CLC pleads with Missouri Baptist pastor o support traditional marriage amendments
By Bob Baysinger
Managing Editor
March 16, 2004
HALLSVILLE – The Missouri Baptist Convention’s (MBC) Christian Life Commission (CLC) has issued a call to Missouri Baptist pastors to take a stand “at once" for the Biblical institution of marriage between man and woman.
“We urge you to begin at once with this message," said Rodney Albert, CLC chairman. “Christians must clearly understand what is at stake here."
The issue of homosexual “marriage" swept across the nation following a Feb. 3 ruling by the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts that full, equal marriage rights for homosexual couples are constitutional. Hundreds of homosexual couples have since obtained marriage licenses and been married in Massachusetts , California , New York and Oregon .
The Missouri General Assembly has responded to the flurry of homosexual activity by introducing a proposed constitutional amendment that would define marriage as being only between one man and one woman in the Missouri Constitution. The state Senate approved the proposal 26-6 and sent the measure to the House.
If the House approves the measure, the issue will be put before Missouri voters on the Nov. 2 ballot.
Albert, pastor, First Baptist Church , Hallsville, said he agrees with James Dobson, founder and president of Focus on the Family, that “legalization of homosexual marriage is — for gay activists — merely a stepping stone on the road to eliminating all societal restrictions on marriage and sexuality."
“Dr. Dobson said that the destruction of the traditional family will condemn millions of kids to temporary relationships involving multiple ‘moms’ and ‘dads,’ six or eight ‘grandparents,’ and perhaps a dozen or more half-siblings who will come and go as those who care for them meander from one sexual relationship to another," Albert said.
Pastors, Albert said, must begin immediately to teach their congregations about the vitality and essentiality of biblically-based marriage.
“Why it was God’s first institution and how marriage affects society are two of the questions that pastors need to answer," Albert said.
“Not only is the biblically-based marriage indispensable for the procreation of future generations, it is the linchpin of orderly civilization, the primary source of education, nourishment and development of strong offspring who will shape their communities in decades to come."
The CLC also is calling for pastors to promote two federal legislative initiatives – the Marriage Protection Act (MPA) and the Federal Marriage Amendment (FMA).
“The Marriage Protection Act would prevent judges from handing down decisions that rightfully belong to the people," Albert said. The FMA would amend the U.S. Constitution to “define marriage as the union of a man and a woman."
Missouri Baptists are encouraged to contact their congressional representatives and voice their support for the MPA and the FMA. Also, Albert said Missouri Baptists should contact their state representative and state senator and express support for amending the state constitution.
Albert said pastors could also establish a defense of marriage committee in their church. The function of the committee, according to Albert, would be to keep records of contacts and each legislator’s position.
“The committee could invite sympathetic representatives and senators to visit the church and discuss marriage protection," Albert said. “The committee also should encourage church members to write letters to local newspapers in support of marriage-defending legislation."
Albert said Missouri Baptists should not get discouraged if the battle for the family and against same-sex “marriage" is ongoing.
“The crisis will not fade away in a few months or even a few years," he said. “We must stay committed as long as it takes. Our children and grandchildren expect and deserve no less."