Texas Convention Shuns Congregations In Austin, Dallas That Affirm LGBT Members

The Baptist General Convention of Texas, the state’s oldest Baptist convention, plansÂ to sever ties withÂ churchesÂ in Austin and Dallas because they’ve chosen to affirm gay members.

The BGCT, which isÂ aligned with the Southern Baptist Convention, includesÂ more than 5,000 churches and numerous schools, including Baylor University.Â

According to aÂ BGTC resolutionÂ adopted in 1982, “The homosexual lifestyle is not normal or acceptable in Godâ€™s sight and is indeed called sin.â€

“The good news of the Bible affirms the value and worth of every person, offering hope for all in Christ,” the conventionÂ states on a page titled “Homosexuality” onÂ its website. “Forgiveness, restoration and transformation are available to the person who truly repents.”Â

BGCT leaders sent letters last week toÂ First Baptist Church of Austin and Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, notifying them thatÂ their pro-LGBT positions put them outside the bounds ofÂ â€œharmonious cooperation” with the convention, according to The Baptist Standard.Â

â€œShould your church choose to publicly affirm same-sex sexual behavior, the BGCT will no longer be able to accept funds from the church, seat its messengers to the annual meeting, allow the church to express affiliation with the BGCT or allow its members to serve on the BGCT boards, committees or other roles,â€ BGCT leaders wroteÂ in theirÂ letter to Wilshire Baptist Church.

The letter to Wilshire Baptist was sent in advance of a vote by the congregation Sunday on a resolution to allow LGBT deacons and same-sex marriage ceremonies. Despite BGCT’s threat, Wilshire Baptist members voted to approve the resolution,Â 577-367.

“Because of the position we have now taken, they don’t want to receive our money for the hunger offering,” Wilshire Associate Pastor Mark Wingfield told WFAA-TV. “I think it is astonishing to think the Baptist General Convention of Texas would turn away our direct contribution of hunger offering money because they disagree with us on the inclusion of persons who identify in the LGBT community.”

First Baptist Church of Austin, which also allows LGBT deacons and same-sex weddings, responded to BGTC in an open letter alleging that the convention was influenced by other churches that threatened to withhold financial contributions until the congregation was expelled.Â

“Once we begin to listen to the voices who wield power and financial strength in this way, we have begun a slippery slope to fundamentalism and irrelevancy,” First Baptist Church of Austin wrote. “A religious system that drifts into listening to those with money and prioritizes those in power is the very thing Jesus Christ criticized and fought against â€” in fact, this is where the line is most often crossed between being a faith community and becoming an empire.”Â

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