Southern Baptist Convention removes Kentucky church for being pro-LGBTQ

NASHVILLE, TN (WTVQ) – St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville was removed by the Southern Baptist Convention for allowing people with pro-LGBTQ beliefs to become members, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The church was stripped from the Kentucky Baptist Convention in 2018 for supporting hiring LGBTQ employees, according to the Louisville Courier-Journal.

Michael Payne, chairperson of the St. Matthews Baptist Church Administrative Council told the Associated Press the belief that “Jesus as personal Savior is the sole criterion for membership” in the church led the Southern Baptist Convention to cut ties.

The Herald-Leader reports the leader of the largest Protestant denomination in America, Albert Mohler, says the Old Testament and New Testament addresses homosexuality.

“Anyone who argues that the Bible — OT and NT — is not clear about the sinfulness of homosexuality is either very confused or deliberately dishonest about the structure of biblical theology and the clear meaning of texts,” Mohler posted on Twitter, according to the Herald-Leader report.

The report says the Southern Baptist Convention also removed Towne View Baptist Church in Georgia for allowing members with pro-LGBTQ beliefs into its congregation.

Two other churches, Antioch Baptist Church in Sevierville, Tennessee, and West Side Baptist Church in Sharpsville, Pennsylvania, were also expelled from the Southern Baptist Convention for employing convicted sex offenders, according to the Herald-Leader.