By Bob Allen
Two weeks ahead of a major Southern Baptist Convention discussion about homosexuality and the future of marriage, the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists is collecting signatures for an online petition requesting a place at the table.
Robin Lunn, executive director of the network of about 100 gay-friendly Baptist churches which was formed in 1993, set a goal of 1,000 signatures for a letter she intends to hand deliver at the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission’s Oct. 27-29 conference in Nashville, Tenn., called “The Gospel, Homosexuality and the Future of Marriage.”
“As faith leaders who represent Baptist communities, institutions and fellowships throughout the United States, we write to express our strong desire to enter into dialogue with the Southern Baptist Convention, your leaders and local church pastors on the topic of marriage,” the letter says.
Addressed to SBC President Ronnie Floyd, senior pastor of Cross Church in Springdale, Ark., and Frank Page, head of the SBC Executive Committee, the letter appeals to the spirit of a workshop at the conference titled “Reconcilable Differences: Building Bridges With Those Who Disagree About Marriage.”
Lunn, an ordained American Baptist minister who was part of a coalition that in 2011 called on the SBC to apologize for teachings harmful to gays, said she wants to help Southern Baptists do just that.
“We … welcome an opportunity to build bridges with those who disagree with us on marriage equality,” she said in an email asking supporters to sign the dialogue request.
Lunn and other LGBT leaders met with then-SBC President Bryant Wright about their request at the 2011 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. The discussion was cordial, but in the end Wright, pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in suburban Atlanta, said Southern Baptists could not compromise on their view that any sex outside the confines of a marriage between a man and a woman is sinful.
Now, Lunn said in a call to action urging Baptists to sign the petition, AWAB is “calling on the SBC to sincerely enter into dialogue with us as we seek to build bridges across our differences on marriage.”
“I believe this conference offers a unique opportunity for us to enter their process and bring our voices to the table,” Lunn said.
AWAB isn’t the only LGBT advocacy group viewing the ERLC conference as an opportunity. Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, a group formed recently to advocate for marriage equality regardless of religious views on whether or not homosexuality is a sin, hopes to have 1,000 names on a similar petition drive called “1,000 Strong.”
“As Evangelicals for Marriage Equality, we believe you can be a devout, Bible-believing evangelical and support the right of same-sex couples to be recognized by the government as married,” the statement begins. “Our commitment to following Christ leads us to speak out for equal treatment under the law for others — whether or not they share our religious convictions.”
Southern Baptist leaders sharply criticized the Sept. 9 debut of Evangelicals for Marriage Equality. Evan Lenow, an ethics professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, debated EME spokesperson Brandan Robertson on a Christian radio program Oct. 8.
The link to view and sign the AWAB statement is here. The Evangelicals for Marriage Equality statement is here.