RICHMOND — A task force of the Richmond Baptist Association will study the recent ordination to the ministry of an openly gay man by one of its affiliated churches and recommend a response to the association by next spring.
The RBA’s administrative council approved the action Oct. 18 and reported it to representatives attending the association’s annual fall meeting Oct. 21. It was received without challenge or discussion. Ginter Park did not have messengers attending the meeting.
The administrative council “invested considerable time in discussing” the Sept. 16 ordination by Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond, moderator Len Morrow told participants at the fall meeting.
The Richmond Baptist Association, which includes 69 churches in the Richmond metropolitan area, will consider by this spring how to respond to action taken by one of its congregations.
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“In light of the serious nature of this event and its potential impact on the church, the association and its ministry partners, the administrative council has, without opposition, authorized the elected officers of the association to create an ad hoc team of not less than seven individuals to formulate a recommendation for the full association to respond to the recent ordaining action by Ginter Park,” he said.
“The ad hoc team will bring such recommendation to the full association in business session on or before the Annual Spring Celebration currently scheduled for Thursday evening, April 25, 2013.”
After a couple of months of discussion, the 96-year-old Ginter Park church ordained Brandon Scott McGuire, who reportedly feels called to minister to persons with disabilities and special needs and to their families. He is not on the ministerial staff of the church, whose most recent pastor retired at the end of 2011.
In response, the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s executive committee on Oct. 10 asked the church to withdraw its membership in the Baptist General Association of Virginia by Dec. 31. If Ginter Park declines to withdraw by that date, the BGAV will no longer accept its financial contributions — action which would essentially end the church’s affiliation with the state association.
The church’s membership in the RBA is not dependent on its relationship to the BGAV.
The Richmond Baptist Association is a network of 69 congregations in Richmond and three suburban counties. It was organized in 1951 — coincidentally in the sanctuary of Ginter Park church, which is one of its founding members.
While the study task force must bring a recommendation by the RBA’s spring meeting, the administrative council’s action apparently does not prevent convening a special called meeting of the association prior to April 25 to consider a proposal.
“During this difficult season, please pray fervently for one of our founding churches, Ginter Park Baptist, our associational family of churches, the ministries in which we are cooperatively engaged and the welfare of those who depend upon our various ministries, as well as all of our ministry partners,” said Morrow, whose term as moderator concluded at the fall meeting.
The association’s top employed leader echoed that appeal in his report to the association. “While a response is necessary it is equally necessary to respond appropriately and in a manner that honors God, preserves biblical principles, upholds our core values and strengthens our witness for Christ,” said director of missions Michael Robinson. “May God be honored throughout the coming year and may we consistently keep the main thing the main thing.”
Robert Dilday ([email protected]) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.