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[Pan_Yans Wife]

Ping

[DannyTN]

Glendale's half-century associations with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and the Southern Baptist Convention have been dissolved over the past month because of Baker. Baptist officials said the church's choice to support Baker, currently its only full-time minister, left them with no choice.

When I read the title, I wondered why the SBC hadn't already disassociated itself. Good, they didn't waste any time.

Jesus died for all the lost, gays as well as straights. But the scripture is clear. Continuing in the gay lifestyle is incompatible with Christianity. It's a failure to submit to Jesus as the Lord of your life.

Ask any gay and he will tell you something like "I have to be true to myself". Forget his maker, he's focused on self.

[xzins]

Baptist officials said the church's choice to support Baker, currently its only full-time minister, left them with no choice. "In having a homosexual or lesbian minister, they are clearly endorsing homosexual behavior, and thus have defined themselves outside of the Southern Baptist Convention," said Richard Land, president of the SBC's public policy arm.

They've done more than that.

They've defined themselves out of the Christian religion.

[Bismark]

She is a gifted speaker, a great pulpit speaker. She is a very spiritual leader for the kids."

Spiritual is not the same as Christian. All of us are sinners, but one should draw the line at continuing in sin and denying that it is sin.

[Gritty]

(The congregation) decided to pick the best candidate for the job, regardless of sexual orientation.

I can't imagine what the other candidates were like!

The church was rightly expelled from the Convention. However, look for the upcoming lawsuits which will force churches to hire such people. The lawsuits will no doubt come, and given the pathetic state of today's American jurisprudence will probably succeed.

Just because Sodom would be proud of such a state of affairs doesn't mean America should be.

[GatekeeperBookman]

Narcissism-THE disease of the age.

[AD from SpringBay]

"What will happen when we move from the center to the margins, and make friends . . . with those that our society smugly thinks of as the disinherited and marginalized? What will happen when they become our heroes and heroines of friendship and faithfulness, forgiveness and grace?"

Well (just thinking out lout here) if the disinherited and marginalized become our heroes and heroines without repenting (recognizing that it's wrong to be a queer, or that there are qualifications to being a pastor, for example) and turning to Jesus Christ as their savior then I guess that means they will go to hell and probably lead a lot of people there with them.

[who knows what evil?]

No wonder that 'home churches' are growing by leaps and bounds, just like home schooling. Jesus warned us about apostate churches...they are here, and they are spreading like wildfire. I'm located in the Bible Belt, and I gave up trying to find a church several years ago.

[NeoCaveman]

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

Baker's sexual orientation is "such a small fraction of who she is," White said.

I doubt that.

[longtermmemmory]

The sermon at Glendale Baptist Church one recent Sunday recalled how Jesus mingled with tax collectors and prostitutes, refusing to snub people for the unpopular things they did.
****** ** * *

They homosexuals pervert everything. The point was the message of change from sinful ways taken TO the sinners. Is this case is this woman going to stop having lesbian sex? Is she going to seek counseling to change her lifestyle? Christ message was to change yourself AWAY from evil.

(h)I was born a smoker, but it has not been easy but I have quit smoking.(/h)

[DannyTN]

"I say that the Southern Baptist Convention left me, because the SBC as it is today is not the same spiritual and theological home in which I grew up," Baker said. "I think that there's a distinct call to the church to push the edges of inclusiveness."

She's talking out of both sides of her mouth. On the one hand she claims the church has changed (not true) but then she calls for "pushing the edges of inclusiveness".

[George W. Bush]

One church going liberal in the Tennessee Convention isn't much news. They have 3000 congregations. The church and the lesbian preacherette both knew perfectly well that employing her as a pastor would result in expulsion from SBC/TBC. This AP story is just the usual homopropaganda.

Here is an excerpt from the TBC account of this incident from the Tennessee Baptist Convention website:

...

At the meeting Whetham shared with the Glendale group, which included the lesbian minister, why it was necessary to seek some action of separation.

