By Andrew Gardner
Predictions that differing opinions about homosexuality will cause division in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pose a quintessential challenge: Are we a people who can cooperate despite our differences?
I agree with CBF moderator Colleen Burroughs’ call for a conversation to be had regarding the current CBF hiring policy. If we claim to be a “Cooperative” Baptist Fellowship, conversations and discussions are a necessary part of our cooperativeness.
These conversations are not to change people’s minds, but rather to understand how we can better cooperate with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
People have different ways of interpreting Bible passages in Leviticus or the first chapter of Romans that refer to homosexuality. If we believe in the Baptist principles of religious freedom, church freedom, biblical freedom and soul freedom, however, we must apply these principles even in sticky situations.
It is true that Christians should never compromise our faith, but we are called to accept our beliefs with humility. To just presume that the interpretation that informs the current hiring policy is absolutely correct and free from error would be arrogant and prideful.
It’s easy to cite Bible passages that call homosexuality an abomination without giving it a second thought. It’s just as easy to forget that passages like Proverbs 12:22 and 16:5 say that the liar and the proud in heart are also abominations before God, yet they don’t appear in our hiring policies.
Unlike some, I look forward to discussions about sexuality in CBF life. Ask questions and evaluate your position. Does that position allow Christ to move freely in the hearts and minds of CBF churches across the nation?
Let us not become divisive over a hiring policy, but let us strengthen our commitment to the diverse body of Christians that Christ calls us to be. If we cannot even discuss these questions throughout the levels of Baptist life, what business do we have calling ourselves “cooperative?”