Southern Baptists signaled their intention to broaden ethnic involvement, passing a set of proactive recommendations last year at the annual meeting in Phoenix. In his new role as presidential ambassador for ethnic church relations, Ken Weathersby has begun the task of helping implement those recommendations by simply listening.

“The main goal is to make sure we focus on the task at hand, that is to penetrate lostness in North America and the world,” Weathersby told the TEXAN. “The way I have approached that, first of all, is by listening to the direction of where we’re going in convention life and how we want to be inclusive in anything we’re doing.”

Weathersby most recently served as associate vice president for ethnic mobilization at NAMB. He has previously served in leadership positions in NAMB’s church planting and evangelism areas as well. He has also served in an evangelism leadership role with the Tennessee Baptist Convention and pastored churches in Baton Rouge, La., and Cincinnati.

With over 10,000 ethnic and African American churches among more than 45,000 that make up the Southern Baptist Convention, Weathersby is convinced there is plenty to celebrate.

An exhibit at the annual meeting in New Orleans will illustrate the many faces of the denomination to show its diversity, he said.

“We have to highlight what God has already done in the life of Southern Baptists. For many years people have labored and worked hard to make sure we, as Southern Baptists, penetrate communities with the gospel,” he explained. “In doing so, we have been planting healthy, New Testament churches among all ethnic groups. We’re grateful to God for that.”

“We probably are the most diverse Protestant denomination because of the number of non-Anglo churches that are a part of our convention,” Weathersby said.

There’s no mechanism for counting diversity within predominantly Anglo churches, but Weathersby has seen enough multiethnic congregations to be encouraged. “It’s just amazing to see what God is doing based on building relationships and getting to know people in the community.”

Three advisory councils jointly appointed by the presidents of the Executive Committee and North American Mission Board will provide Weathersby and other SBC entity leaders an opportunity to hear from representatives of non-Anglo groups. An Hispanic Advisory Council appointed last September as a three-year ministry initiative will offer the perspectives Hispanic churches and church leaders bring to the common task of reaching the United States and other nations with the gospel. A similar group made up of African American representatives was formed next and a multiethnic group is yet to be named.

“We’re going to be listening to our church leaders and getting information from them on how we approach working together for the cause of Christ,” Weathersby said. “Right now we are in the listening mode.”

In meeting with various groups, Weathersby wants them to understand how their ministries can be magnified through giving to the Cooperative Program and the two mission offerings to send missionaries throughout North America and around the world. “As one writer said, we are not giving to the Cooperative Program. We are giving through the Cooperative Program,” he reminded.

As he coordinates efforts to implement the components of the SBC’s ethnic study report that was approved overwhelmingly last year, Weathersby will encourage ethnic churches to be full participants in Southern Baptist life.

He is encouraged by the election of four African Americans at state convention meetings last fall. “At the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention we are grateful to God that the convention called Bro. Terry Turner to be state president. That helps,” Weathersby said. “We have Roscoe Belton as state president in Michigan, Mark Croston as state president in the Baptist General Association of Virginia and Kendrick Curry in the D.C. Convention.”

Weathersby has no doubt that there will be a greater increase in the diversity of people serving on SBC committees, boards and commissions in the coming years.

Those expectations are a part of the recommendations passed by messengers to last year’s annual meeting. The notebook for the next SBC president will include an encouragement “to give special attention to appointing individuals who represent the diversity within the Convention.” The president will report the total number of ethnic appointees when names of the committees are released next year to Baptist Press.

The SBC president and Committee on Order of Business will be asked to give “due consideration to the ethnic identity of program personalities” enlisted for the annual meeting in 2013.

This year’s Committee on Nominations will include in its annual report in New Orleans the total number among its nominees that represent the ethnic diversity within Southern Baptist life.

“We see signs right now,” Weathersby said when asked if he expects to see progress in the inclusion of varied races and ethnicities.

“Here we are going to the convention in New Orleans with the potential of nominating the first black president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Pastor Fred Luter of New Orleans, and as first vice president Pastor Nathan Lino of Texas” who is white but of South African heritage.

“We see God is certainly at work,” Weathersby said. “I’m so glad that God has us on purpose making disciples among all ethnic groups. In doing so, people are getting to know one another and are recognizing because of the blood-stained banner of Christ we must work together for his cause.”

NEW ORLEANS—Cultural exclusivity in the church represents neither the power of the gospel nor American society as a whole. And for the church to maintain relevance and vibrance in the coming decades, that has to change.

That’s the message Damian Emetuche, national missionary for the North American Mission Board and assistant professor of Nehemiah Church Planting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, is telling his students as they prepare for ministry in the 21st century.

Emetuche, who also directs the Cecil B. Day Center for Church Planting at NOBTS, took a unique path to his current post in New Orleans.

