Texas Baptists Disaffiliate Church over Gay Row
Friday, Jan. 20, 2006 Posted: 2:32:51PM EST

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has severed ties with a small Texas church over its relation to a ministry that welcomes and affirms homosexuals. The church is the first to have been disaffiliated from the Convention.

In a statement to the Associated Press on Thursday, SBTC Spokesman Gary Ledbetter explained that the executive board voted unanimously this month to "disaffiliate" Faith Harbour Church in Baytown, Texas, because it believed the church violated a constitutional provision against endorsing homosexual behavior.

Ledbetter said investigations began after convention members heard that a website linked with Faith Harbour contained welcoming and affirming language toward homosexuals. The rest