Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Virginia Baptist group will no longer forward money to CBF, citing partial lifting of ban on LGBTQ employees

NewsRobert Dilday  |  February 27, 2018

The Baptist General Association of Virginia will no longer forward contributions from its affiliated congregations to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship because of a new CBF practice allowing the hiring of LGBTQ Christians to some, but not all, ministry positions.

The BGAV Executive Board voted in a closed meeting Feb. 25 to “have all of BGAV’s CBF contributing churches send their CBF gifts directly to the CBF national office as soon as this is feasible.” Congregations have long had the option of financially supporting the CBF through the BGAV’s unified Cooperative Program budget.

The action was in response to a change adopted by CBF leaders Feb. 9 in implementing a hiring policy for CBF staff which dropped a two-decade-old wording forbidding the employment of “a practicing homosexual.”

A statement released by the Executive Board following its meeting noted that the BGAV “at numerous annual meetings has affirmed and acted on its commitment to its orthodox and traditional view of biblical marriage and sexuality. The BGAV remains committed to respecting, welcoming, and loving all persons in the name of Christ while affirming an orthodox view of marriage between a man and a woman.”

The BGAV has withdrawn fellowship from at least one congregation for practices seen as at odds with that commitment. Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond was dismissed in 2012 after ordaining an LGBTQ person to ministry. The BGAV includes about 1,400 affiliated congregations, most of them in Virginia.

“In the coming weeks, the treasurer’s office will work with the approximately 200 BGAV churches that have a giving relationship with CBF to help them send their CBF contributions directly to the CBF national office,” the board’s statement said. It added that the 21-member board took action “on behalf of the General Association” believing that it “serves the BGAV, while respecting the CBF.”

Last year the BGAV, whose 2018 budget is $10 million, forwarded $458,826 to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship through its unified budget and another $213,000 to the CBF Global Missions Offering.

The Virginia response follows a similar one taken by the Baptist General Convention of Texas on Feb. 20.

In its statement the Virginia board said it “regrets it has had to address the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s approval of the Illumination Project Committee’s report permitting the hiring of LGBT personnel for certain staff positions in the organization. Though the BGAV respects CBF’s right to change its hiring policy, such a decision has had a direct impact on the BGAV. The Executive Board has sought to respond in the most prayerful and prudent way to the effects of this impact.”

CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter called the action disappointing but added “this action continues a trend that CBF has already noticed and provides an opportunity for congregations to give directly to CBF to ensure that 100 percent of their missions support goes to the mission field and is not caught up in the BGAV’s offices in Richmond or anywhere else for that matter.”

“More and more, churches have been giving directly to CBF rather than giving through Baptist state conventions like Texas and Virginia,” Paynter said in a statement. “We are grateful for our partner congregations in Virginia that support CBF missionaries bearing witness to Jesus Christ in 30 countries and our ministries that form healthy churches and nurture young Baptists. We now encourage all churches to give to CBF directly.”

The new CBF hiring policy expects all employees “to have the highest moral character” and display “professionalism and a commitment to the highest ethical standards,” but no longer addresses sexual orientation.

A separate implementation plan adds, for full disclosure, that the CBF will still “consider matters of human sexuality as one factor among many in employment for some positions, including field personnel, those who supervise field personnel and ministry/mission leadership at CBF Global.”

This story was updated on Feb. 27 to include additional financial information in the seventh paragraph.

