By Cody Sanders
While I came to understand the meaning of embracing the Christian faith fairly early in childhood, a lengthy period of time elapsed before my journey down the aisle to make a public profession of faith. Some churches have a similar problem when it comes to embracing their gay members publicly.
My family sat near the back of our church’s very long sanctuary and, as a young child, the walk “down front” seemed a bit daunting. It would have been easier if I could just make this profession in the privacy of my pastor’s office or in my living room. Even walking just halfway down the aisle would be better than all the way up front! But all of that talk the preacher did at the end of every service indicated that such a solution just wouldn’t do. I had to get up out of my pew and trek all the way up front — accompanied by music and singing, no less — in order to stand before God and everybody I knew to make my “public profession of faith.” At 10, I finally mustered the courage.
Public professions are important to a lot of Christians — and especially Baptists. It’s one reason we don’t baptize babies or the dead, because they simply cannot make professions of faith. But while it seems that we Baptists emphasize quite well the importance of public professions of initial faith in Christ, after that profession, we often stop publicly marking or professing other momentous decisions we make in the faith.
This is often the case when it comes to a church’s decisions concerning the inclusion and affirmation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the life of the congregation. It is not difficult to find churches and organizations making public professions against the full inclusion of LGBT people. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship made such a public profession in its “Organizational Policy on Homosexual Behavior” that guides the national organization’s personnel and funding practices. The Baptist General Convention of Texas has made an even more comprehensive public profession that “Homosexual behavior is a sin,” which guides not only the convention’s policies, but dictates whether or not churches can be a part of BGCT life.
Certainly, there are also churches and organizations that have made public professions supporting the affirmation and inclusion of LGBT people. The Alliance of Baptists publicly professes belief in the rights of LGBT people to full marriage equality. Many churches (such as Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Ga.), include declarations regarding the equality of persons of diverse sexual orientations in church covenants and other public statements.
Still, there are many churches where gay and lesbian people attend worship weekly, lead in various church ministries and shoulder responsibility for the common life of the faith community and no public professions of inclusivity or affirmation are ever made. Reasons given for this are myriad: “We don’t want to be a church known for ‘that issue.’” “We don’t want to put inclusivity to a vote.” “People already know we’re an ‘accepting’ church.” Gay and lesbian people themselves may argue against congregational professions of affirmation, not wanting to feel singled out in their communities of faith.
While all of these reasons hold some value, I can think of a few good reasons why churches that are tacitly welcoming and secretly affirming might consider revisiting the important notion of public professions.
First, a pragmatic word: Even if you think people already know your church as a welcoming or affirming congregation, they don’t. Gay, lesbian and straight people alike look at Internet sites and church publications to see if they or their friends and family are really welcome in a place of worship. In a day in which most churches aren’t affirming, few people will assume that a “welcoming atmosphere” means you truly welcome LGBT people.
More importantly, in a society where public professions of hatred, exclusion and violence against LGBT people are the norm, we cannot afford to keep silent about hopeful expressions of inclusion and affirmation. The public welcome and affirming embrace of a community of faith can be a truly — and literally — life-saving experience for LGBT people.
Public professions are difficult to make. If walking down the aisle of a church seems daunting, the progressive movement toward becoming publicly open and affirming toward LGBT people can be downright scary for any congregation. But at some point you have to get out of the pew and start moving — perhaps slowly, but steadily nevertheless.
It is a movement closer and closer toward the time when you stand before God and everyone you know and make the public profession that your church truly is welcoming and affirming of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. So keep moving — and don’t stop halfway down the aisle.