Baptists all over America are reacting with concern following a decision taken by the Baptist church in Washington D.C. to hire two "married" lesbian women to lead their congregation, Christian News reported.
The Calvary Baptist Church presented Maria Swearingen and Sally Sarratt as "co-pastors" on Sunday, according to a press release from the Ministerial Selection Committee. The church is one of the most historic congregations in America. It split with the Southern Baptist Convention in 2012.
The women are expected to start performing their duties next month.
Some members of the Christian denomination are shaking their heads over the decision. They include Albert Mohler of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.
In his "The Briefing" podcast on Tuesday, Mohler expressed concern over the "trajectory of American Protestant liberalism," which he noted "began as an impulse to try to modify Christianity so that it would fit better into a modern age."
Mohler said the problems inherent in the appointment of the two co-pastors go deeper than lesbianism, noting that one of the women works as a minister for a universalist assembly.
As stated in the Unitarian Universalist Association's website, few of their members "believe in divine judgment after death." This came after the group "broke with mainstream Christianity by rejecting the idea of eternal damnation."
Mohler called for the expulsion of the Calvary Baptist Church from the District of Columbia Baptist Convention, saying that if this action is not taken "then they by very definition simply become a convention that will accept—that indeed does accept—a church that has legally married lesbian co-pastors in terms of their own membership."
However, Convention director Robert Cochran said the organisation has no intention of expelling Calvary Baptist. "To the best of my knowledge, the D.C. Baptist Convention, due to its respect for local congregational autonomy, has never withdrawn fellowship from any congregation," he told the Baptist Press.
According to the American Baptist Churches USA, one of the traditions and practices of the denomination is that "Baptists always have maintained the need for autonomous congregations, responsible for articulating their own doctrine, style of worship and mission."
It says "American Baptist Churches USA today is the most racially inclusive Protestant body" where "diverse worship styles, cultural mores and approaches to Scriptural interpretation" are represented in its churches.
"The resulting challenges and opportunities have made us stronger —through fellowship, respect, mutual support and dialog, all based on a belief that unity in Christ involves growth and understanding," says the body representing 1.3-million Baptists and more than 5,000 congregations in America.
