Still in the Parallel Universe

In an AP story published in the Bristol Herald Courier on Friday 6/17 related to yesterday’s post, Houston lawyer Bruce Shortt (a sponsor of the proposal to encourage Southern Baptists to take their children out of public schools) is quoted as saying that “churches should look into whether schools are teaching acceptance of homosexuality”:

“Much of this is deceptively labeled as anti-bullying, diversity, safe schools, AIDS/HIV awareness,” Shortt said. “For those who care to investigate, homesexual activists with their agenda are moving through the public schools like freight trains. It’s a problem I think too many denomination leaders don’t understand.”

According to the AP story, Bobby Welch, SBC President and a Daytona Beach Florida pastor, does not support the proposal. He says:

I believe that public schools offer the greatest mission field….We are put on this planet as change agents. It seems contrary to me we would draw back from the opportunity to make a change. Public schools are a great place to make a difference.”

The story also quotes Robert Parham, executive director of the nonprofit Baptist Center for Ethics:

[Parham] said many SBC leaders fear a backlash from public school teachers and an “awakening within churches about the extremism of their world view.”

Does this mean that he believes that the ordinary lay member Southern Baptist should sleep on and not trouble their mind about what the church is doing? Or that the Southern Baptist public school teachers (of whom there are many) might not like being called “godless”? He continues:

“These SBC leaders who are resisting the resolutions engage in the worst sort of moral duplicity,” Parham said. “They oppose the anti-public school resolutions while they send their own children to Christian academies or homeschools.”

Working around the multiple negatives of opposing the anti-public school resolution being a moral duplicity, it appears he believes that the resolution should be supported in spite of the risk of awakening and backlash.
This is going to be an interesting conversation.