It appears that the church is in violation of Article III of the SBC Constitution, which states that churches “which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior” are not in friendly cooperation. According to church leaders, Broadway Baptist has approximately five openly homosexual members, including two male couples. Some of them serve on church committees.

The controversy began last year when the question arose as to whether the couples should be pictured in the church directory. In a vote of 294-182, the church decided not to show families in the directory, but to instead show candid shots of members involved in church activities.

At the 2008 SBC, a motion was made to declare the church not to be “in friendly cooperation” with the denomination.  Various Executive Committee workgroups and subcommittees have examined the issue since then, but have delayed action until now. Currently, none of Broadway Baptist’s members are in attendance to this year’s convention.  Members of the workgroups and subcommittees have said that they would welcome a statement from the church to clarify its position on homosexuality, but the church has chosen not to release such a statement.

Vice President for academic affairs at Mid-Continent University and Executive Committee member, Stephen Wilson, stressed to the Baptist Press that the denomination encourages churches to reach out to homosexuals. The issue with Broadway Baptist Church, however, is allowing unrepentant homosexuals to be members.

“If churches are ministering to homosexuals, they are doing nothing more than what our own convention’s task force has asked us to do,” Wilson told Baptist Press, “ But in Broadway’s case …  the church was in effect saying that it was OK to have members who are open homosexuals.”

The Executive Committee’s recommendation says that the committee “recommends that the cooperative relationship between the Convention and the church cease, and that the church’s messengers not be seated, until such a time as the church unambiguously demonstrates its friendly cooperation with the Convention under Article III.”

“This was not a rush to judgment. We actually wanted - from the bottom of my heart - for this to be resolved by the local church where the Convention wouldn’t have to be involved in any way,” said Wilson, “I think there was a feeling that maybe this could be solved without having to go through the step that we have to do today.”

Before the February meeting, the church sent a letter to the committee which stated, “Broadway has never taken any church action to affirm, approve, endorse, homosexual behavior. Broadway Baptist Church considers itself to be in friendly cooperation with the Southern Baptist Convention and has every intention of remaining so.” The letter went on to state, “While we extend Christian hospitality to everyone – including homosexuals – we do not endorse, approve, or affirm homosexual behavior.”

But Wilson said the church’s actions were the opposite of what it said in the letter.

“It was more from what they were actually doing in practice where the conflict was,” Wilson said, “While they didn’t officially endorse it, they were allowing members and also people in leadership that were homosexual.”

The church’s pastor at the time of the controversy, Brett Younger, resigned in June 2008 to take a position at McAfee School of Theology in Georgia, after a vote to oust him failed.  Younger seemed to approve the acceptance of homosexuality in church life. He preached a sermon on December 2nd, 2007, explaining both sides of the debate over whether homosexuality is a sin. At the end, he said, God’s people will “serve together in the unity of God’s diversity.”

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