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Same-sex marriage: A General Conference 2006 Issue

During General Conference 2004, a grassroots forum on marriage met to discuss the issue of homosexual marriage or unions and how BIC churches should respond to legal and societal pressures. Resolutions from the forum call church leadership to examine the Brethren in Christ Manual of Doctrine and Government to ensure a clear and cogent statement of our understandings relative to homosexuality and other moral issues in our culture.

As Ken Hoke, then General Secretary, recalls, “The concern was that if the BIC Church does not have clear statements that will hold up legally, our pastors and churches may be forced to do things by society that go against our basic understandings of biblical truth.”

The Marriage Consultation held in June 2005 was a first response to this concern, and statements coming out of the Consultation attempted to address the issue of marriage from a positive and big-picture standpoint. However, because the Consultation was not designed to specifically address the concerns surrounding same-sex marriage, the General Conference Board crafted a clearly worded addition to the Manual of Doctrine and Government to be approved at General Conference 2006.

Additional resources

For a thoughtful, yet unapologetic response to the gay marriage debate, written by a Brethren in Christ pastor, check out this short pamphlet written by Bruxy Cavey, the teaching pastor at The Meeting House, a BIC church in Oakville, ON.

Also, you can read the official Brethren in Christ stance on the issue of homosexuality (en español) written by Bob Ives, former pastor of Grantham (PA) Brethren in Christ Church.

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