The Nigerian-born husband and father of five got his start in ministry by serving as a pastor and church planter in his home country in the early 1990s. Then in 1995, he was sent as a missionary of the Nigerian Baptist Convention to nearby Ivory Coast to do church planting. He served in Ivory Coast through 2003.

In 2004, Emetuche moved to the United States to pursue a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. While studying there, he served as a North American Mission Board church planter in Hamilton, Ohio, near Cincinnati. And in 2007, he moved to the Seattle area where he worked as a chaplain, pastor and church planter.

Emetuche, who came to NOBTS in early 2010, admits he’s a relative newcomer to American culture—but that’s not necessarily a disadvantage.

“I see things, at least for now, as an outsider,” Emetuche said.

And as someone who still has an outsider’s objective point of view, Emetuche offers a major critique of the American church: In a time when North America is becoming more and more multicultural, North American churches tend to be culturally exclusive. Members too often share the same race, nationality or socio-economic background.

That’s a problem, Emetuche said, first because it goes against the message of the gospel.

THE BIBLICAL PRECEDENT
From the Pentecost experience in Acts 2 and the church at Antioch to the apostle Paul’s calls for unity in Ephesians 3 and Galatians 3, Emetuche said the New Testament paints a clear picture of the church as diverse and multicultural.

“I believe there was no New Testament church that was a homogeneous church,” Emetuche said. “Every New Testament church was multiethnic.”

But achieving diversity wasn’t always easy for the early church.

NOBTS New Testament and Greek professor Gerald Stevens said the early church grappled with whether Christianity, like Judaism, should carry ethnic prerequisites.

“Is Christianity ethnically defined? That was the question before the church. And that’s what Acts 15 is about,” Stevens said.

In Acts 15, Paul, Barnabas, Peter and the Jerusalem church leaders met to debate whether the new Gentile Christians had to follow only Jesus or both the teachings of Jesus and the social customs of Judaism. Stevens said that, at the heart of the debate, was a battle over ethnicity.

“The apostles were the ones that were helping break that mold of ethnicity as definitive of the people of God,” Stevens said of the Jerusalem debate. “And we begin to perceive it’s not our ethnicity that makes us the people of God but our obedience and our faith, regardless of ethnicity.”

Stevens admitted that, both in Jesus’ day and today, embracing diversity can be difficult and even threatening. It requires a healthy dose of humility, which gets to the heart of Jesus’ command to “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” he said.

“In a cosmopolitan setting, we cannot claim success of the gospel unless we are multiethnic and multicultural in our visible expression of Christianity,” Stevens said. “The groups we show—the Bible study groups, the mission groups, any group in which we present ourselves to the public—if it’s not multiethnic, it’s not gospel.”

Emetuche echoed that imperative.

“In the kingdom of God, we’re going to ultimately be together, so we better learn to be together here,” Emetuche said. “If the church is divided, we have little or no message to give the world.”

One key way for existing churches to become more diverse, Emetuche said, is by diversifying their leadership.

“With a multiethnic church, the leadership has to be diverse. You have to intentionally have diverse leaders,” he said.

NOBTS urban missions professor Ken Taylor, pastor in New Orleans’ Gentilly neighborhood for 27 years, echoed that call to leadership diversity. Until Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Taylor served as pastor of Elysian Fields Baptist Church. Afterward,  Elysian Fields and Gentilly Baptist churches worshiped together and later merged.

Taylor said Gentilly Baptist Church is about half African American and half white. And to reflect that racial diversity, Taylor said he has pursued a similar diversity among the church’s leaders.

“It’s helped people see that we’re not just a diverse church, but we’re willing to have diversity in leadership too,” Taylor said.

And that was a strategy the early church followed as well, Stevens said, when the apostles appointed a group of Greek believers to oversee the food distribution to Greeks in the church.

“That had to have been uncomfortable for them. Who wants to give up power? That wasn’t necessarily pleasant, but they knew it was the right thing to do,” Stevens said. “For everyone to have ownership in this ministry, we have to empower others.”

Taylor also encouraged church pastors to understand and acknowledge their church’s history with regard to race and social class in the surrounding community. In the case of Elysian Fields and Gentilly Baptist churches, both congregations had a history of racial exclusivity that had to be overcome with years of love and ministry.

And as a church achieves greater diversity, Taylor said members and leaders alike must approach worship—and worship styles—with an extra helping of grace.

“It just takes a lot of grace, but I think there’s some enjoyment there too,” Taylor said of combining various worship styles. “The joy is to just be able to look out and think, ‘This is a little bit like how heaven will be.’ That’s a great thing.”

Ultimately, Stevens said, diversity can take hold when people look past outward differences to see the wealth of human commonalities just below the surface. He said that was one positive effect Hurricane Katrina had on the New Orleans community.

