Gay couples trigger
debate at church
By MAX B. BAKER, from
the Web, December 7, 2007
FORT WORTH -- A new pictorial
directory was supposed to be part of Broadway Baptist Church's 125th birthday
celebration.
Established in 1882 near the infamous Hell's Half Acre, where gamblers and
prostitutes once thrived, the church wanted to sing the praises of its missions
and its members by publishing a book that included information about its
programs and a directory featuring yearbook-style photographs of its members and
families.
But since three gay couples asked to have their pictures included, Broadway
Baptist has been involved in an increasingly divisive struggle over whether
allowing the portraits to appear would be an endorsement of homosexuality by the
congregation.
"Baptists are not quiet people. We're dealing with a difficult issue on which we
have different opinions that we're not afraid to share," said the Rev. Brett
Younger, the church's pastor. "We disagree, but we do so respectfully."
The church will vote in December on a proposal to allow gay members to appear in
individual photos, but not as couples. The directory is scheduled to be
distributed next year.
Church members have been reluctant to talk about the dispute. Seen as a
moderate church within the Baptist denomination, Broadway has about 1,500
members, with about 600 attending Sunday services.
"I think we are a family trying to work out our problems," said Kathy Madeja,
chairman of the board of deacons. "I think we are Baptists being Baptists.
We are not the only church struggling with this issue."
She's right about that.
This week, Myers Park Baptist Church in North Carolina was expelled from the
state's Baptist Convention for welcoming gays and lesbians into the church
without trying to change their orientation. The church is led by the Rev.
Stephen Shoemaker, a former senior minister at Broadway Baptist.
Today, representatives of the conservative Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth will
begin meeting to decide whether to separate from the U.S. church in a dispute
stemming from a widening rift over homosexuality and interpretation of
Scripture. Episcopal dioceses in Pittsburgh; Quincy, Ill.; and San
Joaquin, Calif., have already taken steps to leave the national church.
'Unfortunate situation'
Betty Price, a member of Broadway Baptist for 44 years and a former lay
coordinator of the directory, described the directory flap as an "unfortunate
situation."
"I love God and this is his church, and God can't be happy with this situation,"
Price said.
Price said she saw working on the directory as a way to record and celebrate
church history, to reclaim former members and to have another opportunity for
fellowship.
So the retired teacher said she was "blindsided" when a gay couple arrived in
mid-October and asked to have their picture taken together for the directory.
Price believed that Broadway Baptist had a policy of not allowing gay or lesbian
couples to appear in the publication. Price helped coordinate the church's
last directory in 2002.
"I did not want to change policy without some authorization," Price said.
The men had their picture taken together but agreed to have their pictures taken
separately for use in the directory, she said. Price said two other gay
couples also asked to appear in the directory.
In an interview, the gay couple said they agreed to be photographed separately
because they are "not activists." They also asked not to be identified in
the newspaper because neither intended to be a "poster child for a division in
the church."
"We are at the church to learn and to serve," one of the men said. "There
are people out there who are destined to be activists. I don't feel like
one of them."
An 'amazing policy'
After the photos were shot, Price met with a church staff member. Price
said she was dismissed from working on the directory. Younger said the
staff member says Price resigned.
Younger then spoke to the congregation during a Wednesday night meeting in
mid-October. The church staff had developed the idea of publishing a
directory without including the individual photos.
Later, Younger's comments, which he had written down, were distributed to
members who were not there.
In that statement, Younger said that the church has had gay members for decades
but that no couple had ever been pictured in the directory. He said to
change directions would understandably be "troubling to many."
On the other hand, Younger wrote that other church members think that the
congregation's gays, who "worship, serve and give just like everyone else,"
should not be treated like "second-class members."
He went on to say that Broadway Baptist for years has had an "amazing policy on
including gay people."
"It's not a policy that a committee came up with, or the staff or the deacons,"
he wrote. "It's an unwritten policy that came out of the shared life of
this congregation, a policy I believe was inspired by the Spirit. This has
allowed us to be a congregation where the conversation can take place about
being gay and being Christians."
He encouraged his flock to continue to talk about the issue.
Vote set for Dec. 2
This Monday, the deacons "vigorously" discussed the directory's makeup but made
no decision, Younger said. Madeja said the deacons voted down a suggestion
to "publish our families the way they are and that would allow families to
decide who were families."
On Wednesday, about 250 members of the congregation attended the church's
monthly business meeting. Eventually, the decision was made to allow the
congregation to vote on the proposal to print a directory with gay couples
photographed individually but listed together in the telephone directory.
The vote is scheduled for Dec. 2.
Broader implications
Price said she was concerned enough about the situation that she contacted
several institutions, including the Baptist General Convention of Texas.
The convention includes churches that broke away from the Southern Baptist
Convention when the SBC started becoming more conservative.
The convention can refuse to take money from a church or to accept the church's
delegates at its conventions. Not accepting a church's delegates is
tantamount to kicking the church out of the convention.
Price said she was told that the dispute over the pictorial directory probably
would not jeopardize Broadway's standing because it did not involve employing or
hiring a homosexual.
Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention and the
pastor at First Baptist Church in Arlington for more than 23 years, said it is
up to the local church to decide what it wants to do. While the convention
adopted a policy in the late 1990s that encourages churches to minister to gays,
it still considers homosexuality a sin.
Wade said he personally believes that publishing gay couples' photographs would
be seen as approval.
"We pray for the folks at Broadway and pray for them to make the decision they
feel is right for them," Wade said. "I hope they can find a unity in
spirit and in Scripture."
'Always avoided the issue'
David Reed, president of the Tarrant County Lesbian and Gay Alliance, said
Broadway Baptist has struggled with the issue of gays in the church since the
early 1990s, when Shoemaker was its pastor.
Reed said he attended the church after graduating from Southwestern Baptist
Theological Seminary. But he said the deacons expressed concern when he
tried to join.
They allowed Reed to be a nonvoting, associate member under what is known as "Watchcare"
while they studied the issue. After hearing all the "back-of-the-house
conversations," Reed said, he stopped seeking full membership.
"They have always dealt with it badly," he said. "They have always avoided
the issue. They have always wanted to straddle this fence and never
advocate on behalf of the gay members they know they have."
Younger, however, said he thinks that his church will emerge from this episode
stronger.
He also adds that the church has been careful not to "endorse or condemn
homosexuality."
"We are one of those rare, wonderful churches with room for both sides," he
said.
Price said the church, like any kind of family, needs to continue working out
its problems.
"My good friends are on both sides of this situation, and I refuse to let anger
and petty feelings enter into the way of how I feel about the people involved,"
Price said. "I'm going to be there and continue to be who I am."
"We are all brothers and sisters in Christ," she said. "If the family gets
out of joint, we just have to get it back together again."
Original Post Nov.16, 2007
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