By Bob Allen The goal of ministry to gays and lesbians isn’t to make them heterosexual, three speakers said Oct. 28 at a Southern Baptist Convention-sponsored conference on the gospel and homosexuality. It’s to make them holy. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield,…
Houston withdraws controversial subpoenas of pastors’ sermons
By BNG staff Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced Oct. 29 the city will withdraw subpoenas of five pastors which lawyers had sought as evidence in a legal suit seeking repeal of the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, the Houston Chronicle reported today….
ERLC conference drawing diverse crowd
By Bob Allen While speakers at this week’s conference on “The Gospel, Homosexuality and the Future of Marriage” sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission will likely present a united “message of both truth and grace” on…
‘Third Way’ pastor says disunity bigger problem than homosexuality
By Bob Allen The pastor of a church recently kicked out of the Southern Baptist Convention says disunity in the church is a bigger hindrance to evangelism than tolerating differing views about homosexuality. Danny Cortez, teaching pastor at New Heart…
A dual-narrative tour: The LGBT issue, part 16
By David Gushee Follow David:@dpgushee Decades ago, theologian H.R. Niebuhr wrote that the first question of ethics is not “what should I do?” but “what is going on here?” He was on to something. So — what is in fact going on…
LGBT leaders open to dialogue with SBC
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….
Evangelicals must learn from Vatican report
By Alan Rudnick The media is abuzz with a newly published report from the Vatican regarding the inclusion of divorced Catholics, homosexuals and those who use birth control. Traditionally, those groups of people inside and outside the Catholic Church are…
Transformative encounters and paradigm leaps: The LGBT issue, part 15
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee In the last few essays I have gradually sought to reveal why traditionalist ways of connecting the biblical dots on the LGBT issue no longer are compelling to me. It could seem as if…
Kentucky Baptist Convention poised to dismiss Crescent Hill
By Bob Allen A Kentucky Baptist Convention committee voted Oct. 9 to sever ties with Crescent Hill Baptist Church over the historic Louisville congregation’s welcoming and affirming stance toward gays. According to a news release, the decision by a credentials…