By David Roach, Baptist Press ATLANTA (BP) -- The Boy Scouts of America should end its ban on gay adult leaders, BSA President Robert Gates said today (May 21), lending credence to the concern expressed in a 2013 Southern Baptist Convention resolution that opening the group's membership to homosexual youth was "merely the first step toward future approval of homosexual adult leaders in the Scouts." A policy allowing gay Scout leaders "was a matter of time," said Ernest Easley, who was chairman of the SBC Executive Committee in 2013. "Back when they changed their thinking regarding the boys themselves, I knew that within a year or so they would reverse their stand with the leadership. And frankly, I think it was the plan to begin with: Start with the kids. We get that done. Then we come back later with the adults." Gates, a former C.I.A. director and U.S. secretary of defense, told attendees of the BSA annual meeting in Atlanta he is not asking the national board to change the leadership policy immediately. But he said the Scouts must voluntarily accept gay leaders before a court forces them to do so. "Between internal challenges and potential legal conflicts, the BSA finds itself in an unsustainable position," Gates said … [Read more...]
Moore: Racial reconciliation a matter of spiritual warfare
NEW ORLEANS – In the turbulent wake of racial tensions from recent situations like Ferguson, Mo., Russell Moore, Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president, said at a one-day preaching event in New Orleans that it is not enough for Christians of different races to simply get along for the sake of missions and evangelism, though both are vital. Racial reconciliation must be a matter of spiritual warfare, Moore said. Moore spoke at a recent Preach the Word conference, hosted by Franklin Avenue Baptist Church and presented by the New Orleans Baptist Association, on kingdom, culture, and mission, and addressed how pastors can effectively and faithfully preach the gospel in light of each. “What Dr. Moore talked about today was incredible, it was on time, it is needed, it was convicting, but it was also inspirational,” said Fred Luter, Jr., Franklin Avenue Baptist Church pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention president. “It gave me hope that racial reconciliation is possible within the body of Christ.” Neither achievement nor heritage is enough to bring someone into God’s kingdom, Moore told a full room of African-American, white and Latino pastors, and their wives, at a dinner concluding the event. Moore drew from … [Read more...]
Arkansas governor urges changes to religious objection bill
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he wants to see changes to a religious liberty law legislators passed March 31, after previously saying he planned to sign the bill. But it’s similar to a new law causing an uproar in Indiana, where Gov. Mike Pence is said to be reviewing modifications to assuage concerns from the gay community. The changes in Indiana would state specifically the bill could not be used by businesses to deny services to people based on sexual orientation. It’s not clear how that might affect Christians in the wedding industry who don’t want to participate in same-sex weddings. Arkansas’s best-known corporate citizen, Walmart, opposes that state’s legislation. Doug McMillon, the company’s CEO called on Hutchinson to veto a bill he said would “undermine the spirit of inclusion” in the state. Several other states, including North Carolina and Georgia, are considering similar legislation. Republican presidential hopefuls, including Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Dr. Ben Carson, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, have voiced support for the bills. Nigerian Christians watch and pray after historic … [Read more...]
SBC leaders say diversity is still needed
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Southern Baptist Convention’s progress in racial reconciliation will fall short of what is needed if it is measured by the one-time election of an African-American president, speakers said at a leadership summit. A panel of Southern Baptist leaders commented on the status of race relations in the convention during a March 27 discussion at “The Gospel and Racial Reconciliation,” a two-day meeting sponsored by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission in Nashville. Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, replayed briefly for attendees his 2012 election as the first black president of a convention that was started in 1845 by a breakaway group of Baptists who supported the appointment of slave owners as missionaries. He recalled a conversation he had with Charles Kelley, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, when no other nominees had surfaced to challenge him in the race a month before the annual SBC meeting. “Fred, I just think our convention feels that it’s time,” Luter quoted Kelley as saying. Luter’s election by acclamation was greeted by an emotional, standing ovation. “It was one of the greatest hours in the life of the Southern Baptist Convention,” … [Read more...]
