Southern Baptists expressed their “opposition to and disappointment in” the membership policy of the Boy Scouts of America but affirmed the freedom of local churches to determine their own relationships with the national Scouting organization.
The action came in a resolution approved by messengers June 12 during the SBC’s annual meeting in Houston.
The resolution says the Boy Scouts’ decision puts “the Scouts at odds with a consistent biblical worldview on matters of human sexuality.”
In addressing how local Baptist churches respond to the policy changes, messengers declined to encourage either a withdrawal from the Boy Scouts or a continued commitment to the organization. The convention instead opted to “affirm the right of all families and churches prayerfully to assess their continued relationship with the BSA, expressing our support for those churches and families that as a matter of conscience can no longer be a part of the Scouting family.”
As originally worded, the resolution encouraged “churches and families that choose to remain in relationship with the Boy Scouts” to work toward the policy’s reversal. An amendment from the floor, however, effectively struck the reference to churches and families remaining in a relationship to the organization. An additional amendment passed that encouraged churches who do remain involved with the Boy Scouts to do so with the express purpose of sharing the gospel with boys.
The resolution concluded: “We declare our love in Christ for all young people regardless of their perceived sexual orientation, praying that God will bring all youth into a saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
— Tim Ellsworth is director of media relations with Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Baptist Press Washington bureau chief Tom Strode contributed to this article.