Leaving the SBC

That’s what Calvary Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. did last month. Their pastor, Amy Butler, wrote in the Washington Post about why her congregation left the Southern Baptist Convention:

Calvary’s affiliation with the SBC was long-standing and historic, a source of much pride in years past. In our church archives, we have a photograph of the president of the Southern Baptist Convention at the time, Congressman Brooks Hays, and the president of the American Baptist Convention, Rev. Dr. Clarence Cranford, both Calvary members (Cranford was Calvary’s pastor then), clasping each others’ arms in friendship, partnership and cooperation.

I haven’t seen any such reenactment in the years since that picture was taken; it was very possibly a moment that was the last of its kind.

Despite our long-standing ties to the Southern Baptist Convention, Calvary has for some time been at odds with many of the policies and public positions of the SBC. There have been many specific issues, like a rejection of the ordination of women, for example, over which we disagreed. But increasingly these differences became more foundational.

Read the rest: Calvary Baptist pastor: Why we severed ties with the Southern Baptist Convention – The Washington Post.