“Katrina shook us up and shaved us of our cultural identity [that we have] through our homes, our cars and our possessions. Once all of our culture was stripped away, we found that we were all human beings,” he said. “The trappings of all our culture went down the river, and all that was left was just one human hand reaching out to another human hand, asking ‘Can I help you?’”

—Reprinted from NOBTS Vision Magazine. Written by Frank Michael McCormack | New Orleans Seminary

Wanted: A person who loves the Lord to take over the operation of a well established, three-decade-old ministry. Must also love missionaries and desire to help them in their work of spreading the gospel. No passport required. And, oh, individual must really, really like cars.

As with any product or service that has stood the test of time, necessity was the mother of invention, or rather ministry, for Harvey Kneisel 32 years ago. Inspired by his own experiences and the suggestion of a friend, Kneisel created Macedonian Call Foundation. But today, at 81, he is ready to place the ministry, and 26 sets of car keys, into someone else’s hands.

“I’m almost 82. Is this going to fall on the ground when I’m gone? Surely there is someone out there younger than 81 who loves missionaries,” Kneisel said.

The Macedonian Call Foundation loans cars to foreign missionaries on Stateside assignment in Texas or surrounding states. The foundation gives priority to Southern Baptist missionaries. As International Mission Board missionaries in Asia for 13 years, Harvey and Charlene Kneisel’s furloughs were fraught with long to-do lists even before they left the field. One expensive and sometimes exasperating task was the acquisition of a car during their stay in the U.S. The task is no different more than 30 years later.

Furloughs for missionaries can last a few weeks or several months and there is a need for transportation with each trip. Renting a vehicle is cost-prohibitive and buying a car to only have to sell it a few months later is usually a money-losing venture.

“Every time we’d leave we’d lose $1,000 to $2,000,” Kneisel said of his car purchasing and selling days.

After retiring from the IMB, Kneisel worked as minister of missions at Houston’s First Baptist Church. He relished the opportunity to stay in close contact with missionaries, both short-term and career. It was then that a friend suggested Kneisel turn his old transportation frustration into a ministry opportunity.

In 1980 after consulting with friends about logistics and operational support Kneisel, acquired his first loaner car—a 1967 Oldsmobile.

Letting his automobile bias show, Kneisel said, “We ran it for tens of thousands of miles because you can’t wear out an Oldsmobile.”

Toyotas, he admitted, are also long-lasting vehicles.

With 26 cars in the MCF fleet, “That’s all I can say grace over,” Kneisel said, rejecting the idea of growing the fleet.

And that grace has been sufficient, Kneisel said. Out of the 1,439 loans in 32 years there have been no injury accidents. Some of those loans have been to repeat customers like Carla and Russell Minick, IMB missionaries on leave in Texas from their post in Asia.

“It’s a huge, huge blessing,” Carla Minick said. The couple’s one-year furlough ends in July.

She said the availability of a car upon arrival in the States makes the trip all the more convenient. A car is needed from the time missionaries arrive at the airport to the time they fly out. With that in mind, Kneisel included an airport pick-up and drop-off service available for a fee.

The fee, he added, was only initiated in April in an effort to offset the high cost of gasoline. Missionaries must also pay a monthly fee of $100 to cover the cost of insurance. The cars receive routine maintenance and repair when not on loan but missionaries are responsible for regular maintenance when the car is in their possession.

The Minicks have had to replace three tires on their current vehicle. That’s a small price to pay, she said, compared to the expense and bother of renting or purchasing a car. And though the car is 21 years old, it has low mileage and “runs great.”

The MCF fleet is maintained by a “genius” mechanic, Alberto Largaespada. Kneisel said Largaespada, who repairs cars for a living, gives his time and attention to the fleet, charging only a fraction of what a standard repair would cost.

Kneisel said God has proven himself as Jehovah Jireh since the establishment of the ministry provided men like Largaespada and a board of directors for support and direction. From the outset Kneisel wanted to operate the ministry without soliciting financial assistance. God, he recalled saying, would provide the means.

Kneisel knew countless people who had a heart for missions and wanted to be a part of what was being done overseas. Word spread about the start-up non-profit in Houston and donations—unsolicited—started coming in.

The second car donated was a 1961 Buick with a blown head gasket. The clunker, like many other donated forms of transportation, proved valuable. The sale of such vehicles brings in needed funds to pay for maintenance and repair of the fleet.

Through the years other donated forms of transportation included a Cherokee 150 airplane, a “nearly new” BMW sedan, a BMW motorcycle (donated by a deacon), and a 1939 Buick with only 16,000 miles on the odometer.