Whetham said the best case scenario for the Executive Board would be for Glendale to simply leave the TBC.

"They had a dilemma with that scenario. In reality, most of their members who did not agree with the church's action had already left the church. There were some, however, who supported the action but would find it impossible to vote to leave the convention," she told the board.

"Their best case scenario was for us to vote them out, and they would go quietly. Where once they had appreciated the attention of the press, they now found it not to be positive and wanted to avoid it if possible."

It was apparent both sides agreed on a separation, Whetham said. The TBC group left and worked that afternoon on the wording of what would become the recommendation to the Executive Board. The statement was faxed to Glendale and was later approved by the church.

Whetham said a special meeting of the Executive Board was called because "our conviction was that this should be done as quickly as possible to avoid word leaking to the press prematurely."

...

Clearly, the AP is pumping this story for far more than it's worth.

[reed_inthe_wind]

Jesus saves and befriends repentant sinners. Committing sin after you are baptized into new life is to crucify the Lamb of God. Refusing to acknowledge sin is pride. Modern thinkers like Nietzsche want to remove the awareness of sin. They want a world where good and evil are indistinguishable - "make evil my good."

[First Amendment]

A lot to comment on - here's a couple thoughts:

When the search process for an associate pastor turned up two of three candidates who disclosed they were lesbians, church leaders took the matter to the congregation. It decided to pick the best candidate for the job, regardless of sexual orientation.

So they knew what they were getting... And TWO of the three were homosexuals? Is being a preacher the new profession for them?

"You don't ask people to apply, and based on something they have no control over, then say, 'Sorry, some extraneous thing is going to disqualify you.' "

Something they have no control over? So he's buying the genetic thing? Extraneous? Meaning unnecessary, not germaine to being a minister of God????

Glendale bills itself as "A Caring Community of Equality and Grace." In the early 1970s, the church supported the desegregation of Nashville public schools and lost a large part of its membership.

So they're comparing people being upset about segregation to being upset about homosexuals being ministers of God.

When Kreis White's family was considering whether to join Glendale, he was told about Baker's sexual orientation. He didn't see it as relevant. "My kids got to help in the soup kitchen yesterday, and Habitat for Humanity is a blast. The activism is what attracted me," he said.

Nope, it's not relevant that a minister of God practices sodomy which is condemned in the Book she is preaching from. More important is that she is a social activist.

Baker's sexual orientation is "such a small fraction of who she is," White said. "She is also a Braves fan, which I find horribly compelling. She is a gifted speaker, a great pulpit speaker. She is a very spiritual leader for the kids."

This guy is worse than lame. It's as though he is being purposely shallow. It's more important that she is a sports fan than a pervert? He is obviously a homo-promoter and supporter, and at the same time wants to be a feel-good "Christian". Good for the Baptists that broke off from these deviants.

[AppyPappy]

When Kreis White's family was considering whether to join Glendale, he was told about Baker's sexual orientation. He didn't see it as relevant. "My kids got to help in the soup kitchen yesterday, and Habitat for Humanity is a blast. The activism is what attracted me," he said. Baker's sexual orientation is "such a small fraction of who she is," White said. "She is also a Braves fan, which I find horribly compelling. She is a gifted speaker, a great pulpit speaker. She is a very spiritual leader for the kids."

Hmmm....no mention of Jesus

[Jerry_M]

"I say that the Southern Baptist Convention left me, because the SBC as it is today is not the same spiritual and theological home in which I grew up," Baker said. "I think that there's a distinct call to the church to push the edges of inclusiveness."

Huh?

Can anyone name any SBC church in the 30's, 40's, 50's, 60's, 70's, or 80's that had a lesbian pastor?

Sorry chick, but the SBC didn't leave you, you have chosen to flaunt your sin, and true Christians call upon you to repent.

[Walkin Man]

I can't believe that this is going on at a Southern Baptist church! I'm sure Sandra Day O'Conner is pleased though.