3.28.2023
Dear Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention,
We write to inform you that we are no longer in association with the Southern Baptist Convention.
We regret that it has taken us nearly a year to inform you of our decision, as our congregation voted unanimously in July 2022 to part ways with the Convention after 165 years. We were alarmed at the reporting we read in the March 24, 2023 edition of Baptist News Global that referenced a list attached to a proposed constitutional amendment preventing SBC churches with ordained female clergy from associating with the Convention. Having one of our own qualified, gifted, and called clergy named in that list catalyzed the need for us to set the record straight.
We no longer associate with the SBC, making the published list attached to the proposed amendment inaccurate and misleading.
Allow us to mention briefly that our congregation’s unanimous decision to dissociate from the Convention was based solely on a much more grievous and heinous list, one compiled by the Executive Committee. That list names more than 700 accused sexual abusers who were secretively harbored at the expense of more than 1,000 victims under the pretext of the historic Baptist affirmation of local church autonomy. Unfortunately, it seems, that when gifted ministers of the Gospel are called and ordained and they happen to be women, our historic affirmation of local church autonomy no longer applies.
We rightly affirm the historic Baptist confession of local church autonomy and reject any other entity or denomination that might seek to impose conformity. Moreover, we support any local church as the best positioned and best equipped to identify those whom God might be calling into ministry regardless of sex.
We condemn and oppose any organization that might keep secretive lists protecting the abusers of women and children, while publishing a list of women (with photos) that might subject them to danger and ridicule among the more radical, fringe segments of a highly polarized society. Furthermore, we think a theology that marginalizes women and is unwilling to listen to their voices in all settings lays the foundation for the type of abuse suffered by women as reported in the Guidepost Solutions report.
Finally, as a church we stand firmly behind the ordination and giftedness of the Rev. Sharon Colgin, and all women called by God to the Gospel-ministry of Jesus Christ. We count ourselves blessed to learn from such women and willingly submit ourselves to them as ministers, pastors, deacons, elders, and bishops of God. As testified to in Scripture, as witnessed over millennia in the church, and as is true in our own experience, godly women have led, shepherded, and enriched the church as stewards of the grace of God. We will unabashedly elevate the voices of women and work with females of all ages to help them discern God’s calling in their lives.
If the SBC insists on publishing such a foolish, reckless, and ridiculous list, then we at Chesterfield Baptist Church are proud to be associated with it.
Respectfully,
Rev. Sammy Frame, Pastor
Rev. Sharon Colgin, Kids Pastor
Donna Wilson, Chairman of Deacons