(and You Will Too)
Southern Baptists will be heading for Baltimore in just a few days, and
the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is to be held in a
city that has not hosted the convention since 1940. This time, Baptists
attending the meeting will face an issue that would not have been
imaginable just a few years ago, much less in 1940 — a congregation that
affirms same-sex relationships.
Just days before the convention, news broke that a congregation in
suburban Los Angeles has decided to affirm same-sex sexuality and
relationships. In an hour-long video posted on the Internet, Pastor
Danny Cortez explains his personal change of mind and position on the
issue of homosexuality and same-sex relationships. He also addressed the
same issues in a letter posted at Patheos.com.
In the letter, Cortez describes a sunny day at the beach in August of
2013 when “I realized I no longer believed in the traditional teachings
regarding homosexuality.”
Shortly thereafter, he told his 15-year-old son that he “no longer
believed what he used to believe.” His son responded with an even more
direct word to his father: “Dad, I’m gay.” As Cortez writes, “My heart
skipped a beat and I turned towards him and we gave one another the
biggest and longest hug as we cried. And all I could tell him was that I
loved him so much and that I accepted him just as he is.”
According to the pastor, events then came rather quickly. On February
7, 2014, his son, Drew, posted a “coming out video” on YouTube. Two days
later, the pastor told his church about his new position on the issue
(also posted on the Internet). In his message to the New Heart Community
Church congregation, Cortez admitted that his “new position”
represented a “radical shift” that put him into conflict with both the
position of the church and the convictions of the denomination, the
Southern Baptist Convention. He acknowledged that his change of heart on
the issue of homosexuality put him at odds with the SBC’s confession of
faith, the Baptist Faith & Message.
In his letter, the pastor said that his aim was to see the congregation
“allow for grace in the midst of disagreement.” To his regret, he said,
many in the church were not pleased and the church had to consider
whether to terminate the pastor. After voting on March 9 to prolong the
time of consideration and prayer, the church voted on May 18 not to
dismiss the pastor and “to instead become a Third Way church.”
Cortez cited Vineyard pastor Ken Wilson’s book, released earlier this
year, A Letter to My Congregation. Wilson, who serves a Vineyard church
in Ann Arbor, Michigan, describes his book as “an evangelical pastor’s
path to embracing people who are gay, lesbian, and transgender in the
company of Jesus.” Wilson argues that, even as he has come to affirm
same-sex behaviors and relationships, the issue need not divide
congregations or Christians.
Pastor Cortez cited Wilson’s argument as foundational to the position
he and his church are now taking — “agree to disagree and not cast
judgment on one another.”
But, there is no third way. A church will either believe and teach that
same-sex behaviors and relationships are sinful, or it will affirm
them. Eventually, every congregation in America will make a public
declaration of its position on this issue. It is just a matter of time
(and for most churches, not much time) before every congregation in the
nation faces this test.
The impossibility of a “third way” is made clear in Pastor Cortez’s own letter.
In one paragraph, he writes:
“So now, we will accept the LGBT community even though they may be in a
relationship. We will choose to remain the body of Christ and not cast
judgement. We will work towards graceful dialogue in the midst of
theological differences. We wee that this is possible in the same way
that our church holds different positions on the issue of divorce and
remarriage. In this issue we are able to not cast judgement in our
disagreement.”
But in the very next paragraph, he writes:
“Unfortunately, many who voted to remain traditional will now separate
from us in a couple of weeks. We are in the period of reconciliation and
forgiveness. Please pray for us in this. Then on June 8, we will
formally peacefully separate, restate our love for one another, and
bless each other as we part ways. It has been a very tiring and
difficult process.”
In two successive paragraphs the pastor refutes himself. His church is
not going to take a middle ground. He states clearly that “we will
accept the LGBT community even though they may be in a relationship.”
And his church did not unanimously “agree to disagree,” for a
significant portion of the church is leaving on June 8, just 48 hours
before the Southern Baptist Convention convenes in Baltimore. Many “who
voted to remain traditional” are now forced by conviction to leave the
church.
