DALLAS—Biology, not psychology, determines gender identity, according to the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board.
At its Feb. 23-24 meeting in Dallas, the board approved without any dissenting votes a resolution on transgender issues, declaring the Bible the authority for faith and practice for the BGCT and its institutions and asserting “in the Bible, gender is based on biological attributes and is seen as a gift from God and immutable.”
The board considered the resolution at the request of some Texas Baptist university presidents in an effort to provide the schools grounds to apply for a Title IX exemption from the U.S. Department of Education regarding accommodations for transgender students.
‘Great concern’
The board resolution expresses “great concern with the emergence of the transgender agenda and the notion that one’s gender is determined psychologically, not biologically.”
The statement observes “some people today are expressing a desire to identify themselves with the gender which differs from their biological gender” and some of those individuals “are seeking to function in the broader society as if they are members of the gender that differs from their biological gender.”
The resolution affirms belief that “in creation God made male and female as biological gender assignment.”
The resolution asserts Texas Baptists “desire for all people, including those who consider themselves transgender, to be treated with love and respect but that such love and respect not be construed as approval for every behavior.” It also states Texas Baptists resolve “to seek to minister to all persons, including those who consider themselves transgender.”
Wesley Shotwell, pastor of Ash Creek Baptist Church in Azle, noted he understood the legal reasons why the institutional leaders requested the resolution, but he expressed concern about how it would be perceived.
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“I have known transgendered people. They are torn, hurting and in pain. They are ‘the least of these’ and the kind of people Jesus hung out with,” Shotwell said.
“I hope we will not do as some Baptists have done over the last several years and rush to offend people who need Jesus. … I hope that anything we say and any resolution we make will not be construed by any group of people that we are against them or that Jesus is against them.”
A PDF of the transgender resolution is available for download here.
Funds for lease on new office space
In other business, the BGCT Executive Board approved a recommendation to establish funds from the sale of the Baptist Building in Dallas—and reassign proceeds from an existing endowment—to support lease and operating costs for new office space in Dallas, relocate the Texas Baptist Historical Collection to Waco and secure warehouse space.
The BGCT sold its building adjacent to the Baylor Scott & White hospital campus in Dallas to Baylor University for its Louise Herrington School of Nursing. After closing costs and fees, net cash proceeds exceeded $7.94 million. Baylor University also executed a note to BGCT for $5 million, payable quarterly with 5 percent interest.
The BGCT subsequently signed a lease for 45,337 square feet of office space on two floors of a 14-story building near Presbyterian Hospital in North Dallas.
The board authorized staff to spend up to $2.2 million to furnish and equip the new offices in Dallas and Waco and cover moving expenses.
In addition, the board agreed to establish three funds from proceeds of the building sale—$2.82 million for building operations; $1.92 million to support BGCT ministries; and $1 million for building capital improvements at Baptist Student Ministry facilities.
Jill Larsen, BGCT treasurer and chief financial officer, reported about $456,000 per year will be made available to support BGCT ministries—$360,000 in Cooperative Program budget funds and $96,000 in additional investment income.
2014 budget update
The BGCT finished 2014 at 93.3 percent of budget, with $31.6 million in Texas Cooperative Program funds, and an additional $1.6 million from the worldwide Texas Baptist initiatives and partnerships portion of the Cooperative Program. Texas Baptist churches also gave $11.4 million in Cooperative Program support to the Southern Baptist Convention and directed $1 million to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Texas Baptists gave $20.2 million to special missions offerings in 2014, compared to $19.3 million the previous year. That included $3.9 million to the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions and about $800,000 to the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, along with $10.6 million to the SBC Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions, $4.4 million to the SBC Annie Armstrong Offering for North American Missions and about $500,000 to CBF Global Missions.
The board also:
• Elected David Russell from First Baptist Church in Amarillo as vice chair.
• Funded an experimental missions program. The board approved up to $225,000 from an endowed missions fund to finance a three-year pilot program in San Antonio, Matryoshka Haus. The London-based ministry engages churches, communities and people from emerging generations—both Christians and non-Christians—to design creative solutions for social change.
• Filled vacancies. The group elected Rodney McGlothlin from First Baptist Church in Brownwood to the Committee to Nominate Executive Board Members; Betty Booth Everett from First Baptist Church in Tyler to the Baptist Distinctives Council; Harold Davidson from the Cowboy Church in Corsicana to the Missions Funding Group as an at-large member; and Dwaina Six from Scotsdale Baptist Church in El Paso to the Christian Life Commission.
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