SBC President Says He Would Use "Preferred Pronoun" For Transgender People, Calls It "Pronoun Hospitality"
The current Southern Baptist Convention president has caused more controversy in the homosexual debate than any other Southern Baptist leader in history -- even Russell Moore.
When preaching a sermon on Romans 1 in January, the Southern Baptist president, J.D. Greear said other sins were more egregious than homosexuality. It was during that sermon that he infamously quoted the female pastor from Village Church, Jen Wilkin,
We ought to whisper about what the Bible whispers about, and we ought to shout about what the Bible shouts about. And the Bible appears more to whisper when it comes to sexual sin compared to it shouts about materialism and religious pride.
Greear received a lot of pushback from this sermon which effectively minimized the sin of homosexuality. Greear argues that homosexuality, from a biblical perspective, is not fundamentally different from other sins in Scripture.
During that same sermon, Greear called on Christians to stand up for LGBTQ rights. Now, he's calling on Christians to incorporate something he calls "pronoun hospitality" for transgender people. In a recent podcast, Greear says he takes the side of Andrew Walker, a major contributor to both the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and The Gospel Coalition (TGC), and would use the "preferred pronouns" of transgender people who came to his church.
"Personally, I lean a little bit toward generosity of spirit," Greear said, "and that is where Andrew Walker is."
If a transgender person came into our church, came into my life, I think my disposition would be to refer to them by their preferred pronoun. When we want to talk about gender, I will be clear to them about the truth. The question is that the battlefront you want to choose.
Citing some form of "generosity of spirit" they say they see in Scripture, one must ask the age-old question for Christians: "what would Jesus do?"
Because, you know, Jesus walked around calling gender-confused people by their "preferred pronoun" all the time, right?
No, he didn't -- nor does the Scripture teach this concept in any way, shape, or form. In fact, the Scripture detests this practice, calls it "practicing cunning" and "underhanded," and insists that we renounce these "disgraceful and underhanded ways" and instead commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God by the open statement of the truth (2 Corinthians 4:2-3). The Apostle Paul goes on to show us in this passage that if we obey this, and they still don't repent and believe, it's because the god of this world has blinded them.
Greear's continuance to take a pragmatic approach to homosexuals and sexually immoral people is astounding, against historic biblical Christianity, and an affront to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Why do we continue to elevate people like this into leadership? It's because the world loves to be pleased -- and he pleases the world.
His remarks start at about the 6-minute mark in the audio below.
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