Southern Baptists Vote for Members to 'Prayerfully Assess' Boy Scouts of America Relationship

The Southern Baptist Convention voted Wednesday to approve a resolution that expresses the denomination's "opposition to and disappointment in the decision of the Boy Scouts of America to change its membership policy" to allow openly-homosexual members. The resolution does not require churches and families to sever their ties with the BSA, though it does ask that they "prayerfully assess their continued relationship" with the organization. If they continue their partnership with the BSA, the resolution asks churches and families to "work toward a reversal of this new membership policy."

The SBC resolution states that the BSA's policy change "needlessly politicizes human sexuality, and heightens sexual tension" within the Scouts, putting the organization "at odds with a consistent biblical worldview on matters of human sexuality."

After a contentious challenge to their membership policy, the 1,400 delegates of the BSA voted overwhelmingly last month to adopt an amendment that effectively lifts the ban on openly-homosexual youth in the organization, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2014. Read more

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Boy Scout resolution adopted by SBC