Once sold the donations translated into 25 cars for the loaner fleet. Kneisel said although the BMW car could have been used in the loaner rotation, he joked that missionaries might not invoke a very generous love offering following their presentation on the austere life in the field if they were seen driving the German-made luxury sedan.

Kneisel currently has in storage a 1997, low-mileage Rexhall Vision RV that he is trying to sell.

“God is good. He has provided,” he said.

Kneisel hopes to stay involved with MCF once he steps down from leadership. He said an individual or even a group of people could take charge of the Houston-based ministry. He would even like to see the work expand to Dallas. Similar ministries have borrowed the Macedonian Call Foundation name, with Kneisel’s permission, to establish similar ministries in other states.

The main requisite for taking the leadership of MCF is a love for missionaries and their work and an appreciation for cars.

Minick said Kneisel’s love of both has been obvious to her.

“They are so gracious. They’re so excited about the number of people they’ve been able to help and how many cars are in the fleet,” she said.

Any replacement would have to appreciate the value of the ministry to families like hers. He would have to be “someone who just really saw how the ministry aspect is such a blessing,” she said.

Individuals or groups interested in taking over the leadership of Macedonian Call Foundation or purchasing the RV may call Harvey Kneisel at 713-436-6092.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:28)

I have been asked to clarify and expand a statement I made to the Executive Board of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention at its spring meeting. In an attempt to challenge the board to pray for President Barack Obama, I made the statement that “it’s hard to be a black pastor in a predominantly white convention.” This was my effort to reduce the tension of the moment and request a plea for understanding. I have since developed great apprehension for having made this statement because I never want to be considered as a president who represents one group of people. Please allow me to make it clear: my commitment as president of this great state convention is to represent all ethnicities within our 2,400 churches regardless of race. I am proud to represent a multi-cultural convention. However, if a conversation on this subject will assist in making the SBTC more inclusive, I am available.

It is no secret that there has been a heightened cultural divide in our country following the 2008 presidential election, and it appears comparable in many ways to the late 1960s and early ‘70s. As an African American pastor, I choose to remain colorblind and encourage God’s people to remain the same with all the racial overtones being leveled at President Obama. This task, as a conservative evangelical pastor, has become increasingly difficult as I attempt to understand whether the many negative connotations associated with the name Barack Obama are based on his ethnicity or some of his anti-biblical policies. I hope the posture of evangelical conservative congregations, with regard to ethnic relationships, are determined by their view of Scripture. However, the historic companionship of race, religion, and politics in America leaves much uncertainty as to the converted hearts of men. As a pastor, I intentionally incorporate into my sermons the biblical disapproval of racism, abortion, homosexuality, same-sex marriage, cohabitation, gambling, drinking, etc. For centuries pastors have failed to condemn racism, and yet it is one of America’s most prevalent sins.

Our country’s moral values have eroded under this current president and his administration—I feel embarrassed and ashamed. Likewise, these same feelings are replicated when I see those who use the anti-moral policies of this administration to hide behind their racism. A major concern of mine is how to lead my church to bridge the racial divide and remain colorblind in the process.

The morning after the 2008 election, I was delighted to be an American living in a country that had reached a point of ethnic diversity by electing an African American to the highest office in its government. I quickly found myself wedged between an African American community that was overjoyed, and the annoyance of many evangelical conservatives. As one could imagine, this is a difficult spiritual and sociological situation to manage.   

The excitement of many conservative African Americans began to fade into irritation as the opposing political parties continued their warfare at the expense of all Americans. This annoyance and irritation crept into our churches among people who love the Lord from all ethnic backgrounds. In the black community, the term “evangelical conservative” has become synonymous with racism because of its slant to a political party. Furthermore, the SBC, abiding by its conservative biblical views, has become identified with an anti-Obama movement, which the majority of blacks believe is stemmed from racism and not biblical beliefs. Black Southern Baptist pastors are often confronted with the question, “Why do we remain affiliated with the SBC when the political party of its choice can say such mean and hurtful things about the president of the United States?” For me, it is difficult to observe the negative effects politics takes on the body of Christ based on cultural bias.

This positional statement on race, located on the website of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, says:

“Tragically much of our nation’s history is stained with the ugliness of racial discrimination and prejudice and, even more distressing, there was a day when many condoned these attitudes from church pulpits, twisting Scripture to justify their bigoted behavior and thought, rationalizing it was perfectly all right to own and/or abuse another human being.

“Yet racist thought and behavior denies the reality that each of us is created in the image of God. It empties Scripture of its power in our lives when we accept some of its teachings and reject other biblical instruction because it conflicts with our idea of what is right and what is wrong. And as much as we want to believe otherwise, racism has not been erased from society. It’s sin—pure and simple.

“While we have made progress in our country in this area, we have not yet arrived. Much of what was spoken aloud in the past by many is still being whispered by some.”

