Back in August,
“This is Moore Better” was the title of my blog article about Dr.
Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC)
of the Southern Baptist Convention. I meant the positive things I said about
him then.
But now I’m
afraid I can’t be so positive about him. The upcoming ERLC national conference
looks as if it is going to be more of the same old anti-gay rhetoric that has
been so prevalent in Southern Baptist and other conservative evangelical
churches.
The Oct. 27-29 conference title is “The Gospel, Homosexuality, and the Future of
Marriage.” The website for this
gathering lists the speakers, many of whom are known conservatives and
opponents of same-sex marriage or acceptance of gays/lesbians.
Among the many
speakers in addition to Moore, who is the person mainly responsible for
planning the conference, are the following:
—
Rosaria Butterfield, author of “The Secret Thoughts of an
Unlikely Convert: An English Professor’s Journey into the Christian Faith,” in
which she tells about her transformation from a postmodern lesbian professor to
a pastor’s wife and homeschooling mother.
—
Jim Daly, President and CEO of Focus on the Family; while
not as strident as his predecessor, James Dobson, he is still a strong opponent
of homosexuality and same-sex marriage.
—
Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary and one of the best known and most outspoken opponents of same-sex
marriage and acceptance of gays/lesbians.
—
David Platt, recently elected president of the International
Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and as the others, strongly
against gay/lesbian sexuality. His YouTube sermon “The Gospel and Homosexuality”
has been accessed 37,300+ times, and many of the 450 comments are in agreement.
But here is one of many negative comments: “Such hate in the name of Jesus, how
many lives will be destroyed because of this preacher, how many will reject
Jesus Christ, and His grace [because of his] hate.”
—
Christopher Yuan, a pastor and co-author (with his mother)
of “Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son’s Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search
for Hope” (2011); I have not read this book, but it seems to promote only celibacy
for homosexuals.
While there are
several other speakers, it seems quite clear that there will be little
opportunity at Moore’s ERLC conference to hear from more than one side of the
issue, which, of course, they see as the only correct position.
A promotional
blurb for the conference includes this question, “Are you and your church
prepared for the moral revolution surrounding homosexuality and same-sex
marriage happening across America?”
In continues, “While
human sexuality and social institutions are being redefined before our very
eyes, the Bible presents marriage as an unchanging picture of the gospel
through the union of one man and one woman.”
By contrast,
there will be a “regional
training conference” held in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 6-8. That gathering will
be “a prime networking opportunity for all Christians who want to advance the
dignity of LGBT people.”
One keynote
speaker will be my friend Dr. David Gushee, Professor of Christian Ethics at
Mercer University and a lifelong Baptist. But his position on the
gay/lesbian issue is quite different from that of Moore and the ERLC.
In addition,
the Association of Welcoming and
Affirming Baptists want to have dialogue with the ERLC conference people.
I wish that Moore and the ERLC were open to Gushee’s
position and the AWAB leaders’ request. But I am afraid all they will consider
is more of the same: rejection of LBGT people. What a shame!
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