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What (Some) Welcoming & Affirming Baptists Believe
Background information.
The Association of Welcoming & Affirming Baptists grew out of a meeting of professional church leaders which
was held at the American Baptist Churches Biennial meeting in Charleston, West Virginia, in June of 1991. Many congregations which welcome and
affirm persons of all sexual orientations were represented at this gathering. Anxious to make it known that not
all Baptists were in agreement with the Statement of Concern on Homosexuality proposed (and later passed)
in Charleston, those in attendance at that meeting wanted a way for their congregations to go on record as welcoming
gay and lesbian persons. It was felt that a network of such churches should be formed, and it was decided to organize
using the historic Baptist associational model. Since that meeting, over 60 churches and
many organizations and individual clergy and lay church leaders have joined the AWAB. Many of our member churches have historically been
affirming but have joined together with other Welcoming & Affirming Baptist churches in order to respond more
fully to the call of Christ by accomplishing together what we cannot do alone.
Many have asked what we believe, or what it is that we affirm. In keeping with historic Baptist principles, AWAB
does not have a creed or statement of faith which must be affirmed by our membership. Rather, each member congregation
submits its own statement of welcome and affirmation. This statement may be part of the church's bylaws or mission
statement, a resolution, or a statement drafted by a task group. Each church decides on the content and the process
by which the statement is prepared and affirmed by the church.
We feel that this is the best process for joining into association with one another, but it does make it difficult
for me to answer questions about what "we" believe. While no Baptist can speak for another,
I will try to reflect on our affirming position honestly and in such a way that my statements do not misrepresent
the attitudes and understandings of most members of the Association.
The Purposes of the Association. The AWAB bylaws (passed at our biennial meeting in June, 1995) outline nine reasons
for our Association in a statement of purpose. Our first and primary purpose is "to seek to remain faithful
to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as witnessed within scripture, the church, and personal experience, and to maintain
through the work of the Association a public witness to God's reconciling presence in our lives." Our sense
of mission flows from this primary purpose—from our understanding of what our members feel it means to be faithful
to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Nothing in Baptist polity requires individual churches to abide
by the majority opinion, whether expressed regionally or nationally, on matters of mission, theological understanding,
or biblical interpretation. In fact, many W&A congregations feel a deep sense of calling to be a prophetic
voice for justice, calling the church to accountability and action wherever there is exclusion and oppression of
any of God's children.
Welcoming & Affirming churches rely on the Bible as the all-sufficient rule for faith and practice.
There are a variety of understandings regarding homosexuality within the
American Baptist denomination and by other Baptists.
At the Syracuse Biennial meeting, two very fine biblical scholars presented very divergent interpretations of what
the Bible has to say about homosexuality. The Ministers Council has available a video, "Biblical Texts and
Homosexuality," in which two different points of view are explored. Members of the AWAB express views
toward homosexuality that exist within this wide range of views currently held by Baptists. We have not
rejected the Bible, but rather study and rely on scripture to inform our understandings of hospitality, mission,
evangelism, and responsible sexual ethics.
We Welcome and Affirm People.
When W&A Baptists say that we welcome and affirm persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
(lgbt) in our churches, we are welcoming people. We welcome our lgbt sisters and brothers in our pews, we advocate
for them when they are victims of discrimination or violence, and we include them in positions of church leadership.
We are not, however, welcoming and affirming a particular "lifestyle." This bears explanation.
In order to understand one another, we must understand one another's language. There are several terms which are
frequently used and often misunderstood in the current debate over homosexuality and the church. Following are
some of the terms and concepts discussed by Welcoming & Affirming Baptists about which many people are unclear.
Sexual Orientation. First,
let me draw a distinction between sexual orientation and sexual behavior. W&A Baptists do not affirm all homosexual
sexual behavior any more than we would affirm all heterosexual sexual behavior. We do, however, believe that homosexual
sexuality when it is lived out in the context of a mutually responsible, monogamous, exclusive, committed relationship
can be life-giving, blessed by God, and is not by its very nature outside of the realm of a faithful Christian
life. Most W&A Baptists believe that God has created humankind with a variety of sexual orientations and that
each individual has the potential to act responsibly within their given sexual orientation. Most of us believe
that a person does not have a choice in one's sexual orientation; we feel that it is not a preference but rather
something with which one is born—as intrinsic as eye color or left-handedness.
Bisexual. A person who
is "bisexual" is someone who feels physical attraction to members of either sex (while a homosexual is
attracted to persons of the same sex and a heterosexual to members of the opposite sex). Since a bisexual woman
could be attracted to both men and women, she might choose to be in relationship with another woman, or she might
choose to be in relationship with a man.