I believe the SBC is striving to overcome the sins aforementioned. My election as president of the SBTC, along with three other African Americans who are SBC state presidents, and the upcoming election of Rev. Fred Luter as the next SBC president, says that we are steadily pressing for a new day of inclusion. The struggle still remains for total ethnic inclusion in all Southern Baptist life, especially in its executive positions. It is my belief that strides towards greater diversity will enhance an atmosphere more accommodating to black pastors in the SBC. The following sermon illustration, from Parson’s Bible Illustrator for Windows, I pray will help us to bridge our cultural divide as Southern Baptists:

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, in a fashionable Richmond church, members of the congregation were invited to come to the altar to receive Holy Communion. After several rows of worshipers came and left after receiving Communion side by side, a black man walked down the aisle. A tense silence gripped everyone. No one else got up to go receive the bread and wine, although many had not yet received Communion. The black man started to kneel alone. Quietly, a tall, graying man with a military bearing stood up and strode down the aisle to the black man’s side. Together, they knelt. Before the preacher could continue, people realized that the person kneeling beside the black man without showing any distinction was General Robert E. Lee.

Although Lee said nothing, everyone knew he had shown his faith through his act of joining that lonely black worshiper at the altar. Lee’s example is an example for all of us. We have to work toward breaking down the racial, cultural and denominational barriers that divide us as Christians. We’re called to let go of past hurts that have separated us from one another by turning them over to God and offering those who have hurt us forgiveness. And in seeking forgiveness from those we have hurt. We’re called to demonstrate our unity in Christ through love. It has to start with us. We have to pull together. And we have to keep on climbing. No matter what the vote: Christ’s prayer and Christ’s command is still that we be one as He is one with God and that we love one another as He has loved us. This is the Word of the Lord for this day.

—Terry Turner is the pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church and is serving his first term as SBTC president.

After sharing a Mother’s Day brunch with two families who are faithfully and sacrificially investing themselves in the life of our church plant, I began to rethink cooperation. As we stuffed ourselves with waffles and crispy bacon, I was reminded of the rich benefits that stem from the “Baptist way” of shared ministry (potluck dinners aside).

Take my Mother’s Day brunch, for instance. Joe and Amy Baumgardner sat on my left. They are members of Pittsburgh Baptist Church (PBC), one of a few established Southern Baptist churches in Pittsburgh.

I say “one of a few” because according to the Baptist Association of Southwestern Pennsylvania, there are only 60 churches to reach a population of 3 million people, of which 2 million are considered unchurched. The association website calculates that there is one SBC church for every 61,225 people in Southwestern Pennsylvania. In Alabama, for example, that number is one church for every 1,452.

The Baumgardners, Pennsylvania natives, have attended PBC for six years. But when North American Mission Board missionaries Ken and Paula Cordray moved to the Steel City to plant Living Faith Community Church (LFCC), the Baumgardners knew God was calling them to cooperate with the new church start in some way.

So, every other Sunday the couple attends the early worship service at PBC, then they drive across town to serve in the LFCC preschool and nursery class. Even though the Baumgardners discovered a new way to participate in cooperative missions without leaving their home church, the sacrifice of such cooperation is high.

Most people don’t enjoy serving in their own church’s nursery, much less driving across town to serve in the nursery of another church. (The difficulty of recruiting and maintaining church nursery workers testifies to that fact).

Also, consider Dave and Kim Lenon, who sat on my right at our brunch.

The Lenons currently serve at two separate Southern Baptist church plants in Pittsburgh. On Sunday mornings the couple welcomes new guests at LFCC and on Sunday evenings they encourage the Doxa Church in a nearby township. They are greeters, leaders, prayer warriors, ministry supporters, small group hosts, and more.

During our meal together, the couple spoke about the joy they’ve experienced cooperating with both churches. Likewise, LFCC cheerfully “shares” the Lenons with Doxa, because their cooperative ministry helps both ministries showcase God’s glory to an unreached city.

But for many Southern Baptists, “cooperation” is a loaded term. Although cooperation is part of the rich fabric of our denominational heritage, it’s also a word that can make younger generations grumble. That’s because when you tell Baptists they need to cooperate more, some mistakenly believe you’re simply asking for more money.

Yet, in Baptist polity, cooperation is truly tied to finances. The SBC’s Cooperative Program is THE premier unified giving mechanism among the denomination’s now 50,000 churches for fueling diverse missions efforts. Evangelism, discipleship, church planting, disaster relief—the Cooperative Program allows small churches to fulfill the Great Commission in big ways.

Personally, the out-workings of shared ministry in church planting has only bolstered my confidence in the SBC’s traditional, shared-ministry mechanisms. But the type of sacrificial cooperation demonstrated by the Baumgardners and Lenons is new to me.

