Homosexuality
splits American Baptists
UPI ^ | May 17,
2006
Posted on 05/18/2006 9:12:48 AM PDT
Except the Church in
the US and Canada repent, they shall cease to exist within a generation. And
what has occurred with her whorish sister in Europe shall come upon the church
here and this nation shall be destroyed by its sin as well.
COVINA, May 17 (UPI) — Leaders of the American
Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest have left the denomination, primarily
over its handling of homosexuality.
The region's board of
directors unanimously affirmed late last week an earlier recommendation to
withdraw from its "Covenant of Relationships and Agreements" with the American Baptist Churches USA, Associated Baptist
Press reported Wednesday.
The national denomination, which has its
origins in a Civil War-era split from what is now the Southern Baptist
Convention, is based in Valley Forge, Pa.
"God's heart is broken when sisters and brothers in Christ divide over matters of scriptural interpretation. We pray God's blessing on PSW as they go their way from the ABC family," said Roy Medley, the denomination's general secretary, according to American Baptist News Service. He also said "this parting of the ways will not diminish our passion, commitment and undaunted spirit to move forward in mission and ministry."
The latest decision ratifies an April 29 "straw poll" vote of delegates from the region's churches. In that vote, held at First Baptist Church in Pomona, Calif., and other locations around the region, members representing congregations voted 1,125-209 to terminate the covenant. In American Baptist polity, such covenants are important written agreements that bind the region with the national body.
The region's executive minister, Dale Salico, said in a May 12 press release
that such an "overwhelming response" indicated a "mandate" from the vast
majority of the region's American Baptists. The release also noted that 152 of
the region's 250 eligible churches participated in the vote. (Meaning 148 in the region did not follow these 152
churches, and did not consider the issue of the embracement of homosexuality in
their Baptist denomination worth splitting over.)
The region's board of directors, in initially recommending the severance,
released a statement saying they made the recommendation because "deep
differences of theological convictions and values between the American Baptist
Churches of the Pacific Southwest (ABCPSW) and the American Baptist Churches in
the USA (ABCUSA) are understood by the board of directors of the ABCPSW as
irreconcilable." So they divorced
Most of the "irreconcilable" differences seemed to focus on the way the
denomination, with approximately 1.5 million members in more than 5,800
churches, relates to "gay-friendly" ministers
and congregations. Even though American Baptist leaders approved a
1992 resolution opposing homosexual conduct, some ABC conservatives have
asserted the wording and the enforcement of the motion on denominational
agencies and personnel are not strong enough. I have seen
and addressed this continuing overthrow in evangelical, fundamentalist,
Pentecostal and charismatic churches ministries and denominations. The Lord has
spoken to me of the overthrow of all of these through their seminaries and bible
schools. All of which agnostics, atheists, humanists, Homosexual, and Lesbian
groups have targeted for infiltration.
And as they successfully overthrow all of Methodism they have set their
sites on their most vocal critics to not only bring them to complete silence –
but to utterly corrupt them and make them a machine with which to spread their
contagion. The idea is from the article that the Lord spoke on Eve being a
trusted source. Or Aaron being a
trusted source when he said break off the earrings and caused the defilement and
death of all of Israel. And this is spoken of in the Martyrdom of Isaiah -- which foreshadows the coming of the
False Prophet and the Antichrist telling us that trusted sources will try to
persuade all to worship the beast and defile and damn all who do so. So once they infiltrate
churches in a trusted denomination they can ship their contagion to other
churches and their bible schools and be also accepted by other bible schools.
These schools only ask letters from a pastor or elder to determine if a
candidate is of “Good Character” and when the pastor and elders are taken – the
so called safe guard is gone. Even in my five years in Pinecrest there were many
students that had to be expelled that had slipped in and were caught not because
of the elders discernment but because of immoral and unrighteous acts these
students were caught in and for every 2–3 students that were weeded out in those
days there were an equal number that were able to pass muster and receive a
degree from the school – and this is ultimately that the school though much
vaunted as the school of the spirit – was in fact a business and if the students
that were enrolled fell too much the school could not meet its financial
obligations and also when there are too few students donations fall off as
well. When I arrived in 1976 there
was a preacher that arrived that ministered to gay men he was set aside in a
trailer in the trailer part for several weeks so gay students could go to him
seeking help – I was friendly with him (Not on that basis) and visited him a few
times to fellowship and I became aware that he at least between six students
that were gay or formerly seeking him for counseling. He told me so I private
and I met one visiting him and was asked to keep his identity private and I did.
At the time Pinecrest had 120 students you have to think that almost 40 percent
of the students were women so we are talking 10-15 percent in 1976 were formerly
gay or were still gay and only one or two were ever expelled. One of the two
that were expelled for gay issues was the man that I met that visited him.
In August 2005 vote by the ABC-USA Ministers' Council particularly riled
conservatives in the denomination. In it, the ministers defeated a proposed
amendment that would have required members of the organization to be ministers
who believe "sexual intimacy is only appropriate in the context of heterosexual
marriage."
It is hard for me to imagine an entire
Baptist denomination voting to make acceptable within the entire denomination
sexual intimacy between unmarried members and gay and lesbian couples. -- But this is exactly what you have
here.
Progressive and centrist American
Baptists, (read this as Liberal)
meanwhile, have tried to defend what they see as traditional Baptist
stances on congregational autonomy (The
churches consenting to this immorality) and individual conscience
(as opposed to adherence to scripture) in
opposing the ouster of pro-gay churches and leaders. REMEMBER THE
SPLIT HERE WAS 150-148. How many years do you suppose that this took to
manifest? I would suggest to you that this over throwing of 49 percent of these
Baptist churches only occurred in the last twenty years. I would further suggest
that in all denominato0ns and ministries that 10-15 percent are gay and have
been for the last seven decades – the movement is in all the gays pouring out of
these bible schools into ministry. I am suggesting that these many of these gay
pastors by bible school standards are considered some of their best and
brightest. And these bible schools following in the teachings of Calvin and
Luther by lauding the Gnostic worship of celibacy – in direct disobedience to
Commandment 00001 and the whole of the word of God have made themselves a haven
for gay men and lesbian women. As
we gave seen in Catholic seminaries and Methodist seminaries.
The region's churches still have to decide individually whether to sever their relationships with the national denomination. A new group, called the Association of American Baptists in the Pacific Southwest, has established itself to coordinate the work of churches that choose to stay in the denomination. The group's Web site says it will work with the Los Angeles Baptist City Society, a local association of American Baptist churches.
In the meantime, according to the departed region's website, American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest will change its name to Transformation Ministries, which the site describes as "a movement of Baptist churches committed to change their worlds for Christ."