Southern Baptist Convention ousts Kentucky, Georgia churches over pro-LGBTQ values

Churches in Kentucky and Georgia were removed by the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday for allowing members with pro-LGBTQ beliefs into their congregations.

The decision to disfellowship St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville and Towne View Baptist Church in Georgia was made by the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention.

Albert Mohler, leader of the largest Protestant denomination in the United States, said on Twitter the removals were “necessary and proper.”

St. Matthews Baptist Church was stripped from the Kentucky Baptist Convention in 2018 for supporting hiring LGBTQ employees, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported.

The church said at the time that it was “disheartened” by the decision, WLKY reported.

Michael Payne, chairperson of the St. Matthews Baptist Church Administrative Council, said the belief that “Jesus as personal Savior is the sole criterion for membership” in the church led the Southern Baptist Convention to cut ties, according to The Associated Press.

Towne View Baptist Church pastor Jim Conrad confirmed his church’s expulsion Tuesday, but said the church will not change its views.

“The Southern Baptist Convention has decided that we are no longer welcome in their membership because we have welcomed LGBTQ members into our membership,” Conrad said in a statement. “It is our commitment to share the love of Jesus with everyone and welcome anyone who professes faith in Christ into our community of faith, hope, and love.”

When Towne View accepted a gay couple into its membership in 2019, the church lost 30% of its congregation, Conrad said, according to the Baptist Press.

He said that “anyone who can profess Jesus as Lord should be welcomed into our church.”

Conrad said he will affiliate his church with the The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Associated Press reported.

Mohler said the Old Testament and the New Testament addresses homosexuality.

“Anyone who argues that the Bible — OT and NT — is not clear about the sinfulness of homosexuality is either very confused or deliberately dishonest about the structure of biblical theology and the clear meaning of texts,” he said on Twitter.

Two other churches — Antioch Baptist Church in Sevierville, Tennessee, and West Side Baptist Church in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, were expelled Tuesday from the Southern Baptist Convention for employing convicted sex offenders.

This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 8:38 AM with the headline "Southern Baptist Convention ousts Kentucky, Georgia churches over pro-LGBTQ values."