News Forum Alliance of Baptists Church Calls Lesbian as Co-Pastor

Yup. Pullen is a wonderful congregation and very fortunate to have her.

None of this should come as a surprise to anyone, since she's been at Pullen for years and they have been talking about creating the position for months. In addition, there are enough gay/lesbian clergy in the Alliance that this hardly struck me as newsworthy.

Joshua

 

I glanced through the "Constitution and By-Laws" section of their website.
http://www.pullen.org/

I didn't see one mention of the words--Bible, scripture, or Word of God--nor did I see a single verse quoted or referenced. Perhaps I overlooked something, but its pretty obvious THAT isn't too high on their list of priorities.

A "wonderful congregation?" I don't think so.

 

On their home page, their's a link to "Bible Search" and to "Bible Keywords."

From their Constitution:

"It shall be the purpose of this church to worship God; to win people to Christ by the preaching and teaching of the Word; to promote the reconciling and redemptive work of Jesus Christ in individual and social living; to nurture one another and to maintain and extend a fellowship of mutual concern and helpfulness; to provide instruction in Christian literature, history, action and missions; to foster a vital faith able to meet the challenge and change of the total life of our community, nation and world; to bear creative witness to the historic principles of separation of church and state, and the autonomy of the local congregation; and to support God's work with gifts, prayers, and actions."

From the "How We Live" section under "Pullen Profile"

"We treasure and strive to practice historic Baptist principles: the priesthood of all believers, the authority of Scripture, the autonomy of the local congregation, the separation of church and state. "

"The worship of God, most clear to us in Jesus the Christ, is the central purpose of Pullen Memorial Baptist Church. Each worship service is painstakingly planned. Scripture and prayer are central in every service."

From their Covenant:

As a community of faith, we affirm our covenant with each other and with God:

-We believe the worship of God, in its many forms, to be central to our livesand to the life of this congregation.
-We accept all seekers and searchers and welcome their participation in our church life.
-We seek to be a learning congregation in which our personal stories are discovered within the biblical story and faith community.
-We affirm and take seriously the study of the Bible and will endeavor to discern its truths.
-We affirm the spiritual, mystical reality of prayer, faith, hope, and love.
-We affirm a theology rooted in God’s grace and creative blessing, one which frees us from the oppression of sin and offers redemption.
-We affirm the interconnectedness of all creation and seek to live responsibly in a manner that values all creation.
-We seek to be a compassionate, healing, and nurturing congregation, where people experience family, home, and community.
-We support ministry to the larger community and seek ways to respond to the cries, needs, and pulls of the world.
-We seek to find and promote ways that various religions can live together in peace, honoring and respecting other traditions and beliefs.
-We celebrate Pullen’s Baptist heritage and strive to preserve:
-the freedom and responsibility of the individual to read and interpret the Scriptures in the context of community,
-the freedom and responsibility of the local church to shape its own life and mission,
shared leadership and participatory decision-making,
-the priesthood of all believers, and
-freedom of the church in a free state.

A scripture passage that we believe guides Pullen:

What does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God.
Micah 6:8

_________________

Joshua

[ May 01, 2002, 02:02 AM: Message edited by: Rev. Joshua Villines ]

 

Did this woman not read Romans chapter one in all of her Bible classes? Homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord.

HCL

 

I guess most of us here have given up on this subject. Joshua seems to praise the people who ignore God's plain commands. He has told us that there are good reasons to question God's word. I personally get ill when I see his face on a thread, because I know he will be encouraging others to follow his footsteps, instead of trusting the Lord.

I feel sorry for the young Christians he has led astray.

 

Josh,
I mentioned what section I looked through, but neverthless I'll stand corrected.

However, my point is, if its there, you've got to look for it. Which is obvious; because any group which gives more than lip service to taking God's word seriously isn't going to accept, much less promote, such grievous error.

Just because you can point to what appears to be a needle in this big ole haystack still does not change the fact that it's still a pile of chaff

[ May 01, 2002, 06:13 AM: Message edited by: TimothyW ]

 

Really? Guess they overlooked Romans Chapter One and all the other Scripture about homosexuality being an abomination.

Excuse me, I think I'm going to vomit. (or as God says, "spew" i.e., Rev.) Or as the kids say, "hurl."

 

Timothy, the option to search the Bible is the first thing I saw when I went to their main page. The first quote I gave was from their Constitution, which you said was the area you searched. In addition, I cited their covenant, which is the foundational document of their congregation. It is hardly a needle in a haystack.

