SBTC Removes Church over homosexual controversy

From BP News

BAYTOWN, Texas (BP)-—The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention’s executive board has acted unanimously to disaffiliate a church for violating the convention’s constitutional provision concerning churches that “affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior.”

The SBTC credentials committee and two SBTC staff members met Dec. 20 for one hour and 45 minutes with the pastor of Faith Harbour -- previously an SBTC congregation in Baytown -- with a redemptive aim, SBTC minister-church relations director Deron Biles wrote in a summary of the meeting.

Biles recounted that the committee hoped to clarify Faith Harbour’s stance toward a church it is helping sponsor and allowing to meet in its facilities, which bills itself on its website as welcoming and affirming of homosexual, bisexual and trangendered people.

Additionally, the new church, Eklektos, has a female senior pastor. Biles said the committee and Faith Harbour pastor Randy Haney were unable to resolve their differences over Faith Harbour’s involvement with Eklektos.

SBTC board chairman Joe Stewart, pastor of First Baptist Church of Littlefield, said the board followed the biblical guidelines of Matthew 18 in confronting an erring brother with hopes of restoration.

“The credentials committee went through that process,” Stewart said, “and sat down and talked with the pastor about what constitutes a church that they are hosting in their building which has a female pastor and basically affirms the homosexual lifestyle.

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I know I'm really late on this news but as soon as I heard about it I meant to find an article, I just haven't really gotten around to it. Faith Harbour is an awesome place. They have a lighted stage where they let secular bands play on the weekends. My band, The Drafted, has played there many times. I know Randy Haney personally and I had no idea he was so tolerant as to let a strange new age church use his facilities, breaking his church convention's rules.

The most shocking thing for me is actually that I haven't heard about this from anyone except my friend Aaron and Randy Haney himself. No one seems to be talking about this, but maybe my head's just up my ass.

I found the Eklektos website, the Harbour's site is www.theharbourbaytown.com and I'm pretty sure their blog is blog.theharbourbaytown.com. Randy and other people from the Harbour post stuff there.