JEFFERSON CITY – Among several conferences on different contemporary ethical issues the Missouri Baptist Convention’s Christian Life Commission (CLC) has presented, its gender and sexuality meeting generates the most interest, according to the group’s chairman, Timothy Faber.
“It’s really struck a chord with our people, he says. “Many Christian people are struggling to understand the issues, as well as how to best to relate to friends and family who are caught up in this.”
The CLC held its Unlocking Biblical Truth, Gender and Sexuality Issues conference Jan. 24 at First Baptist Church, Chillicothe. About 80 people attended. Another sexuality conference is in the planning stages for southeast Missouri in April.
“What the culture is promoting and pushing acceptance for (about gender and sexuality) is absolutely contrary to the teachings of Scripture,” Faber says.
“Biblically, sex determines gender, and therefore the two will always be the same – either male or female. But our culture has been deceived into believing that sex and gender are two completely different things and one does not necessarily determine the other.”
“Some of the terminology used in defining and understanding the issues changes from time to time, so to keep up with that requires us to address the issues repeatedly.”
The answer to relating to others in different lifestyles, he says, is to treat others as Christ would.
“A comment from one conference speaker is ‘Love them until they tell you to stop.’ We must not love their sin, but we must not hate them. We can never win anyone with hate.”
“In all ways of relating to people caught in this struggle, we should treat them like everyone else. No special privileges or allowances, but with the same respect and kindness as anyone else – until it comes to condoning their behavior.”
J. Alan Branch, professor of Christian ethics at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, led the conference introduction and overview. He said it’s difficult for some Christians to understand the beliefs and experiences of people who have gender and sexuality issues.
“All we’re asking is for you to show compassion to people who have had experiences you’ve not had. We try to meet someone where they’re at.” He said those in homosexual lifestyles or struggling with gender issues sometimes understand from Christians that “you’re broken and we’re not” when really, “all of us are born broken. I’m glad Jesus met me where I’m at.”
Branch also said that Christians can be overwhelmed by the terms and experiences surrounding today’s sexuality discussions. He offered the audience hope by explaining that first century Christians also lived in a time of sexual and gender confusion and had many similar issues as today even if the terms were different.
“You are not the first generation of Christians to face something like this,” he said. “But the church not only survived but thrived in the first century, and the church can not only survive but thrive in 2022. The same Jesus is alive today.”
During the conference Christians who lived homosexual lifestyles provided testimonies on “how Christ has brought them healing and wholeness,” Faber says.
The CLC offers it conferences at no cost to churches. Advertising and promotion costs are covered by the CLC budget, which comes from Cooperative Program funding. Love offerings are accepted at conferences and divided among the speakers.
The commission can also present on the Biblical view of sanctify of life, marriage and family, gambling, and Christian citizenship. “These are issues,” Faber says, “that the Missouri Baptist Convention has spoken clearly about through its resolutions.”
That direction also guides topics the CLC won’t discuss. “We don’t want to address topics about which Baptists allow room for disagreement,” he says. “For instance, we’re not going to host a conference about Calvinism versus Arminianism.”
He says the CLC wants to “educate people to understand what the Bible says about these cultural issues so they can be more informed and more faithful in their walk with Christ.”
A church or association wanting more information about hosting a conference should contact the CLC through its website, www.mbcclc.org.