Although we clearly disagree on the interpretation on the (very small number of passages) that may deal with homosexuality; whay I wish I could make clear to the fundamentalists on this forum is that these churches are churches that take the Bible very seriously. Their worship is centered around the biblical passages that are read - in their entirety - in worship. Their pastors are well-trained in biblical scholarship, and are committed believers who take their responsibilities very seriously. In many cases they are recovering fundamentalists whose faith journeys led them to a different perspective.

Joshua

 

I knew all about this church when I lived in Raleigh; it was less than a mile from where I lived. I guess I missed nothing by not attending.

 

Although we clearly disagree on the interpretation on the (very small number of passages) that may deal with homosexuality; whay I wish I could make clear to the fundamentalists on this forum is that these churches are churches that take the Bible very seriously. Their worship is centered around the biblical passages that are read - in their entirety - in worship. Their pastors are well-trained in biblical scholarship, and are committed believers who take their responsibilities very seriously. In many cases they are recovering fundamentalists whose faith journeys led them to a different perspective.

Joshua[/QB][/QUOTE]

Joshua,

What then, is your interpretation of 1 Corinthians 6:9-11? What part of that would you disagree with?

 

Wouldn't "The Church of False Wittness" be a better title? It appears they are more in a race to see how many of the scriptures can be defiled before the second coming of Christ... The Great White Throne of Judgement will be awfully busy it seems.

 

Actually Mr. Curtis, I for one enjoy Rev. Josh's posts. I know most of the time right off the bat that I will not agree with him, but his opinions are well thought out, reasoned, and easy for a new participant, (to message boards), and hasnt had the benefit of a seminary (or college education), to read and comprehend. I do not have many posts on here but I have read hundreds since I discovered BB and have found Rev Josh to have what many of the posters have---"class". They can disagree without throwing cheap, "easy to type thru the puter screen" insults to each other. Very rare and unusual today, even for Christians. He is one of the reasons I enjoy this board so much.

 

Puhleeze...

Class doesn't bring lost souls to Christ. Truth does. I don't care how eloquent he is, when he encourages people to question God's holy innerrant word, he loses any respect from me.

Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.

If someone ignores any part of the bible, how can you say in good consience that they are serious about God's word.

 

A typical line of moderates is "We don't need to take the Bible literally, but we need to take it seriously"

 

Hi im new here, i was contented to just read your topic but am constrained to add a comment about homosexuality, Joshua and his stand regarding the topic. I pity him and those whom He will lead astray. .... Homosexuality is under the judgment of God in some of the epistles of St Paul. Unless they repent, they will go directly to hell as the Bible says.

Italics and elipses added by the moderator.

[ May 05, 2002, 09:07 PM: Message edited by: The Squire ]

 

Sin is sin and the Bible speaks clearly about homosexuality.It is no wonder our nation is in the shape it is today because liberal thinkers and thinking has invaded our pulpits. When preachers quit preaching ALL of what God says, you have churches like the one being discussed, spreading their perversion of the scriptures to unsuspecting followers. God help America because with churches allowing this sin to be a part and parcel of their leadership,soon other countries will have to send missionaries to our land to teach us what God says about this subject!!

 

As a church member, I will never go to a church where homosexuality and lesbianism is winked at or accepted.
As a citizen in any country, I feel gays of either gender should not be allowed into the military and police organizations because these organizations are peopled with individuals tasked with keeping order and decency. There is nothing decent about deviate sexual practices.
Personally and as a Christian, I will not disallow friendship with them, though, not for evangelistic purposes because no witnessing to them can bring them to Christ except the Holy Spirit Himself draw them.
I had an aunt who turned lesbian after her husband left her, and a nephew who is homosexual because his first sexual experience was with a homosexual.
My brothers and I never minced words when telling them about scriptures, but we sure didn't run them out of the family.
They are people, and sometimes better friends than the "straights". Just like prostitutes.
I grew up in a "devout" Catholic family, and my uncle and aunt used to talk of prostitutes in a condescending, condemning manner.
But, in my "sowing wild oats" days I found these so-called outcasts of society better and more loyal friends than most "straight living"-ers.
Incidentally, can someone enlighten this bewildered diabetic brain of mine why they are called "gay" ?
In school I thought gay meant happy, of a nice disposition, etc, etc.