The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Homosexuality

I have some discomfort about the future of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is the formerly moderate/progressive contingent in the Southern Baptist Convention. The CBF was established about 20 years ago. The leaders who formed the CBF are now retiring and so the next generation of leaders is beginning to emerge. The new leaders tend to be quite progressive on social issues. My discomfort rests specifically with regards to the hot button issue of how the church is to address the issue of same-sex relationships. I think how the issue is addressed reveals how durable this fellowship will be. There are a number of issues raised at the denominational level. I realize that a concern people have is to find ways to be welcoming and caring for people who feel alienated from the church. However, it concerns me that there is little reflection given to maintaining an ethic that is shaped by scripture. I attended a session described as an open discussion about the issue. There were by far more people in this session than any of the others I attended. In addition to the room being packed the constituency was significantly younger than the other sessions. In the discussion there was very little attention given to the Bible. I realize that Biblical ethics can sometimes become an exercise in proof texting, and I realize that the “families” of the Bible tend to exhibit an ethic no one wants to imitate….but I do feel there is need for reflection on the implications of revelation for our ethics when it comes to human sexuality. For example there was no attention given to defining chastity at all. It seems to me that if one is to take an approach that the Biblical injunctions against homosexuality were really directed towards pederasty (this was asserted in the session this was about the extent of the references made to scripture)…or were simply cultural conventions of the day (this too was asserted)…such interpretive decisions do not obviate the need for some reflection on what constitutes chastity. Instead what is offered is vague language about embracing the wide ranging “journeys” that people are on in the Christian life. This vague approach concerns me because I think there is a need to address in a more substantive way a distinct sexual ethic especially since a permissive attitude to sexuality tends not to take very seriously the dynamics of power that are present to abuse the other.