Related story:

CBF relaxes policy on hiring LGBTQ staff, but maintains some restrictions

Tags:Cooperative Baptist FellowshipHomosexualityCBFLGBTQBaptist General Association of VirginiaBGAVIllumination Project
More by
Robert Dilday
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • It’s easier to be a bully today, author explains

      News

    • SBC president says he tried to enlist more women for sexual abuse task force but got turned down repeatedly

      News

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      News

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      Opinion


    Curated

    • ReAwaken Tour host says he feels harassed by NY prosecutor

      ReAwaken Tour host says he feels harassed by NY prosecutor

      August 11, 2022
    • Why the largest US Lutheran denomination apologized to a Latino congregation

      Why the largest US Lutheran denomination apologized to a Latino congregation

      August 11, 2022
    • The Supreme Court Wants to End the Separation of Church and State

      The Supreme Court Wants to End the Separation of Church and State

      August 11, 2022
    • Suspect in Dallas salon May shooting indicted for anti-Asian hate crime

      Suspect in Dallas salon May shooting indicted for anti-Asian hate crime

      August 11, 2022
    Read Next:

    40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • It’s easier to be a bully today, author explains

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • A thoughtful question at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • When conservatives today speak of ‘states’ rights,’ they likely don’t mean the popular vote; here’s a case in point

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 8-12-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC president says he tried to enlist more women for sexual abuse task force but got turned down repeatedly

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Christian nationalism is a danger to our nation

      OpinionMarvin McMickle

    • How The Jetsons and Westworld help us think about robots, personhood and faith

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • Some evangelical leaders see FBI visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as evidence of the religious persecution coming to them

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Advice from a sunflower

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • Where are the women on the SBC’s first and second sexual abuse task forces?

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • New study finds scammers luring migrants with false information via Facebook and WhatsApp

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • What I learned at Wake Forest Baptist Church

      OpinionDavid Ramsey

    • Progressive Baptist congregation on Wake Forest campus votes to close

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Why can’t we accept sexual and gender diversity in humans as well as in all creation?

      OpinionDan McGee

    • I’ve been unaware of my privilege, and if you are a man, you probably have, too

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • South African women’s soccer team success shines a light on gender wage discrimination

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Are left-wing radicals pushing Cracker Barrel to the edge of the slippery slope?

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • It isn’t a church and doesn’t have members, but it is a way to keep United Methodists in the fold as their congregations disaffiliate

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Al Mohler derides a dead man, and the dead man’s friends aren’t happy

      AnalysisMark Wingfield

    • Rural church offers community development grants through Gratitude Project

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • To be more welcoming, let’s remove our flags

      OpinionJustin Pierson

    • The church needs to do better on monkeypox than it did on HIV, faith leaders say

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • It’s easier to be a bully today, author explains

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 8-12-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC president says he tried to enlist more women for sexual abuse task force but got turned down repeatedly

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At long last, Trump’s ‘Remain in Mexico’ policy appears to be dead

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Some evangelical leaders see FBI visit to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago as evidence of the religious persecution coming to them

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • New study finds scammers luring migrants with false information via Facebook and WhatsApp

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Progressive Baptist congregation on Wake Forest campus votes to close

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • South African women’s soccer team success shines a light on gender wage discrimination

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • It isn’t a church and doesn’t have members, but it is a way to keep United Methodists in the fold as their congregations disaffiliate

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Rural church offers community development grants through Gratitude Project

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The church needs to do better on monkeypox than it did on HIV, faith leaders say

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Russell Moore named editor in chief of Christianity Today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • 40 Congressmen urge IRS to reconsider classification of Family Research Council as a ‘church’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Online religion content isn’t luring Millennials away from in-person church

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Study finds congregational leaders report LGBTQ conversations are worth the pain

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • There’s something odd about this Mary, did you know?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Cuban government clamps down more on religion

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • September symposium will celebrate life and legacy of John Claypool

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Faith leaders urge Congress to fund help for families torn apart by Trump’s ‘cruel’ family separation policy

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • It’s possible some senior adults in your church need help with medical costs or food but won’t say anything

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • It’s still ‘Christians only’ at this Tennessee Methodist adoption agency

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • War in Ukraine transforms churches into centers of care

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Distinguished preaching professor says he was fired from Southwestern Seminary; administrators say he quit

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • A thoughtful question at Bubba-Doo’s

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • In applauding Victor Orban, U.S. conservatives call their shot

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Christian nationalism is a danger to our nation

      OpinionMarvin McMickle

    • Advice from a sunflower

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • What I learned at Wake Forest Baptist Church

      OpinionDavid Ramsey

    • Why can’t we accept sexual and gender diversity in humans as well as in all creation?

