Leaders on all sides of the debate over homosexuality in the American Baptist Churches USA (ABC) see little resolution to concerns raised during the denomination’s recent biennial meeting.
“I don’t think the biennial solved anything, in terms of the future of the denomination,” said Mike Williams, executive minister of ABC churches in Michigan.
The lack of action means further moves by those disaffected with the national denomination could come between now and the next meeting of the denomination’s general board in November. Churches in at least four ABC regions threatened to withhold contributions to the denomination or leave altogether if their concerns over homosexuality were not addressed at the biennial, which took place July 1–4.
Regional redefining
The denomination’s general board, meeting prior to the larger convocation in Denver, accepted the first reading of a petition from one region that calls for amendments to documents designed to more clearly state American Baptists’ opposition to homosexuality.
Regional fellowships are the channel through which local churches relate to the national body, which counts 1.5 million members in 5,836 churches. 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, many pro-gay ABC churches have joined more progressive regions outside their area.
The Indiana-Kentucky region initiated the petition to change the rules on regional affiliation back, as well as to amend a denominational identity statement to read that American Baptists are a people “who submit to the teaching of Scripture that God’s design for sexual intimacy places it within the context of marriage between one man and one woman, and acknowledge that the practice of homosexuality is incompatible with biblical teaching.”
It and another petition expressing concern over the unity in the denomination will receive a second reading at the November meeting of the general board. If passed, it effectively would create a mechanism for expelling many gay-friendly churches from the ABC.
Larry Mason, executive minister for ABC of Indiana-Kentucky, said the Indiana-Kentucky board had already appointed a task force to study the issue and that leaders were conducting listening sessions with American Baptists from around the region. The task force will report to the regional board with recommendations on how to proceed at their November meeting -— a week prior to the national ABC general board meeting.
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