Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Religion News
Boycott the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship! // Uncensored

Boycott the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship! // Uncensored

Last updated on: March 6, 2016 at 5:20 pm by Jeff Hood

Boycott the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship! // Uncensored 2016-03-06T17:20:55-06:00 Jeff Hood

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

9095234_300x300

^CBF’s Logo

*There were some concerns from the folks at the CBF about my first posting of this post that led to some censorship. In response, I wanted to make sure that I published the uncensored extended version here.

“Our church voted to leave the Southern Baptist Convention this past Sunday.” Overhearing Charlie’s comment, I immediately replied, “Why did y’all do something dumb like that?” Even though our whispers were escalating, we hadn’t yet caught the attention of our history teacher, Mr. Jones. “Most folks in our church wanted to ordain women.” I was absolutely incredulous. “Which one of the liberal denominations did you join?” Charlie looked at me dead in the eyes and said, “THE Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.” “Well, you might as well have been handing out free tickets to hell in the process. What’s next? Homosexual ordination?” Angered, Charlie shouted, “You’d better take that back. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship nor our church would ever in a million years ordain no faggots.” Mr. Jones raised his head and yelled, “Pipe down or you’ll be joining me in detention.” When I saw Charlie at our high school reunion a few years ago, he told me that his church was still proudly in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and ardently opposed to the participation of gay people in church or denominational life.

“The snow sets this place off.” I don’t know who I was talking to. I was alone. Maybe, I was talking to God. Maybe, I was just crazy. Who the hell knows? Regardless, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is a majestic place. The year was 2007 and the President was one Dr. R. Albert Mohler, Jr. That’s right, I was educated within the Southern Baptist Convention long after moderates lost control of the denomination and left. A short time into my tenure, I got a phone call that would change my life. For many years, my mentor served Southern Baptist churches and his last church was affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF). Though he was unquestionably more progressive, I spent many years learning from him. Picking up the phone, I heard the familiar voice of my mentor tell me that he was dying. I traveled through the night to get to him. When I arrived at the house, I walked past his family into his room. Arriving at his bedside, my mentor reached out with his cold sweaty dying hand and told me, “I’m gay and I always have been.” Death came quickly thereafter. I knew that he didn’t feel comfortable telling any of the churches he served. Though he was a moderate Baptist, my mentor was forced into a closet by the denominations he served. After these events, I grew more progressive by the day and finished Southern as quickly as possible. When I was a student at Emory University someone invited me to be a part of the CBF, I replied that I couldn’t be part of a homophobic denomination. This was before I learned of the official homophobic stance of the CBF.

“We’re not homophobic!” When you lead with an emphatic denial of homophobia, most of the time that means you’re homophobic. A few years ago, an influential member of the CBF led with such a denial. I decided to research further and found an extended history of homophobia. In October of 2000, the Coordinating Council of the CBF adopted the following policy on homosexual behavior related to personnel and funding:

As Baptist Christians, we believe that the foundation of a Christian sexual ethic is faithfulness in marriage between a man and a woman and celibacy in singleness. We also believe in the love and grace of God for all people, both for those who live by this understanding of the biblical standard and those who do not. We treasure the freedom of individual conscience and the autonomy of the local church, and we also believe that congregational leaders should be persons of moral integrity whose lives exemplify the highest standards of Christian conduct and character.

Because of this organizational value, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship does not allow for the expenditure of funds for organizations or causes that condone, advocate or affirm homosexual practice. Neither does this CBF organizational value allow for the purposeful hiring of a staff person or the sending of a missionary who is a practicing homosexual.

(http://www.cbf.net/media/import/4ff861e3-6f0d-40a0-8eff-dba9c01f884b.pdf)

The phrase “practicing homosexual” is about as homophobic as it gets. When I read this and think about the numerous homophobic experiences I’ve had with CBF pastors throughout the country, I’m wondering why all these folks left the Southern Baptist Convention in the first place. From recent experiences, I know that most Southern Baptists would be very comfortable with the language that the CBF uses. Maybe the folks in the CBF might be interested in going back?

I decided to take my questions to the leader of the denomination.

When I walked into the gymnasium (Spring 2013 CBF luncheon at Agape Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas), I couldn’t help but notice how white the room was. While the tables were white, there also wasn’t a single person of color in the entire room. The speaker of the hour was CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter. After listening to her talk about all the stuff that the CBF was doing, the time for questions came. I had to think about it. When I considered the controversial nature of my question, I decided to wait to talk to her after. We’d just exited the church when I asked about the homophobic stances and policies of the CBF. For over ten minutes, Paynter would not answer any of my questions. I remembered something a lawyer friend taught me, when someone refuses to answer a question they have already answered the question. Executive Coordinator Paynter is a defender of the homophobic policies of her homophobic denomination.

Jesus commanded us to “Love our neighbors as our selves.” How can you accomplish such a task and have such homophobic policies on the books? It’s 2016. There is no reason to be a part of any denomination that functions in this way. On homophobia, the CBF reflects the Southern Baptist Convention far more than it reflects Jesus. Until these homophobic policies are taken off the books and their churches decide to be inclusive spaces, I’m calling on Baptists to boycott the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. I hope this action brings about the repentance and salvation of our fellow Baptists. Homophobia is not acceptable. In a world desperate for the love of Jesus, there’s no reason to partner with or pay for hate. For the sake of all of God’s children, boycott!

Amen.

CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter

Cooperative Baptist Fellowship

hate

homophobia

homophobic

homophobic denomination

Southern baptist Convention

Spring 2013 CBF luncheon at Agape Baptist Church in Fort Worth

texas

Previous Post

March 6, 2016

Lenten Remix 25: The Old Testament is Often No Testament

Next Post

March 6, 2016 Madeleine and Lucas Turn 1! / Twins: A Poem

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Danny & Jeff fresh writings latest poetics north texas fellowship of reconciliation Sermon theology from death row Thoughts Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Rabbi" mean in Hebrew?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Prophet Judge My Teacher King