indicate that Journey fully accepts the gay, lesbian, and transgendered lifestyles as fully compatible with Christianity.\u00a0 In fact, the Believe Out Loud<\/em> campaign states<\/a>:<\/p>\n

We are a Million Strong. We believe Jesus\u2019 message compels us to welcome all, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. Show the world that you can be Christian AND believe in LGBT\u00a0equality. Join the movement to unite a million Christians for LGBT equality in the church and beyond.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is absolutely nothing on Journey’s website to indicate that this church believes the same Biblical doctrines that\u00a0the vast majority of churches in the Daviess-McClean Baptist Association believe.\u00a0 In fact, there is clear and convincing\u00a0evidence — from the website alone —\u00a0to strongly conclude that\u00a0Journey is acting\u00a0\u00a0“to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior.”\u00a0 <\/em>That basis — and that basis alone — should\u00a0have been more than sufficient for the Credentials Committee to recommend the disfellowshipping of Journey.<\/p>\n

What is slightly perplexing to me is the reason that the Association gave for bringing the recommendation to disfellowship\u00a0Journey.\u00a0 The church had been allowing a local chapter of PFLAG\u00a0(Parents, Families\u00a0and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) to use the church’s facilities to hold a once-a-month meeting.\u00a0 For those unfamiliar with PFLAG (their website here<\/a>), this is an organization that\u00a0clearly and unequivocally\u00a0“affirms, approves, and endorses”<\/em>\u00a0the homosexual lifestyle.\u00a0 There is no\u00a0ambiguity in what PFLAG represents.\u00a0 This organization’s mission and values are diametrically opposed to what the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptists would consider Biblically sound and orthodox.<\/p>\n

Perhaps this was the final straw in a long-strained relationship between Journey and the Association.\u00a0 However,\u00a0why use the church’s refusal to kick-out\u00a0PFLAG\u00a0as the sole (or main) reason for bringing a recommendation to disfellowship this obviously unorthodox church as was reported:<\/p>\n

The Daviess-McLean Baptist Association met in special session to vote on the recommendation to expel the Owensboro congregation, formerly known as Seven Hills Baptist Church, for permitting a chapter of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays to meet on the premises once a month.\u00a0\u00a0Leaders in the association said the church\u2019s refusal to ask PFLAG to meet elsewhere implied acceptance of homosexuality, which the majority of the association views as sinful. (emphasis added)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Why rely on an “implied acceptance” of homosexuality when you have\u00a0overt, clear affirmation and acceptance of\u00a0the homosexual lifestyle standing right in front of you?\u00a0 Is the Association really saying that they would not have recommended to disfellowship\u00a0Journey if only the church would have told PFLAG\u00a0that\u00a0the group was no longer welcome to use the church’s facilities?\u00a0 That seems quite preposterous.\u00a0 There was no need to even talk about the\u00a0church’s use of the facilities by PFLAG.\u00a0 It was simply unnecessary.<\/p>\n

But, because the Association apparently saw the church’s refusal to have PFLAG meet elsewhere as some type of “implied acceptance”<\/em> of homosexuality, the Association actually\u00a0embarked on a slippery slope of eroding autonomy, whether they realized it or not.\u00a0 Oh, the case of Journey\u00a0Fellowship may have been decided correctly (for the record, I think it was), but the rationale for deciding the case was muddled, making a potentially bad precedent.<\/p>\n

What is that potentially bad precedent?\u00a0 For an Association now to tell a church who can and\u00a0cannot use their facilities.\u00a0 If a group\u00a0is approved, no problem.\u00a0 However, if a group finds itself disfavored by the majority of churches in the Association, then any church who allows the disfavored group to use the church’s facilities — even if the church does not fully endorse all that the group stands for — could risk the ire of the Association.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0call in the case of Journey Fellowship perhaps is an easy one to\u00a0make.\u00a0 Others will not be so\u00a0cut and dry.\u00a0 Granted, this is a small slip down the slope,\u00a0but a slippery slope always starts somewhere<\/a>.\u00a0 Just some food for thought in the always interesting world of autonomous Southern Baptist churches.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What’s up with local Baptist Associations?\u00a0 Several seem to have been quite busy in recent weeks, expelling member churches from their ranks.\u00a0 First, Surry Baptist Association, in Mt. Airy, NC, voted to oust Flat Rock Baptist Church within 16 days of the church calling a woman, Bailey Edwards Nelson, as their pastor.\u00a0 For those not…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[8,27,35,37],"tags":[1301,1071,1200,1302,1299,1103,1284,1298,1306,1297,495,1303,1304,1148,1300,1296,1295,1305,3393,1174],"class_list":["post-2555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-homosexual-agenda","category-religion","category-southern-baptist-convention","tag-association-of-welcoming-and-affirming-baptists","tag-bailey-edwards-nelson","tag-baptist-associations","tag-believe-out-loud","tag-daviess-mclean-baptist-association","tag-flat-rock-baptist-church","tag-gay","tag-gay-lifestyle","tag-homosexual-behavior","tag-homosexual-lifestyle","tag-homosexuality","tag-journey-fellowship","tag-journey-fellowship-owensboro","tag-mt-airy","tag-owensboro","tag-parents-families-friends-of-lesbians-and-gays","tag-pflag","tag-seven-hills-baptist-church-owensboro","tag-southern-baptist-convention","tag-surry-baptist-association"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p1LP7G-Fd","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2555"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2563,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2555\/revisions\/2563"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fromlaw2grace.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}