I was a Southern Baptist for 50 years, up until this last year. I was a Southern Baptist minister for 26 of those years (resigned ordination and license to preach for reasons unrelated to being TG). As long as people like those who drafted this resolution continue to believe that sex and gender are one and the same, and continue to spread the myth that transpersons are either gay, or just get their rocks off by dressing like a woman/man, and ignore/refuse to acknowledge the medical research done over the past 20-30 years which has determined, more or less, that this is a medical condition having to do with the brain itself, rather than being a mental illness, there will be resolutions and edicts handed down and voted on by denominational leaders and delegates to annual meetings/conventions, who don't take the time to actually do the homework and study these things themselves. Having said that, one of the nice things about the Southern Baptists is that a resolution such as this only carries as much weight as the individual congregation gives it, meaning this: it is entirely possible for even a very conservative SBC congregation to consider this resolution, and after having studied the situation, decide not to adhere to it. A resolution is not law. Also, the 5,000 or so who attended the 2014 meeting and approved this resolution, hardly speak for close to 16 million members of Southern Baptist churches.
Still, I felt that I had to leave the church which I love, the church whose members loved and prayed me through three funerals (sister, mom, dad died within 8 months of each other (Jan., Feb, and August 2013)) and a divorce (unrelated to me being TG; my ex never knew, as far as I can tell), not because of anything they did or said (I did not come out to anybody at church), but because I could not, no matter how good the sermon the pastor preached (and he is awesome), or how good the Sunday School lesson was (I had a great Sunday School teacher), I could not sit there without the thought in the back of my mind that the denomination (not the local church) in which I grew up, was baptized, and one of whose seminaries I attended (I have since returned my diploma to them), had just declared that I was "confused," and "needed to turn to God and repent," (did that when I was ten (10) years old), and had pretty much thrown my under the bus
and kicked me to the curb. I still have lunch with with one of my friends from church a couple or three times a month, and I have lunch with the pastor every so often.
I have just begun my transition, and have yet to come out to anybody other than (what's left of) my immediate family, my doctors (except for my chiropractor) and my therapy group; that in itself was easily the scariest thing I have ever done (everybody has been supportive thus far). I'm still trying to figure out how to come out at work, where I will have spent 19 years this coming June (if they don't freak out and fire me (which will be a big mistake for them, thanks to Macy v. ATF, Macy v. Holder, and Glenn v. Brumby)), and I'm really scared about coming out to extended family and friends (some of whom I have known for close to 40 years). I am planning on taking down my Facebook page soon, as the person who put it up will soon cease to exist (physically, anyway), and I don't want to deal with the fallout that may occur if I were to come out to everybody all at once. It's going to be a long and interesting journey, but it's one I have been waiting literally my whole life to take. Wish me luck.
PS: Sorry for the long post; this is my first time posting here (I think), and I've been saving up
