tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665762.post5120982616386552568..comments2023-10-28T05:39:10.909-04:00Comments on Straight Not Narrow-Presenting Jesus Beyond the Walls: Baptists Try For Unity Without Pro Gay GroupsUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665762.post-21192851496846419322007-07-27T00:44:00.000-04:002007-07-27T00:44:00.000-04:00"a shame" is not the words that first came to mind..."a shame" is not the words that first came to mind.<BR/>and yes, it's sad. My divorce from the baptist Church was probably the most painful thing I've had to do to date.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665762.post-15197571875985562232007-07-26T11:07:00.000-04:002007-07-26T11:07:00.000-04:00How many times must I forgive? Not seven, but seve...How many times must I forgive? Not seven, but seven times seventy. <BR/><BR/>As times change, so do the minds of even those labelled "conservative", if we keep speaking. Repetition matters. And we must approach our siblings with humility and love if we are to win their minds and hearts. So don't give up on the Baptists just yet. It took a while to get folks to view slavery as wrong, and it will take a while to get folks to see anti-gay stances as wrong, but with persistence I believe it will happen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13665762.post-25951563843137799712007-07-26T07:46:00.000-04:002007-07-26T07:46:00.000-04:00I suppose every group thinks it has to draw the li...I suppose every group thinks it has to draw the line <I>somewhere</I>. As a gay man, I am used to the line being drawn to cut me out. You are right, though, that it is ironic that an effort to draw a circle that brings people in is choosing to make the circle too small for some who wish to belong.<BR/><BR/>I have a cousin who is an SBC minister, and when he visited me in Chicago we drove by an American Baptist Church adjacent to the University of Chicago campus where I worked. When I pointed it out, he said, quite innocently, "Oh, they're not real Baptists."Michael Doddhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00942287172727040371noreply@blogger.com