FLINT, Mich. (ABP) — On Aug. 29, Woodside Church became the first American Baptist congregation in Michigan to be disaffiliated by its local “sister churches” because of its stance on homosexuality.
The North Area Baptist Association, a 10-county group of Baptist congregations belonging to the American Baptist Churches-USA, voted 18-3 to break ties with the church because of its acceptance of gays.
According to church leaders, Woodside will remain a Baptist congregation, although the 275-member church might have to join with a Baptist association in a different state.
“We believe Jesus, as we know him and understand him through the gospels, teaches us to love everyone just as they are without judgment,” Woodside pastor Deborah Kohler said in the story. “There is nothing they can do to keep us from being Baptists. We can find other churches to connect with.”
The showdown over homosexuality has been brewing for several months. In May, Woodside Church decided to join the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, a pro-gay organization. That act made some of the convention's more conservative churches begin the process of disassociation.
The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists has 55 member congregations nationwide. Member congregations publicly endorse all church members “without regard to sexual orientation or gender identity, and who have joined together to advocate for the full inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons within Baptist communities of faith,” according to the group's website.
Ken Pennings, the executive director of the group, said that by approving the vote to disassociate, the North Area Baptist Association has “severed itself from one of its most vital, healthy, energetic, Christ-centered congregations.”
“This [decision] tells me volumes about the North Area Association,” he told Associated Baptist Press via email. “One only need visit Woodside Church on a Sunday morning to experience Woodside's extravagant welcome of all people, openness to the movement of the Holy Spirit, commitment to religious liberty, peace and justice, depth of spirituality, emphasis on intergenerational communication and development, and involvement in community affairs.”
The vote came as no surprise to Woodside Church members, according to The Flint Journal. The church has a well-known standard of affirmation with no regard to sexual orientation.
An August executive committee letter to the regional board reminded members that, in accordance with American Baptist bylaws, Woodside Church has the right to affiliate with another American Baptist group in a different area or region.
Michael Williams, the executive minister of American Baptist churches in Michigan, told ABP the executive board is trying to find middle ground in the dispute.
“What all of this is highlighting for us is the tension that Baptists often have; it's the tension between local church autonomy and interdependence,” he said. “For us in Michigan, that's the profound issue.”
In a statement on the church's web site, Pastor Kohler said Woodside has always been a unique congregation on the “cutting edge of social-justice issues,” and that same focus continues to play a major role in its identity.
The church is the city's oldest Baptist church, according to the Journal. It also affiliates with the United Church of Christ.
American Baptist Churches-USA have roughly 1.5 million members in the United States.
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