Court Rules Same-sex Marriage Rights Trump Florist’s Beliefs
OLYMPIA, Wash. – A Washington state judge ruled in February that a Christian flower shop owner is required under state law to provide full services for same-sex wedding ceremonies, even though it violates her faith. Barronelle Stutzman sold flowers to gay couple Robert Ingersoll and Curt Freed for more than nine years, and considered Ingersoll a friend. But when he asked her to create the flower arrangements for the couple’s wedding in 2013, the great-grandmother said she couldn’t because of her “relationship with Jesus Christ.” She referred them to another business for assistance. The Washington state attorney sued Stutzman for allegedly violating the Washington Law Against Discrimination and its Consumer Protection Act. Ingersoll and Freed soon filed their own lawsuit against Stutzman. The ruling settles both suits by summary judgment in the plaintiffs’ favor, preventing the case from proceeding to trial. Voters in Washington legalized same-sex marriage on Nov. 6, 2012. … [Read more...]
Ala. Supreme Court halts same-sex marriage licenses
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – The Alabama Supreme Court has ordered a halt to same-sex marriage licenses in the state, posing a direct challenge to a federal court in Mobile that overturned the state’s marriage laws. The Alabama court, in a March 3 decision, stated: “As it has done for approximately two centuries, Alabama law allows for ‘marriage’ between only one man and one woman. Alabama probate judges have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary to this law. Nothing in the United States Constitution alters or overrides this duty.” This fact, the court stated, “does not change simply because the new definition of marriage has gained ascendancy in certain quarters of the country, even if one of those quarters is the federal judiciary.” The court issued its opinion as one body, called “per curiam,” rather than identifying the judges who drafted the 148-page ruling regarding probate judges who are the state officials responsible for issuing marriage licenses. The religious liberty firm Liberty Counsel, which filed a lawsuit on behalf of state moral concerns organizations ALCAP and the Alabama Policy Institute and a county probate judge, said it was a 7-1 ruling by the nine-member court, with one … [Read more...]
Houston verdict leaves both sides claiming victory in case
LBC & SBC News By Baptist Press HOUSTON (BP) – In a Feb. 13 verdict that left both sides claiming victory, a Houston jury handed down a decision in a lawsuit against the city and administrators for their dismissal of a petition by a coalition of pastors and civic leaders opposed to the city’s Equal Rights Ordinance. Though the jury – in a 10-2 verdict – found nearly 2,500 forgeries among the 54,000 voter signatures, they dismissed the city’s allegations of fraud. With no definitive winner revealed by the verdict, the decision will not be finalized until 152nd District Court Judge Robert Schaffer issues his judgment. Schaffer was out of town and did not preside over the reading of the verdict. Following the verdict lead defense attorney Geoffrey Harrison claimed the verdict as a win for the defense and Mayor Annise Parker, who championed the ordinance as a “personal” issue. Defendants in the lawsuit are Parker, former Houston City Attorney David Feldman, City Secretary Anna Russell and the City of Houston. “If the court’s ruling follows the jury’s verdict this will be a complete and total vindication for the city,” Harrison told reporters following the verdict. “And the petition, which we declared … [Read more...]
Homosexuality and the question, ‘Has God said?’
Editorial & Theological Thought By Bob Stith, Founder of Family and Gender Issues Ministries FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) – For centuries evangelicals have been relatively united in their belief that homosexual behavior is not God’s best for His children. Exodus International, founded in 1976, provided support to ministries advocating that view through personal counseling, support groups (many sponsored by churches) and in the broader culture. In 2012, however, some in the leadership of Exodus began sending mixed messages about the possibility of overcoming homosexual desires. A few of the leaders returned to homosexuality, stating that a gay identity was God-given. Others have argued that a “deeper understanding of grace” means that accepting a homosexual identity will not affect one’s relationship with God. Several very confused people have since contacted me with questions about efforts to defend homosexuality within a biblical context. One person asked if he had been unnecessarily resisting something that really isn’t forbidden. The common thread of such questions leads back to humanity’s original temptation by Satan: “Has God said?” And then his subtle follow-up statements: “God is just holding out on you. … [Read more...]
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