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On Tuesday, November 13, 2007 the N.C. Baptist Convention voted to sustain the November 12 ruling of their Executive Committee that Myers Park Baptist Church no longer be considered in friendly co-operation with the N.C. Baptist Convention. These actions came after Myers Park Baptist church leaders spoke to the officers of the Convention and to the Convention itself.
Letter to the N. C. Baptist Convention Senior Minister Rev. Dr. H. Stephen Shoemaker Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I appeal to you by the mercies of God to refrain from removing churches like ours from your fellowship. Christian fellowship is too divided as it is and is a scandal to Christ who prayed that we might be one. I appeal to you as Baptists who treasure soul freedom, soul competency and the autonomy of the local church. These great Baptist principles argue on behalf of including those of minority witness and minority interpretation of scripture in its fellowship. Our church studied the Bible, sought the Spirit of God and talked earnestly with each other for over 20 years to get to the place where we said we were “open to all and closed to none,” and fully welcomed gay and lesbian persons who wished to follow Jesus with us. We do not claim to have the whole mind of God, and we respect those whose interpretations of scripture differ. It is the spiritual freedom we offer one another. I appeal to you as Biblical people led by the Living Spirit of God whose life is centered in Christ. Jesus welcomed those considered outcasts and sinners by His culture and religion into the Kingdom of God drawing near. We seek — we hope — to live in His Spirit. And we, like Peter in the Book of Acts, have overcome our original resistance to the inclusion of gay and lesbian persons as Peter overcame his resistance to accepting Gentiles into the people of God. He saw the Holy Spirit fall upon the Gentiles, he saw God working in their lives and said:
We could base the unity of our fellowship on any number of issues of Biblical interpretation: speaking in tongues, war, abortion, death penalty, divorce, homosexuality, and on and on. Let us base our unity on Jesus Christ as Lord and his call to discipleship and on the competence and freedom of the individual to open scripture and interpret it for his or her life guided by the Spirit of God. In Christ, Read letters by other members » ...................................................................................................................... Church Forum and Update: On Sunday, November 18, church leadership invited the congregation to discuss and comment on the recent interaction with the N.C. Baptist Convention. Leaders and members read their letters to the convention, and several forum attendees addressed the group. The forum was recorded and is available here: |
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