Adoption and foster care are taking center stage in the latest conflict between LGBT equality and religious liberty. In the Texas legislature, State Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls) is proposing an amendment to the state’s Human Resources Code to protect…
AWAB leaders empathize with ‘unambiguously gay’ Disney character
Controversy over the “exclusively gay moment” in the live-action musical remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast offers a glimpse of what many gay people experience growing up in church, leaders of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists commented…
Politics, homosexuality, roil competing Baptist bodies in Texas
Separate state conventions affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in Texas that parted ways during the SBC conservative resurgence now face challenges of their own generated by current controversies over homosexuality and President Donald Trump. The Baptist General Convention of…
Religious Right criticizes Trump’s secretary of state
Conservative white evangelicals credited with helping to elect Donald Trump as president oppose his pick for secretary of state not because of his cozy ties with Russia but for his role in leading the Boy Scouts of America to drop…
Southern Baptist leaders, others, oppose laws battling LGBT discrimination
More than 75 religious conservatives, including several leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention, have signed a public document opposing policies that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Charter signers of the “Preserve Freedom, Reject Coercion” proclamation coordinated…
Texas Baptist church opens doors to LGBT community
Another Texas congregation has joined the ranks of moderate and progressive Baptists moving toward full inclusion of LGBT Christians, setting up potential conflict with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Lake Shore Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, amended bylaws Nov….
British Baptists seek middle ground on same-sex marriage
A group of ministers and scholars issued a statement Dec. 5 asking Baptist churches in the United Kingdom to find “the courage to be Baptist” in continuing to associate with fellow Baptists despite differing views on the thorny issue of…
What happened to Texas Baptists? Moderate churches shaken by perceived shift to the right
For decades, no Baptist state convention showed stronger resolve in defending historic tenets like soul freedom and autonomy of the local church than Texas. With this week’s vote declaring churches that welcome and affirm LGBT people “out of harmonious cooperation,” some moderate and progressive Baptists are wondering openly where along the way they lost their beloved Baptist General Convention of Texas.
Two Texas churches face ouster for LGBT policies
Leaders of the Baptist General Convention of Texas have put two churches on notice of expulsion because of their welcoming-and-affirming stance toward LGBTQ people. First Baptist Church of Austin replied publicly Nov. 8 to a letter officially informing the congregation…