      OpinionDan McGee

    • I’ve been unaware of my privilege, and if you are a man, you probably have, too

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • Are left-wing radicals pushing Cracker Barrel to the edge of the slippery slope?

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • To be more welcoming, let’s remove our flags

      OpinionJustin Pierson

    • News flash: Not all Baptists are Southern

      OpinionBrian Kaylor

    • Why aren’t we defending Brittney Griner?

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • A school administrator reflects on rebuilding relationships between schools and homes

      OpinionStanton Eugene Lawrence

    • Judging the stripper and the carouser in ourselves at the Communion table

      OpinionBrad Bull

    • After the Guidepost report, we need to know more about FBC Woodstock’s City of Refuge and NAMB’s support for it: Was ‘moral failures’ code for sexual abuse?

      OpinionJoanna Sullivan

    • Forsaking Baal for the God who is in recovery

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • Thomas Merton, Martin Luther King and Critical Race Theory

      OpinionKen Zagacki

    • What evangelicals won’t tell you about the actual sin of Sodom

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Giving birth in prison: The grief of separation, the grace of presence

      OpinionKathy Manis Findley

    • Dear Denny Burk, your view of gender is not biblical, it is dangerous

      OpinionEllie Dote

    • Roger Williams, the father of American deconstruction

      OpinionAlan Bean

    • Why I’m an LGBTQ ally who won’t boycott Chick-fil-A

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Do the arts in church still matter?

      OpinionDoug Haney

    • When Christianity becomes toxic ‘Christianism’

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • When a friend went to prison for murder, the words of Jesus took on new meaning

      OpinionAllan Smith

    • What should we think of celebrities for Jesus?

      OpinionKatelyn Beaty

    • ReAwaken Tour host says he feels harassed by NY prosecutor

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why the largest US Lutheran denomination apologized to a Latino congregation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Supreme Court Wants to End the Separation of Church and State

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Suspect in Dallas salon May shooting indicted for anti-Asian hate crime

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Anglican Division over Scripture and Sexuality Heads South

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Amy Spitalnick, who took on neo-Nazis in Charlottesville, is moving to Bend the Arc

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • New York City’s Largest Evangelical Church Plans Billion-Dollar Development

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ben & Jerry’s fears its new Israeli owner could sell ‘Judea and Samaria’ ice cream in latest court hearing

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Alexander Hamilton gave his heart to Jesus at a Texas church this weekend

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Baby Blues: How to Face the Church’s Growing Fertility Crisis

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Orthodox Alaska Part 2: The Beatles, Bees And Orthodoxy Animated In One Man’s Life

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Hundreds of thousands gather for mass prayer in Baghdad

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Ukrainian seminary professor faces difficult decisions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Nondenominational Churches Are Adding Millions of Members. Where Are They Coming From?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Religious Right’s Agenda Is Center Stage Again — And It’s As Unpopular As Ever

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • After Trump, Christian nationalist ideas are going mainstream – despite a history of violence

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At flashpoint Jerusalem holy site, whispered prayers defy unwritten accord

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Assemblies of God Ordains Record Number of Women

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Whoopi Goldberg, Elisabeth Hasselbeck debate God’s position on abortion on ‘The View’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis’ Pilgrimage of Penance: A Step on the Nonviolent Journey

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Christian flag in speech battle flies, briefly, over Boston

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A group of Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn is reviving the golden age of cantorial music

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At Lambeth, Anglican Communion abandons vote on same-sex marriage

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Oglala Sioux ban missionary, require ministries to register

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • White Southern Evangelicals Are Leaving the Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS