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Degrees of Separation

I’m sure we have all heard of the “theory” that says all people are connected to each other within six degrees of separation.

From Wikipedia:

Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that, if a person is one “step” away from each person he or she knows and two “steps” away from each person who is known by one of the people he or she knows, then everyone is no more than six “steps” away from each person on Earth.

Although what I’ve experienced recently doesn’t necessarily fit into that particular “theory” (Wikipedia also says this “theory” has been called an “academic urban myth”), I thought it somewhat interesting the connections between recently Baptist Convention ousted Myers Park Baptist Church; its current pastor Stephen Shoemaker; my home church of Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem, N.C.; a church in Ft. Worth, Texas; and a church in Louisville, Kentucky.

This all starts out with my home church, Wake Forest Baptist Church in Winston-Salem. Wake Forest is in the same denominational association - Alliance of Baptists - as Myers Park. Hence, I grew close to some of the Myers Park youth during summer church camps with the Alliance of Baptists.

When I moved to Charlotte, I naturally chose Myers Park as my new church home and, of course, met Pastor Shoemaker. Then, Myers Park got ousted from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. I blogged about Myers Park’s expulsion and a comment came in from a former student at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville:

I was a member of the congregation Dr. Shoemaker pastored in Louisville when I was at Southern Seminary (back when they did theological education, not indoctrination). I am not surprised that he and the congregation at Myers Park have taken such a courageous stand. My love and prayers are with you. As I see it you stand firmly in the Spirit of Jesus and the best of Baptist belief.

Then, yesterday, I found this interesting article about Ft. Worth’s Broadway Baptist Church and their current controversy over including gay couples in the church directory.

Check it out:

The conservative Southern Baptist Convention recently began a program to reach out to gay people. But the program seeks to get them to change from what the SBC considers to be a sinful lifestyle.

Still, some Baptist churches welcome gay people as they are. One is Myers Park Baptist of Charlotte, N.C., which left the SBC years ago but continued to be affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

When the state convention decided that its churches must refuse to “affirm, approve, endorse, promote, support or bless homosexual behavior,” Myers Park turned itself in as not following such a policy. Last month, amid much publicity, state convention “messengers” voted to expel the church.

Myers Park’s pastor, Stephen Shoemaker, preceded Dr. Younger as pastor of Broadway Baptist.

Then I checked out Broadway Baptist’s website and took a look at their page listing past pastors. Sure enough, Rev. Shoemaker was there and it even mentioned that church in Louisville:

H. Stephen Shoemaker, 1992-August 1999

Steve Shoemaker was Pastor, Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, before coming to be Broadway’s pastor in the Fall of 1992. Under his leadership Broadway streamlined its organization, added numerous mission activities, made Broadway a center of hope and help for downtown Fort Worth’s less fortunate, and established Broadway as the organ music mecca of the U.S.A. He resigned in August 1999 to become Pastor, Myers Park Baptist Church, Charlotte, North Carolina.

What makes this all so much more titillating is the fact that one, singular subject ties all these different points together: LGBT people and their place in God’s church.

This is so cool, and so random - which makes it all so much cooler.

Who knows, maybe my future husband is the sixth link in this chain and he is sitting in the congregation at Broadway Baptist or Crescent Hill Baptist? Awesome - and just what I’ve always wanted: A nice, Baptist, Southern guy.

Technorati Tags: Myers Park Baptist Church, Wake Forest Baptist Church, Winston-Salem, Charlotte, North Carolina, Broadway Baptist Church, Ft Worth, Texas, Crescent Hill Baptist Church, Lousville, Kentucky, Stephen Shoemaker, gay Christians, Baptist