ORLANDO, Fla. — The Southern Baptist Convention decried ecological catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, focused on the family and opposed the normalization of homosexuality as messengers approved seven resolutions with no debate during the SBC annual meeting in Orlando June 16.
A resolution on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico lamented the deaths of 11 oilrig workers and pledged to pray for their families. It also called on Southern Baptists and other Christians “to pray for the end of this catastrophe and for the homes, lives, cultures and livelihoods in the Gulf Coast region.”
It urged the government to end the crisis, ensure corporate accountability to clean up and restore the Gulf region, plan contingencies to respond to future oil spills and “promote future energy policies based upon prudence, conservation, accountability and safety.”
Messengers called for “ways to lessen the potentiality of such tragic accidents and of such devastating pollution in order that we may protect what God loves and safeguard the lives, livelihoods, health and well-being of our neighbors and of future generations.”
Although the resolution did not explicitly call for lifestyle changes to decrease dependence on oil, that concept is implicit, said Russell Moore, chairman of the SBC Resolutions Committee and senior vice president for academic administration at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.
The resolution’s call for improved energy policies and assertion that humanity’s “God-given dominion over the creation is not unlimited” point to individual and societal responsibility to reduce petroleum consumption, Moore said.
The resolution also urged Southern Baptists to assist Gulf Coast communities and churches with the same vigor that characterized their response to Hurricane Katrina.
Two SBC resolutions targeted the health and well-being of families.
“On the Scandal of Southern Baptist Divorce” cited two studies on divorce. One demonstrates conservative Protestants divorce at the same, if not higher, rate than the U.S. population. The other reveals regions where Southern Baptists predominate have higher divorce rates than regions without a strong evangelical witness.
“Even the most expansive view of the biblical exceptions allowing for divorce and remarriage would rule out many, if not most, of the divorces in our churches,” the resolution insisted. It cited “cultural accommodation” as the reason for accelerating divorce rates among Southern Baptists.
The resolution called on churches to “proclaim the word of God on the permanence of marriage,” provide marriage enrichment opportunities, marry “only those who are biblically qualified to be married to one another,” emphasize the gravity of marital vows in wedding ceremonies, minister to couples and families in crisis, and demonstrate compassion to “those who have been left in the wake of family brokenness.”
“We call on our churches to proclaim God’s mercy and grace to all people—including those who have been divorced without biblical grounds—due to the truth that the blood of Jesus can atone for any sin,” it said.
A related resolution encouraged churches and families to “rekindle the spiritual discipline of family worship.” This practice “has the capacity to nurture stronger families, a stronger church and a stronger nation,” it added.
It particularly called on fathers to “fulfill their divinely mandated responsibility to lead their families toward spiritual maturity.”
The resolutions that opposed the normalization of homosexuality in American society targeted an effort to repeal the U.S. military’s homosexual policy and the proposed Employment Non-Discrimination Act introduced in Congress.
The resolution on homosexuals in the military noted, “The Bible describes homosexual behavior as both a contributing cause and a consequence of God’s judgment on nations and individuals.”
It cited the 1993 law that supports the current “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy as stating no one has a constitutional right to serve in the armed forces.
“It is the seasoned judgment of most military leaders that normalizing the open presence of homosexuals in the military is incompatible with generating, strengthening and maintaining good discipline, unit cohesion and combat readiness,” it stressed.
Messengers affirmed “the Bible’s declaration that homosexual behavior is intrinsically disordered and sinful” and noted “the Bible’s promise of forgiveness, change and eternal life to all sinners—including those engaged in homosexual sin—who repent of sin and trust in the saving power of Jesus Christ.”
They went on record as opposing efforts to change current law to “normalize the open presence of homosexuals in the armed forces.” They also deplored acts of violence related to homosexuality, expressed their “pride in and support for all now serving in the United States armed forces” and commended “loving, redemptive ministry to homosexuals.”
The Employment Non-Discrimination Act resolution characterized the proposed bill as “granting such things as sexual orientation the same employment protections as gender and race, placing these immoral and aberrant behaviors on the same level as the immutable traits of gender and ancestry.”
“Homosexual persons are not our enemies but our neighbors whom we love and wish to see find the same forgiveness and freedom we have found in Christ,” the resolution said.
But it warned “businesses with a religious character,” such as religious bookstores, publishers and parachurch ministries, would not be exempted from policies that would deny them the right to fire or refuse to hire employees based upon sexual orientation. And the law could jeopardize the First Amendment’s protections of religious liberty, it added.
Messengers voted to express “our profound opposition to ENDA and any similar legislation.” The resolution also put them on record as calling on the U.S. president and Congress to appoint and affirm “only nominees to federal judicial positions who will protect foundational religious freedoms.”
The resolution reflects implications for the appointment of Elena Kagan to the U.S. Supreme Court but does not directly oppose her nomination, Resolutions Committee leaders told reporters.
“The committee was concerned about homosexual rights and religious liberty. The Kagan nomination brings that into highlight,” said Barrett Duke, a staff member for the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and an adviser to the committee.
Specifically, some of Kagan’s writings indicate religious liberty rights should be trumped by homosexual rights, Duke explained.
Still, the committee did not directly speak to and oppose Kagan’s nomination, Moore said.
Another resolution affirmed “the centrality of the gospel.”
It called on Southern Baptists to “reaffirm our commitment to the supremacy and centrality of the gospel of Jesus Christ in our churches” and encouraged pastors to “keep the gospel foremost in every sermon they preach.”
It exhorted churches to proclaim the gospel to unbelievers and to “display the gospel by transcending ethnic, racial, economic and social barriers due to our unity in Christ.”
“We recommit ourselves to the glory of the gospel by greater faithfulness to the Great Commission, both in personal witness and in sending more gospel workers to the unreached peoples of the world,” it said. “We commit to speak to the outside world as those who are forgiven sinners, who have received mercy as a free gift, and not as those who are morally or ethically superior to anyone.”
A final traditional resolution expressed appreciation for all the people responsible for planning and conducting the annual meeting and hosting it in Orlando.