Southern Baptists condemn Boy Scouts over admission of gays - leaders will influence boys

article from Fox News:

HOUSTON –  The nation's largest Protestant denomination stopped short of calling for its member churches to boycott the Boy Scouts, but voiced strong opposition to acceptance of gay scouts - with a top church leader predicting at the annual gathering of Southern Baptists that a "mass exodus" of youths from the program that has been a rite of passage for more than a century.
The move by the Southern Baptist Convention came at its annual, four-day meeting in Houston, and three weeks after the Boy Scouts of America voted to allow gay youth to join.  With more than two-thirds of Boy Scout troops sponsored by religious organizations, and Baptists being the nation's largest protestant denomination, the resolution could have a crippling effect on the Boy Scouts.

"There will be a mass exodus over time."

- Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee

"There will be a mass exodus over time," said Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee. “Churches are finally going to have to come to realize – there is a point when you say, ‘sorry, no more.’"
The resolution did not call on churches to stop sponsoring troops, but urged ones that do to push to have the decision to admit gay scouts reversed. It seemed to be largely aimed at what church leaders believe is the inevitable inclusion of gay scout leaders.
“We express our well-founded concern that the current executive leadership of the BSA, along with certain board members, may utilize this membership policy change as merely the first step toward future approval of homosexual leaders in the Scouts,” the resolution said.
The Southern Baptist Convention claims to represent more than forty-five thousand churches and church-type missions as well as nearly 16 million members.
“Over time we will see a dramatic drop in overall scouting numbers," added Page.
The church already sponsors what some believe could emerge as an alternative to the Boy Scouts, in the Royal Ambassadors.

The resolution also called on the Boy Scouts to remove executive and board leaders who worked to allow gays as both members and leaders without input from religious groups that sponsor Scout troops. Mormons, Methodists and Catholics have all urged their churches to continue to sponsor Boy Scout troops in the wake of the policy change.

Fox News' Todd Starnes contributed to this report

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Southern Baptists Defend Church Smeared by NBC

Article From Todd Starnes of Fox News Radio:

The pastor of one of the nation’s most prominent Southern Baptist churches is calling on NBC to retract a column that labeled the congregation as being “virulently anti-gay and anti-Semitic.”
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Rick Chandler, an NBC Sports “Off the Bench” writer, smeared the historic First Baptist Church of Dallas and urged Tim Tebow to cancel an upcoming appearance at the church.
“Tim Tebow to speak at virulently anti-gay, anti-Semitic Dallas megachurch,” read the headline on Chandler’s column.
“That’s the church led by pastor Robert Jeffress, a virulently anti-gay and anti-Semitic evangelical Christian,” he wrote. “It seems that lately Tim Tebow has been making more speaking appearances in church than he has quarterback appearances in NFL games.”
Jeffress said the accusations levied by Chandler were based on second and third-hand stories that were filled with inaccuracies.
“I would like NBC Sports to acknowledge that they made an error in their reporting and relied on secondary sources instead of doing their own reporting and fact-finding like any credible news organization ought to,” Jeffress told Fox News. “
Jeffress denied that his 11,000-member church is anti-gay or anti-Semitic.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” he told Fox News. “We are a very pro-Israel church. To say that Jesus Christ is the only way for a person to be saved is not anti-Semitic.”
The New York Daily News also picked up on Tebow’s upcoming appearance at the church and also slammed the church.
“Tebow’s Hate Date: Tim to Talk at Gay Bash, Anti-Jew pastor’s church,” the headline screamed.
Sing Oldham, a spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention, said the NBC story was evidence that “it’s open season on those who profess personal faith in Jesus Christ and pattern their lives by biblical morality.”
“Evangelical Christians are treated with contempt and targeted for ridicule,” Oldham told Fox News. “This should come as no surprise. Jesus said, ‘The world will hate you because of My Name.’”
Jeffress said that kind of reporting is why Americans don’t trust journalists.
“This is another example of gross inaccuracies supported by the liberal press with no resemblance to truth whatsoever,” Jeffress said. “This is a part of not just a liberal agenda – but sloppy journalism.”
He said it’s clear the news organizations have no understanding of mainstream evangelical Christian beliefs.
“What I have said about homosexuality going against God’s standard for human sexuality – and about Christ being the only provision for salvation – these are not radical ideas,” he said. “These have been a part of historic Christian faith for 2,000 years.”
But Jeffress ultimately believes the media was really looking for another chance to bash Tebow.
“I think the long knives have been out for Tim for some time,” he said. “This is another way to try to attack him for his Christian beliefs. Most discerning people realize this was an ambush – not of us so much – but of Tim Tebow and the beliefs we hold dear.”
On Sunday the church released the following statement to Fox News:

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