Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Read Between the Lines


Baptist Convention Expels North Carolina Church for Welcoming Gays

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Delegates to the Baptist State Convention have voted overwhelmingly to expel a Charlotte church for welcoming gays and lesbians without trying to change them.

Myers Park Baptist Church became the first to be kicked out under rules passed at last year's meeting. Those rules say any Baptist church that affirmed or endorsed homosexual behavior would be considered not to be cooperating with the convention.

The vote by the nearly 3,000 delegates came after two of the church's leaders called on them to open their hearts to homosexuals who want to worship with them and to respect local autonomy in interpreting the Bible.

But convention president Allan Blume told the meeting that the Bible calls on believers to turn away from sin. He also suggested that Myers Park Baptist was mostly interested in seeking publicity for its views, not in trying to work within the Baptist State Convention.


Ahhh, I see. So a church is expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention for welcoming gays into their congregation. Interesting. Would a church be expelled for, let's say, welcoming those who have committed adultery? Those who have worked for the IRS? Those who have persecuted the church? Would a church be expelled from the convention for welcoming Jesus? In as much as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me. Welcoming a person and being an advocate for sin are two entirely different matters. How can one seek truth in a Christian community if they are not even allowed to be present?

Oh, but wait. Scripture states that believers must turn away from sin. So why have you not kicked out all who continue to smoke? Why have you not kicked out all who continue to lie? Why have you not kicked out all who continue to gossip? All who are commies? All who are not politically correct? All those who ARE politically correct? All who disagree with your way of thinking? OHHH. Those sins don't count. I understand now. /sarcasm off

Often times, news blurbs such as the one above only contain part of the story, usually the part that is sensationalized. If this church is truly seeking to be the attention hound of Christendom within the public media, using homosexuality as a means to an end, the problem is with church leadership, not with the congregation.

One must learn when consuming information to read between the lines. Come to think of it, what am I REALLY trying to say in writing this article?

G.Houtchens
armchair coach
amateur historian

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting-once again the sneering at fellow man and swinging noses upward led to another brillant decision.

Gays--do they deserve the love of Christ? Yep. I don't recall any of his teachings saying they didn't. In fact I recall he was the one who reached out to those who were rejected by society.

Wish more people would see the narrow mindness here...and relate that thought pattern to the evils o the world. It's how people like Hitler got into power; they play on people's narrow minded thoughts.