A question I have been asking myself lately is, “Does evangelism have a place in Cooperative Baptist Fellowship life?” I couldn’t help but feel the passion around so many issues at this year’s CBF General Assembly. LGBTQ, women in ministry,…
Sue for religious freedom? It’s not just for conservatives, anymore
The number of religious freedom bills across the United States may give the impression that using the law to protect faith is a purely conservative pursuit. Well, it isn’t, says Brent Walker of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty.
CBF appoints committee to implement Illumination Project
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has announced the creation of a five-member committee charged in part with guiding the organization through renewed controversy over its longstanding policy against hiring LGBTQ people. The committee is responsible for implementing the Illumination Project, which…
When it comes to same-sex marriage, it’s all over but the shoutin’
I recently spent one day at the national convocation of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which is just beginning a conversation about the hiring of non-celibate gay employees. That frustrating experience made me reflect on my own experience. I thought I…
Missional DNA enabled churches to heal communities after Pulse and Sandy Hook
Pastor Terri Steed Pierce knew even before arriving at church the morning of June 12 that worship was going to be radically different at Joy Metropolitan Community Church in Orlando. Many in her LGBTQ congregation knew victims killed or wounded…
CBF’s hiring policy: Déjà vu all over again
I came away from the 25th anniversary celebration of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Greensboro, N.C., renewed and invigorated. But amid the hugs and hall talk between sessions, there was a lot of worried, whispered conversation about what to do about CBF’s personnel policy which does not permit hiring non-celibate gays.
Open to all: A pastor and parent’s pride about Denver PrideFest 2016
When I think about my own son or daughter feeling fear and exclusion like the men I talked to last weekend and like many more who have been made to feel worthless and valueless by churches, it breaks my heart.
Pope says Church should ask forgiveness from gays for past treatment
Pope Francis also said the Church should ask forgiveness for the way it has treated women, for turning a blind eye to child labor and for “blessing so many weapons” in the past.
CBF General Assembly spawns two statements condemning Orlando massacre
Elected leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship passed a rare social commentary statement June 24 condemning the June 15 mass shooting at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla. “CBF is not a like-minded fellowship about matters related to human sexuality,”…
After Orlando, spiritual reparations for LGBTQ people
One of the encouraging responses I have witnessed in the wake of the mass shooting at the gay nightclub Pulse in Orlando is the admission of guilt on behalf of some churches and religious leaders, recognizing that the perpetuation of…
It’s time for CBF to have the conversation
Many of you will recall that I served for eight years as president of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Foundation in Atlanta from 2002 to 2010. Some smaller number of you will know that I left that perfectly well-paid position to…
Speaking to the power of the queer experience to communicate the gospel
Perhaps the most gut-wrenching stage in the sadly predictable grief cycle following atrocities such as the one in Orlando just over a week ago, where a gunman opened fire inside a gay nightclub killing 49 and wounding 50+ more, is…