By Staff, Baptist Press
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Past Southern Baptist Convention presidents – including Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans – along with current SBC President Ronnie Floyd have released a joint statement on same-sex marriage. The full text of the statement follows along with the names of the former SBC presidents who have endorsed it:
As Southern Baptist Christians, we are committed to Biblical faith and ethics. As a result, this body of Believers stands on the authority of Scripture and God’s Truth as central to our lives.
What the Bible says about marriage is clear, definitive and unchanging. We affirm biblical, traditional, natural marriage as the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. The Scriptures’ teaching on marriage is not negotiable. We stake our lives upon the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Consequently, we will not accept, nor adhere to, any legal redefinition of marriage issued by any political or judicial body including the United States Supreme Court. We will not recognize same-sex “marriages”, our churches will not host same-sex ceremonies, and we will not perform such ceremonies.
While we affirm our love for all people, including those struggling with same-sex attraction, we cannot and will not affirm the moral acceptability of homosexual behavior or any behavior that deviates from God’s design for marriage. We also believe religious freedom is at stake within this critical issue – that our first duty is to love and obey God, not man.
Therefore, we strongly encourage all Southern Baptist pastors, leaders, educators, and churches to openly reject any mandated legal definition of marriage and to use their influence to affirm God’s design for life and relationships. As the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination with over 16 million members, we stake our very lives and future on the Truth of God’s Word.
We also join together to support those who stand for natural marriage in the corporate world, the marketplace, education, entertainment, media and elsewhere with our prayers and influence, and resources.
Respectfully,
Dr. Bailey E. Smith
SBC President: 1981, 1982
Dr. Morris H. Chapman
SBC President: 1991, 1992
Dr. James T. Draper, Jr.
SBC President: 1983, 1984
Dr. Charles F. Stanley
SBC President: 1985, 1986
Dr. Jerry Vines
SBC President: 1989, 1990
Dr. H. Edwin Young
SBC President: 1993, 1994
Dr. James B. Henry
SBC President: 1995, 1996
Dr. Tom Elliff
SBC President: 1997, 1998
Dr. Paige Patterson
SBC President: 1999, 2000
Dr. James Merritt
SBC President: 2001, 2002
Dr. Jack Graham
SBC President: 2003, 2004
Dr. Bobby Welch
SBC President: 2005, 2006
Dr. Frank S. Page
SBC President: 2007, 2008
Dr. Johnny M. Hunt
SBC President: 2009, 2010
Dr. Bryant Wright
SBC President: 2011, 2012
Dr. Fred Luter
SBC President: 2013, 2014
Dr. Ronnie Floyd
SBC President 2015