Why? Because there is no “third way.” The New Heart Community Church
has voted to “accept the LGBT community even though they may be in a
relationship.” Even if it is claimed that some continuing members of the
church are in disagreement with the new policy and position, they will
be members of a church that operates under that new policy. At the very
least, their decision to remain in the congregation is a decision to
stay within a church that affirms same-sex behaviors and relationships.
That is not a middle position. It is not a “third way.”
For some time now, it has been increasingly clear that every
congregation in this nation will be forced to declare itself openly on
this issue. That moment of decision and public declaration will come to
every Christian believer, individually. There will be no place to hide,
and no place safe from eventual interrogation. The question will be
asked, an invitation will be extended, a matter of policy must be
decided, and there will be no refuge.
There is no third way on this issue. Several years ago, I made that
argument and was assailed by many on the left as being
“reductionistically binary.” But, the issue is binary. A church will
recognize same-sex relationships, or it will not. A congregation will
teach a biblical position on the sinfulness of same-sex acts, or it will
affirm same-sex behaviors as morally acceptable. Ministers will perform
same-sex ceremonies, or they will not.
Interestingly, a recent point of agreement on this essential point has
come from an unexpected source. Tony Jones, long known as a leader in
the “emerging church” has written that there is no “third way” on
same-sex marriage. As Jones notes, denominations may study the issue for
some time, but eventually it will take a vote. At that point, it will
either allow for same-sex marriage, or not.
In his words:
“And the same goes for an individual congregation. At some point, every
congregation in America will decide either, YES, same-sex marriages
will take place in our sanctuary, performed by our clergy; or NO,
same-sex marriages will not take place in our sanctuary, performed by
our clergy. There is no third way on that. A church either allows
same-sex marriages, or it doesn’t.”
Tony Jones and I stand on opposite sides of this issue, but on the
impossibility of a “third way” we are in absolute agreement.
Conservative evangelicals have understood this for some time. It is
interesting that those on the left now understand the issue in the same
“binary” terms. There is no middle position.
Once again, Tony Jones gets right to the essential point:
“What I’m saying is that a church or an organization can study the
issue in theory, and they can even do so for years. But this isn’t
really a ‘third way’ or a ‘middle ground.’ Instead, it is a process. And
at some point, that process has to end and practices have to be
implemented. At that point, there’s no third way. You either affirm
marriage equality in your practices, or you do not.”
Actually, as we have seen, Pastor Cortez makes the same point. The
practice of his congregation is now to accept openly-gay members and
members in openly-gay relationships. That does not allow for any middle
ground, and that is why his church faces an exodus of members next
Sunday.
Now, the Southern Baptist Convention also faces a moment of unavoidable
decision. A church related to the Convention has officially adopted a
gay-affirming position. The Baptist Faith & Message, the
denomination’s confession of faith, states that homosexuality is immoral
and that marriage is “the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant
commitment for a lifetime.”
Furthermore, the Convention’s constitution states explicitly that any
congregation that endorses homosexual behavior is “not in cooperation
with the Convention,” and thus excluded from its membership.
There is nothing but heartbreak in this situation. Here we face a
church that has rejected the clear teachings of Scripture, the
affirmations of its confession of faith, and two millennia of Christian
moral wisdom and teaching. But the Convention also faces a test of its
own resolve and convictional courage.
I am confident that the Southern Baptist Convention will act in accordance with its own convictions,
confession of faith, and constitution when messengers to the Convention
gather next week in Baltimore. But every single evangelical
congregation, denomination, mission agency, school, and institution had
better be ready to face the same challenge, for it will come quickly,
and often from an unexpected source. Once it comes, there is no middle
ground, and no “third way.”
Sooner or later — and probably sooner — the answer of every church and Christian will be either yes or no.
I am always glad to hear from readers. Just write me at
mail@albertmohler.com. You can follow me on Twitter at
www.twitter.com/albertmohler
Publication date: June 2, 2014
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