Living in a pioneer area—a North American region not yet saturated with the gospel—has exposed to me to the need for a new kind of cooperative ministry. I’ve discovered a need for cooperation that extends beyond giving money to good—even biblical—causes. I’ve discovered a need for cooperation that encompasses more than establishing partnerships for special events.

The churches that cooperate with LFCC do so out of no personal advancement for their own ministry. They receive no financial benefit and absolutely zero ministry exposure. There are no pats on the back, no new prospective members, and no additional Facebook “likes” or Twitter followers.

In fact, much of our core group was formed when area churches, such as Pittsburgh Baptist Church and Faith Community Church Lakeside, invested in LFCC by willingly sharing with us some of their active and vibrant members. By market standards, this means these churches lost more than they gained.

Do those churches—which are small-to-medium sized churches—miss those members serving each week within their own church walls? Undoubtedly so. Do those churches already cooperate with other Baptist churches in missions by giving to the Cooperative Program? Of course. This very important cooperative measure must continue to be one of the unique mainstays our shared denominational identity.

But if Baptists are going to make any measurable gains in the Great Commission in this generation, it will take a new vision for cooperation that extends beyond financials and church growth strategies.

It will take Southern Baptist churches—and the individuals comprising them—sharing and investing their lives in other Southern Baptist churches around them. This type of selfless service—that enables another church to flourish instead of our own—sounds counter-intuitive.  But in the end, so does the gospel.

If we continue to refine our perception of cooperation, who knows, maybe one day there will be more Southern Baptist churches in Pittsburgh—and more Christ-followers cooperating to build out the Great Commission.

—Melissa Deming is a former TEXAN managing editor, a wife and a mother of twins who blogs at melissademing.com, where this column first appeared.

DALLAS—It didn’t take long for response to President Obama’s endorsement of homosexual marriage to emerge from Texas pastors and ministry leaders.

Obama cited his Christian faith in his May 9 announcement and stated that the Golden Rule weighs heavily in his faith alongside Christ’s sacrifice.

Only a couple of hours after the president’s announcement, First Baptist Church of Dallas Pastor Robert Jeffress was at the Dallas-Fort Worth Fox television affiliate’s studio opposite a lesbian pastor of Dallas’ Cathedral of Hope United Church of Christ, a nationally prominent gay-affirming congregation.

Jo Hudson, who said she was raising a young daughter with her partner, was seated next to Jeffress for the nearly 16-minute news segment.

“I think it is a great, historic day,” Hudson said. “Certainly, for people who have been marginalized and made second-class citizens in many ways, this is an important statement.”

But Jeffress countered that the problem with gay marriage is twofold: It violates God’s plan for marriage according to Scripture, and “it destabilizes our country by devaluing marriage.”

In Matthew 19, Jeffress said, Jesus gave God’s blueprint for marriage—one man and one woman. 

“And any deviation from that pattern, whether it be adultery, cohabitation, unbiblical divorce, polygamy or same-sex marriage, is a deviation from God’s standard.”

Calling gay marriage a counterfeit, Jeffress said, “If you are going to expand marriage to include anything and everything, you have devalued the real thing.”

Toward the end of the interview, Hudson objected to Jeffress’ characterization of Christian doctrine because “not all Christians believe what Dr. Jeffress believes.”

Hudson then clarified that she believes that God’s Word and God’s revelation are open and changing.

Jeffress responded, “Polls change and people change, but God’s Word never changes, and we cannot condone what God has condemned, which is anything outside of marriage.”

OTHERS PASTORS RESPOND

Tony Mathews, pastor of North Garland Baptist Fellowship in Garland and vice president of the African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, said he was already getting questioned about the president’s announcement at mid-week church services on May 9.

“Marriage, and its definition, have been biblically defined by God Almighty—and God does not need (nor does He welcome) human editors attempting to rewrite what’s in His book. President Obama is wrong on this issue,” Mathews wrote in a response titled “Who’s Right on This Issue, God or President Obama?”

“On this issue, it boils down to something really simple,” Mathews continued. “Do you trust God who thousands upon thousands of years ago decisively (without ever wavering) established and defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:5)? Or, do you trust a president who has been in office for only four years—a president who on this issue has wavered, been indecisive, and has within the last 48 hours ‘evolved’ so drastically that he’s willing to ignore that 32 states have already adopted God’s definition of marriage?

“Finally, what’s even more troubling is that he wants the rest of us to ‘evolve’ as well. Since he said that it’s his Christian values that have led him to make this decision, I’m praying that he will read the Christian guide, namely, the Word of God, and correct his ways on this issue of marriage.”

