Churches should seek to minister to all persons, including those who continue in sinful practices. The love and grace of God embraces all persons and instructs all Christians to share God's love with others. We commend those churches who seek to minister to those persons who engage in homosexual behavior. We cannot, however, approve of churches' endorsing homosexual practice as biblically legitimate. The Convention dealt with one aspect of this issue when it adopted the report of the Messenger Study Committee in 1996.
Homosexual practice is therefore in conflict with the Bible.
Because of our commitment to biblical authority, the Convention's seating of messengers from churches which knowingly endorse sexual practices outside of the biblical vision of marriage would be divisive and disruptive to its fellowship and purpose. If faced with the question of seating messengers from churches holding contrary beliefs, the Convention has the power to exclude such messengers. We believe, as does University Baptist Church, that the messengers at a Texas Baptist convention would not seat messengers from a church that endorses homosexual behavior. Therefore, we feel it necessary and appropriate to reflect that in our policy. I fail to understand the committee's decision to approve such a motion without meaningful prior notice or an invitation to our church to be heard before the committee.