The Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists and the Affirming Network of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have merged, AWAB announced June 17.
Moving forward, the consolidated organization will operate under the AWAB name and will strive to meet the rising threats facing LGBTQ people, said Jordan Conley, a network leader and co-pastor of Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.
The Affirming Network is the newer for the two organizations. AWAB was founded by the American Baptist Churches USA in 1993 to advocate for full inclusion across Baptist life. The organization has 174 member congregations and ministries throughout the U.S. Its reach is far broader than CBF. AWAB’s executive director, Brian Henderson, is ordained in the ABC.
Jordan Conley
“This merger unifies the voices of LGBTQ clergy and allies within CBF life at a time when the Spirit’s call to bear witness to the inclusive mission of Jesus could not be more urgent,” Conley said. “Our country is experiencing a heartbreaking rise in hate crimes, discriminatory legislation and hostile rhetoric against the LGBTQ community.”
The merger was driven by leadership and operational challenges both organizations endured after the COVID-19 pandemic, AWAB said. “In a concerted effort to uphold AFN’s foundational principles and sustain its impactful inclusionary initiatives, leaders from AFN, CBF and AWAB engaged in over two years of deliberations to chart a path forward, ultimately concluding in a merger.”
AWAB board Chair Bob Sittig described the merger as a boost for LGBTQ people in Baptist spaces.
Bob Sittig
“The relationship that has been established between AWAB and CBF churches is a significant step forward in the advocacy of the full inclusion of the LGBTQ community into Baptist life,” he said. “All of us have been made in the image of God, and the strength of this partnership will continue to ensure that this message is not forgotten as we strive to create God’s kingdom here on earth. I look forward to our work together.”
CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley recognized the commitment of both groups in championing the cause of inclusion in Baptist congregations. He also lauded the network for providing community for LGBTQ Christians in a fellowship in which LGBTQ diversity is not universally embraced.
Same-sex marriage and full inclusion of LGBTQ Christians remains a divisive issue within CBF, with some CBF churches embracing full inclusion and others describing themselves as “welcoming but not affirming.”
Nevertheless, “This decision reflects the founding commitments of the network while also demonstrating a spirit of collaboration that we see as a growing value across our Fellowship’s life,” Baxley said.
The merger is a hopeful sign in “a culture bursting with religious strife and political polarization. Most conversations about matters of LGBTQ inclusion have been increasingly characterized by fear, demonization and dehumanization,” Baxley said.
Paul Baxley
The consolidation of the network and AWAB couldn’t come at a better time for congregations and LGBTQ individuals navigating those challenges, Conley added. “This landscape highlights the urgency of churches coming out as communities that embrace the expansive mission of Jesus Christ. AWAB is uniquely equipped to walk alongside CBF churches as they discern, affirm and advocate for LGBTQ folk and allies.”
The Affirming Network was founded in 2018 by LGBTQ Baptists intent on promoting a vision of inclusion throughout CBF. “Rather than merely making space around a table for LGBTQ folk, AFN advocated for a whole new table in Cooperative Baptist life,” Conley said.
That was the same year the CBF Governing Board approved a revised hiring policy opening some staff positions to LGBTQ people while limiting field personnel and leadership positions to those who are single or in heterosexual marriages.
During this week’s CBF General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C., AWAB will host a June 20 concert and reception featuring singer Walker Burroughs. AWAB held its first ancillary event at a CBF General Assembly in Atlanta in 2017 with about 85 in attendance.