Bob Stith, the Southern Baptists’ national strategist for gender issues and a former Southlake pastor, said Obama’s endorsement “is a completely wrong-headed approach,” but Stith said his announcement wasn’t a surprise for those who have been watching closely.

“It challenges the foundation of the home that has been in place for thousands of years and in virtually every major civilization. With our educational institutions teaching this error to children from the earliest ages, we are facing a crisis of unimaginable magnitude,” Stith warned.

Regardless of what government leaders do, Christians must remember they can often affect change on the micro level and through interpersonal relationships. In doing so, believers must speak wisely on the issue, he urged.

Citing the environmental factors that often contribute to homosexuality, he said the church must equip parents to help their children “from the early years on.”

“We absolutely must be about rebuilding the foundation of the home. We can’t settle for an annual sermon on the home or an occasional workshop. We should be preparing our children from middle school on for the challenges and rewards of living a Christ-centered life in the home. It really serves no good purpose to criticize Obama if we aren’t doing all we can to safeguard the foundations. This would certainly include stemming the epidemic of divorce within the church,” Stith said.

Other Texas pastors and ministry leaders also commented on the president’s announcement.

—“Marriage is of God, not man,” wrote David Hartwig, pastor of First Baptist Church of Sterling City. “Both Old and New Testaments affirm this. For the president to deny this is nothing short of public and purposeful rejection of the authority and veracity of God's Word. For the president to endorse and legitimize what God calls sin is both rude and foolish. Additionally, he has intentionally fueled the continuing assault on Christian principles that our country was founded upon. We should not be surprised though, the president is doing nothing less than what he said he would if elected. Sadly, we may be getting what we asked for.”

—Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington and a prominent supporter of the Texas marriage amendment in 2005, wrote on his blog: “President Obama has betrayed the Bible and the black church with his endorsement of same-sex marriage. The Bible is crystal clear on this subject, and the black church strongly opposes same-sex marriage. His endorsement is an inadvertent attack on the Christian faith. America is now a candidate for the same judgment received by Sodom and Gomorrah. This was a sad, sad day and a very bad decision, by our beloved president.”

McKissic added: “The black church should galvanize, mobilize and address this matter with the same (if not greater) intensity, velocity and resolve as we did the civil rights movement. If we don’t, our children and grandchildren will pay a far greater price in suffering from a governmental sanction of same-sex marriage than we would have under segregation.”

—David Fleming, pastor of Champion Forest Baptist Church in Houston, told the TEXAN by email: “I was already planning a series entitled ‘Functional Families,’ but President Obama certainly has provided a heightened sense of interest and urgency with his recent and public support of same-sex marriage.  

“It is deeply troubling that our president is still evolving on something as fundamentally important to our society as marriage and the family. President Obama says he consulted with friends and neighbors, his wife, and even his two daughters as he ‘evolved’ in his thinking on same-sex marriage. Sadly, our president is following those he should be leading instead of standing on biblical and moral convictions as a leader. God has already defined marriage as a sacred union between a man and a woman for life. I vote we follow the Lord and lead our friends, neighbors and children in His clearly prescribed ways.”   

A recent poll from LifeWay Research showed Americans are almost evenly split on whether or not homosexuality is sinful. Forty-four percent of the more than 2,000 respondents chosen as a cross-section of the American populace said it is sinful, while 43 percent said it is not. Thirteen percent were unsure.

According to Baptist Press, younger Americans ages 18 to 29 were the least likely to look favorably on a church teaching homosexuality is sinful, while those 65 and older were most likely to look favorably on a church teaching that homosexuality is sinful.

Land's apology stemmed from a May 2 meeting in which several key African American leaders were in attendance, including Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans; James Dixon Jr., president of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention and senior pastor of El-Bethel Baptist Church in Fort Washington, Md.; and K. Marshall Williams, chairman of the Southern Baptist African American Advisory Council and pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa.

“I am here today to offer my genuine and heartfelt apology for the harm my words of March 31, 2012, have caused to specific individuals, the cause of racial reconciliation, and the gospel of Jesus Christ,” Land said in his two-page apology May 9.

As a result of the meeting May 2 that lasted nearly five hours, Land said, “I have come to understand in sharper relief how damaging my words were.”

Among others at the May 2 meeting were Frank Page, president of the SBC Executive Committee, and Paige Patterson, president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. In all, 12 individuals attended the session at the SBC Building in Nashville, Tenn.

Dixon, contacted by Baptist Press, said he would have no comment on Land's apology until after ERLC trustees have completed the process initiated by their executive committee on April 18 regarding comments by Land on his weekly call-in radio show over the intrusion of politics into the Trayvon Martin case, in which Land referenced President Obama and the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson by name. The six-member executive committee, in a public statement, expressed sadness “that this controversy has erupted” and concern “about how these events may damage the work of the ERLC in support of Southern Baptists and in furtherance of the Kingdom of our Lord.”

