Posted: 6/20/03
Texas pastor explains change of view
PHOENIX–The Texas pastor whose request launched the Southern Baptist Convention's new initiative on homosexuality said his views on the controversial topic have changed under conviction from God.
Bob Stith, pastor of Carroll Baptist Church in Southlake, told SBC messengers that in the past he had been “your typical hard-nosed, redneck pastor on the subject of homosexuality.”
“Everything I said in conversations and sermons was harsh,” he acknowledged. “Then I sensed God saying something to me one day, asking me if someone who was struggling with that heard me preach, would they come to me for help. I realized that they would not come to me, and if they did I would not have much to offer them.”
Since then, Stith said, he has spent thousands of hours listening to people who struggle with homosexuality, over and over hearing from people “wounded by well-meaning Christians,” he said.
We seek to connect God’s story and God’s people around the world. To learn more about God’s story, click here.
Send comments and feedback to Eric Black, our editor. For comments to be published, please specify “letter to the editor.” Maximum length for publication is 300 words.