Megachurch orders all members to sign new anti-LGBTQ pledge to hold on to ‘biblical sexuality’ or risk expulsion: Pastor defends oath as ‘an exercise in clarity in a sexually confused world’
- The First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., ruled in October that all members must sign a pledge to adhere to “biblical sexuality.”
- Churchgoers have until March 19 to sign the pledge, otherwise “the church will consider them resigned.”
- The church claims it is “an exercise in clarity so our members can understand our most basic obligations in a sexually confused world.”
A Florida megachurch is asking its congregation to sign a pledge denouncing homosexuality and warning them they will be kicked out of the church if they don’t sign the document affirming their faith “in a sexually disordered world.”
Jacksonville’s First Baptist Church in October decided to get its 3,500-strong congregation to sign the declaration by March 19. If they refuse, “the Church will consider her resigned.”
The promise states: “As a member of the First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates human beings in his own image as male or female and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not an individual choice.
“I believe that marriage was instituted by God, not government, is between a man and a woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression.”
Heath Lambert, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., defended the controversial pledge
All members of the Jacksonville Church (pictured) must sign the statement before March 19
Critics say the statement is homophobic, but Heath Lambert, the church’s senior pastor, insisted it does not single out gay people.
“It excludes the LGBTQ sins,” he told Rolling Stone.
But, he stressed, it’s not just an anti-gay statement.
“Rape, incest, polygamy – all sorts of things are excluded, as is homosexuality.”
The church said on its website the statement was “an exercise in faithfulness to Jesus Christ, in whom we trust and serve.”
The website states: “It is an exercise in clarity so that our members can understand our most basic obligations in a sexually confused world.
“It is also an exercise in love for a lost world that desperately needs to know God’s standards for human sexuality.”
Members and supporters of the LGBTQ community will take part on March 13
Lambert said they wanted to make their views crystal clear.
“We wanted to be on record,” he told the website.
“We want to be able to say, ‘Hey, everyone in our church believes male is a biological reality; female is a biological reality.’
Lambert said that a 2017 “Bathroom Ordinance” that gave trans people the right to use any bathroom of their choosing was a factor driving the statement.
“And that has to do with decisions that we make about who uses the restrooms, who gets fired, and who gets to serve as a pastor,” he said.
“We want to function as an authentically Christian organization.”