The ERLC executive committee also created an ad hoc committee to investigate allegations of plagiarism over material Land failed to attribute to a Washington Times columnist on the March 31 broadcast.

Steve Faith, ERLC trustee chairman, issued a statement later on May 9 that the ad hoc committee is working “with due diligence and will bring a thorough and complete report to the ERLC Executive Committee who will prayerfully consider the findings. The ERLC Executive Committee will bring a report to the full board of trustees and then release a public statement by June 1.

“It is important to understand that our Southern Baptist polity places Dr. Land under the authority of the ERLC trustees who are elected by and accountable directly to the Convention,” said Faith, a retired pastor and Baptist association director of missions in Indiana. “The trustees are aware of their responsibility to the Convention and to the watching world.”

Land's full statement of apology May 9 follows:

“I am here today to offer my genuine and heartfelt apology for the harm my words of March 31, 2012, have caused to specific individuals, the cause of racial reconciliation, and the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the ministry of The Reverend James Dixon, Jr. the president of the National African American Fellowship of the Southern Baptist Convention, and a group of brethren who met with me earlier this month, I have come to understand in sharper relief how damaging my words were.

“I admit that my comments were expressed in anger at what I thought was one injustice — the tragic death of Trayvon Martin — being followed by another injustice — the media trial of George Zimmerman, without appeal to due judicial process and vigilante justice promulgated by the New Black Panthers. Like my brothers in the Lord, I want true justice to prevail and must await the revelation of the facts of the case in a court of law. Nevertheless, I was guilty of making injudicious comments.

“First, I want to confess my insensitivity to the Trayvon Martin family for my imbalanced characterization of their son which was based on news reports, not personal knowledge. My heart truly goes out to a family whose lives have been turned upside down by the shocking death of a beloved child. I can only imagine their sense of loss and deeply regret any way in which my language may have contributed to their pain.

“Second, I am here to confess that I impugned the motives of President Obama and the reverends Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. It was unchristian and unwise for me to have done so. God alone is the searcher of men's hearts. I cannot know what motivated them in their comments in this case. I have sent personal letters of apology to each of them asking for them to forgive me. I continue to pray for them regularly, and for our president daily.

“Third, I do not believe that crime statistics should in any way justify viewing a person of another race as a threat. I own my earlier words about statistics; and I regret that they may suggest that racial profiling is justifiable. I have been an outspoken opponent of profiling and was grief-stricken to learn that comments I had made were taken as a defense of what I believe is both unchristian and unconstitutional. I share the dream of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., that all men, women, boys, and girls would be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. Racial profiling is a heinous injustice. I should have been more careful in my choice of words.

“Fourth, I must clarify another poor choice of words. I most assuredly do not believe American racism is a 'myth' in the sense that it is imaginary or fictitious. It is all too real and all too insidious. My reference to myth in this case was to a story used to push a political agenda. Because I believe racism is such a grievous sin, I stand firmly against its politicization. Racial justice is a non-partisan ideal and should be embraced by both sides of the political aisle.

“Finally, I want to express my deep gratitude to Reverend Dixon and the other men who met with me recently for their Christ-like witness, brotherly kindness, and undaunting courage. We are brethren who have been knit together by the love of Jesus Christ and the passion to reach the world with the message of that love. I pledge to them — and to all who are within the sound of my voice — that I will continue to my dying breath to seek racial justice and that I will work harder than ever to be self-disciplined in my speech. I am grateful to them for holding me accountable.

“I am also delighted to announce that as a result of our meeting, the ERLC, in conjunction with the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee, will initiate regular meetings to discuss our common calling to heal our nation's racial brokenness, work for meaningful reconciliation, and strategize for racial justice.”

Attending the meeting in addition to Land, Luter, Dixon, Marshall, Page, Patterson and Faith were Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas; Terry Turner, president of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and pastor of Mesquite Friendship Baptist Church in Mesquite; A.B. Vines Sr., senior pastor of New Seasons Church in Spring Valley, Calif., in the San Diego area; Craig Mitchell, chairman of Southwestern Seminary's ethics faculty and associate director of the seminary's Richard Land Center for Cultural Engagement; and C. Ben Mitchell, Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy at Union University in Jackson, Tenn.

Land issued an initial apology April 16 for the comments in conjunction with comments by Luter and SBC President Bryant Wright, pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., in the Atlanta area. The Baptist Press story can be accessed at www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37620. Earlier on April 16, Land also issued an apology for the material he failed to attribute to a Washington Times columnist. That BP story can be accessed at www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37619. The Baptist Press story on the April 18 statement by the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission trustee executive committee can be accessed at http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=37630