The Baptist Hymnal does not have the song “They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love” and its appropriate that they do not. But I learned that song in a Baptist church and I wonder if it is still sung in some Baptist churches.
They’ll know we are Christians by our love.
Apparently our love is not what is showing through these days if it ever was. Today’s editorial in the Houston Chronicle calls out the name of the pastor of First Baptist Church, Gregg Matte, as being one of those pastors who told his congregation “vote like you pray” meaning to vote against President Obama because of his recent statement about same-sex marriage.
This is not a post about politics and we will not discuss one presidential candidate over the other. This is also not a post about homosexuality, or same-sex marriage. This post is about “Knowing we are Christians by our love.”
Gregg Matte is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston and that church is fundamentalist. It was one of the first churches to pull out of Baptist General Convention of Texas when the new state group, Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, was formed in 1998, because they claimed that BGCT (where I worked for almost 15 years) was too liberal.
As you who follow this post know, the “liberal” BGCT nervously admits to about half a dozen women pastors, and about that many churches that allow women deacons. (might be a slight exaggeration).
The reason that First Baptist Church, Houston, and the other Baptist churches preach so unashamedly against women pastors is that they have linked homosexuality and women pastors in the same breath, the same sentences, and the same mindset for so long that they actually believe it.
If you withhold the love of all women and not allow women to become pastors or deacons, then you will be able to keep the denomination free from homosexuality. I guess they don’t read the news about the men homosexual pastors. I’ve never read a story about a woman homosexual pastor, nor a woman pastor who has sexually abused a member of her congregation, or family.
So they pick on women and on homosexuals. Openly. From the pulpit.
If they are successful – and they have been so far – in squelching women, then they have won the battle to squelch homosexuals. However, they must constantly put the two together (same-sex, pastor?) and have married women pastors and homosexuality, so that one is not mentioned without thinking of the other.
They’ll know we are Christians by our love?
Are you tired of this connection of women and homosexuality? Will you speak up for women pastors, and other women who have heard the call of God for service. Will you speak up for the women sitting in your pew – who will not speak up for herself? Until every woman in the church is equal, then none are. Will you speak up?
bWe Baptist Women for Equality's Blog 
Yesterday my church (which is not Baptist but non-denominational) opened in prayer about those who want to redefine marriage that have the president’s endorsement. During worship time they talked about how wrong it is to categorize and compartmentalize people. Then during the sermon he said that wives are not to nag and criticize and that husbands should stop being passive and take the spiritual lead. If that’s not categorizing and comparmentalizing I don’t know what is.
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Yep. Now why did he feel it necessary “to get the women under control” right after he mentioned homosexuality?
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Exactly and I pointed that out to my husband too. I think they play on men’s fears, that a woman’s strength is somehow a threat to their masculinity. If a man doesnt fit what the culture sees as masculine then maybe he is (gasp) gay. It’s so black and white- if you’re not A then you are B. There are no other options.
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Yeah, as I heard someone say years ago, “It’s difficult to tell what Christians are *for*, though it’s easy to tell what they’re *against*…”
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Shirley:
It is truly a shame the way that women are demonized by men from the pulpit. There is no way that God is pleased with this.
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