NC Baptist Convention Addresses LGBTQ Affirming Churches
*Notice* Opinions expressed here are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of my Church or the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.
On Tuesday November, 8th 2022 the North Carolina Baptist State Convention voted overwhelmingly to broaden what it means for a church to be deemed “not in friendly cooperation”. Prior to the change, the convention listed only homosexuality as a disqualification. The new text disqualifies “churches which knowingly act to affirm, approve, endorse, promote, support, or bless LGBTQ+ lifestyles”.
The change underscores two truths.
Biblically consistent churches must move beyond a simplistic conversation on gay marriage
Many Christians still approach the sexual revolution in terms of heterosexual and homosexual, straight vs gay. The political and social reality is far more fluid. The number of youth identifying as transgender continues to skyrocket.
Trans speciesism is on the rise, as well as the normalization of pedophilia as a sexual orientation. For Christians to lovingly speak truth to the surrounding culture, they must understand that the sexual revolution is far more nuanced than it was ten, or even five years ago. The change to the North Carolina Baptist State Convention articles acknowledges the confused and complicated nature of sexual sin in our culture.
Christian cooperation is based on Gospel Obedience
The second thing the amendment underscores is that Christian cooperation must be based on gospel obedience and not on blindly affirming sin. Gospel obedience is the founding purpose of the Southern Baptist Convention. Without a love of God’s objective Word and his gospel message, there can be no missions, no community, and no cooperation. Without mutual submission to Scripture cooperation fails because everyone does what is right in his own eyes.
It is notable that a handful of messengers voted against the measure. Now, it could be that those messengers didn’t understand what was proposed. Or it could be that they were voting against other measures included on the ballot. Either way, the handful of nay votes serve as a reminder of the need for clear, biblical, articulation of Truth. That’s why we have creeds, confessions, and statements of faith. It’s why the Southern Baptists have the Baptist Faith and Message. And it’s why from time to time we update those documents to address the culture around us.
No doubt, some churches who were hiding in sexual ambiguity will break fellowship over the change. And the NC convention itself will disfellowship others. Under the previous wording, a church could affirm and endorse transgenderism and technically still be in friendly cooperation with the North Carolina Baptist State Convention. As of November 2022, that door is no longer open. It’s imperative that Christians stand clearly and unambiguously for biblical Truth. North Carolina Baptists should be commended for doing just that.