On Wednesday Night, April 11^th , we will consider the consequences of what happens when Christians decide that the Bible may not be true in all that is reports.

Back in 1991, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) was formed because a small number of churches disagreed with the conservative resurgence within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) and decided to leave and form their own denomination. They disagreed with the SBC’s affirmation of the inerrancy or truthfulness of the Bible. Their biggest concern back in those days was the SBC’s unwillingness to allow women to be pastors.

Now, the CBF is dealing with a controversy about the ordination of LGBT members within their denomination. They commissioned a study called the “Illumination Project” to shed light upon the issue and hopefully find a solution. This year, the Illumination Committee unveiled their report called “Honoring Autonomy & Reflecting the Fellowship” which revealed a compromise that was supposed to satisfy all their members. A summary of the compromise reads as follows:  “The CBF will employ persons for leadership positions in ministry who exhibit the ideals set forth in our hiring policy, have gifts appropriate to the particular position and who practice a traditional Christian sexual ethic of celibacy in singleness or faithfulness in marriage between a woman and a man. For other positions on the CBF staff in Decatur, applicants will be considered who meet the qualities set forth in the new hiring policy, including Christians who identify as LGBT.”   In other words, the CBF will allow hiring of homosexuals within the United States, but overseas, missionary personnel must be heterosexual.

As it turns out, the compromise made no one happy. The LGBT members are upset. The more “moderate conservative” members are upset. So, the CBF is anticipating a contentious convention in June in Dallas, TX.

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