First Baptist Church Austin
The Baptist General Convention of Texas expelled First Baptist Austin this week along with Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas for its acceptance of LGBT people.
While Wilshire voted on Sunday to accept LGBT people as full members, First Baptist Austin has already fully accepted LGBT members into its congregation.
“We have performed gay weddings, we have done dedications of gay leadership, we have celebrated children on gay couples and we will proudly continue to do all of those things, Rev. Dr. Griff Martin, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Austin, told Fox 7 in Austin.
And he had this to say to Austin’s CBS affiliate, KEYE.
“I think I’ll be sad there wasn’t room at the table for love,” Martin said. “We have ordained gay deacons. We have done gay weddings. We are celebrating children of gay couples.”
Martin believes his church’s public expulsion from the conference will have a positive effect that goes beyond his own church.
“It gives freedom to other churches to finally do the right thing, because somebody else has walked down the road and you’re not alone,” Martin told KEYE.
