Here’s a conversation that weaves together multiple threads into one really powerful story. It’s a story about change and about the process of change — at an individual level as well as in a broader community.
Scott Higgins and Andrew Dodd are friends, pastors, and together help lead the community of Hamilton Baptist Church. This is their story of moving towards LGBTQI+ affirming theology.
It’s also the story of merging two churches into one.
And it’s the story of bringing those two Baptist churches through a process integrating theology, personal stories and pastoral sensitivity to become one church where everyone is genuinely welcomed and embraced, including those of diverse gender and sexualities.
Depending on where you listen from this might not seem like a big deal — but in terms of their denominational context Scott and Andrew were kind of the first ones to do this. And going first always carries extra layers of risk and complexity.
Scott, Andrew and I spent a couple hours together discussing this story because there’s so much to learn from it — and so, next week’s episode is actually the continuation of this one. This first part is primarily about the story of Scott, Andrew and Hamilton Baptist Church. The next episode zooms the lens out and asks how this might inform other contexts.
Trust me, both of these episodes are equally worth your time and I hesitated to split it in two because I feel that you need to listen to both halves of the conversation.
But for this week let’s start with the story.
Join me, Scott and Andrew sitting at Andrew’s table in Warabrook.
Click here to listen or via the podcast player below – episode title: ‘Scott Higgins & Andrew Dodd: How Hamilton Baptist Church Became LGTBQI+ Affirming’
Scott Higgins & Andrew Dodd: how Hamilton Baptist became LGBTQI+ affirming – Spiritual Misfits Podcast
What is the plural term for a group of spiritual misfits? A gaggle? A posse? A crew? Whatever you call it, it’s pictured above.