There has been much confusion about the affirmation of bisexual persons by the AWAB. Some have argued that an affirmation
of a bisexual would indicate a belief that it is perfectly OK for someone to act sexually with more than one partner
(i.e. with a male and also with a female during the same time period). Thus they conclude that W&A Baptists
must therefore be advocating promiscuity. This is incorrect. We do not affirm irresponsible sexual behavior. We
do affirm the person. While we believe that some individuals are attracted to both men and women, we would have
the same expectations for a bisexual individual as we would for a heterosexual individual—an expectation to act
sexually within a mutually responsible, monogamous, exclusive, committed relationship, for example.
Transgender. There is
much mystery around the subject of transgender, and at this point there is little consensus within our organization
or even within the gay community. I am not an expert in these matters, but I offer the following as a general statement.
"Transgender" is an umbrella term for various expressions of gender identity which cross over to expressions
usually exhibited by the other gender. "Cross-dressers" are transgender persons who enjoy dressing in
clothing usually worn by the opposite sex (the term "transvestite" is also sometimes used). Just like
the rest of the population, cross-dressers may be either heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual in sexual orientation.
(For example, a male cross-dresser who enjoys wearing women's clothing and only has sexual relations with his
wife is probably heterosexual; indeed the vast majority of male cross-dressers are heterosexual.) "Transsexuals"
are transgender individuals who feel that they are trapped in the body of the wrong gender. (In some instances
a physical abnormality results in individuals who are born with additional chromosomes and/or have genitals of
both sexes.) Transsexuals may or may not have surgery or take hormones to transform their bodies into the other
gender. A transsexual person may also be either homosexual, heterosexual, or bisexual. (For example, a person who
is born with male genitals but believes herself to be female in gender, has surgery to become female, and enters
into a relationship with a male is exhibiting heterosexual sexual behavior, as is her sexual partner.)
As you can see, transgender is a very complicated subject and one around which we need much more study and understanding.
We do not have consensus among our members about certain behaviors. (Some would not endorse surgical procedures
which result in a change of physical gender characteristics, for example.) However, I believe we would have consensus
in that transgender persons would be welcomed and affirmed in W&A congregations.
Lifestyle. This is a term
which is often used by those outside the gay community to describe lesbian and gay sexuality, but one which we
feel has little meaning in that context. There is no such thing as a "homosexual lifestyle" any more
than there is a "heterosexual lifestyle." I am a lesbian pastor living in a monogamous relationship with
my life-partner. My lifestyle involves such activities as serving my church, cleaning the house (occasionally,
anyway), taking the cats to the vet, and making choices about how I treat others, spend my income, and care for
the environment. If you are a married heterosexual, your lifestyle probably has much more in common with my lifestyle
than it does with the lifestyle of some other heterosexuals (a wealthy executive, a single mom raising her children
on welfare in the inner city, a drug addict, or the pope, to name a few examples.)
Ethical Standards. When
W&A Baptists consider biblical sexual ethics, we have the same standards for those who are attracted to the
same sex that we do for those who are attracted to the opposite sex. We do not require celibacy as a condition
of faithfulness. We do not require those who are lesbian, gay, or bisexual to become "straight" if they
choose to enter a sexual relationship*, but we do encourage them to be ethical in that relationship. Although we
might not be able to reach consensus among our members on some of the specifics of ethical sexual behavior, most
would expect sexual expression to be lived out in the context of a committed, monogamous relationship. I think
we would all agree among W&A congregations that we do not have a double standard of sexual ethics that holds
one set of expectations for heterosexual members and another set of expectations for our lgbt members.
Our W&A congregations affirm persons of various sexual and gender orientations and encourage the responsible
sexual behavior of all of our members. Where we might differ with those who disagree with us is that we believe
that God created humankind with a variety of sexualities and that it is possible to engage in responsible sexual
behavior with a person of the same sex. We do not make negative assumptions about one's sexual ethics when we learn
that an individual is gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered.
Since partners, relationships, and significant life events of lgbt members are usually not recognized and celebrated,
they often feel like second-class citizens in most churches. Therefore, W&A congregations seek to recognize,
nurture, and celebrate the God-given sexuality and the committed relationships of the lgbt members of our families
of faith. We accept them as children of God and reach out to them with the redeeming and reconciling love of Jesus
Christ. We further encourage our congregations and our denomination to participate in dialogue on issues of gender
and sexuality and to develop and encourage a responsible sexual ethic for persons who are heterosexual, homosexual,
or bisexual. We believe that God meets us all wherever we are, regardless of our sexual or gender orientation,
and calls us each to live out our life in accordance with the teachings and example of Christ.
*The statement about our organization which is most often misinterpreted and quoted out of context is a sentence
which is a part of my explanation of how to write an affirming statement. It states that a basic understanding
of "affirmation" means that W&A members "affirm persons of all sexual orientations without the
expectation that one be heterosexual or celibate in order to be a faithful Christian."
This article is adapted from a memo previously sent to executive ministers in response to several questions regarding
W&A "beliefs," and was printed in
The InSpiriter, spring 1999 (vol.3 no.4).
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