Churches that welcome gays, or affiliate with groups that do, may no longer be eligible for membership in the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

The convention's board of directors, meeting this week in Asheboro, approved the new policy by a significant majority. It must still be ratified at the annual meeting of the convention in November.

The vote cements the conservative direction of the convention, the largest denominational body in North Carolina with about 4,000 affiliated churches. Although the convention adopted a financial policy in 1992 that refused money for churches showing "public approval, promotion or blessing of homosexuality," the new policy would go further.

It would forbid churches from ordaining gay clergy, making public statements supporting homosexuality or accepting as members people who have refused to "repent of the sin of homosexual behavior."

Asked whether he thought the policy would be approved by convention delegates, Don Warren, president of the board of directors, answered, "Absolutely."

"We believe homosexuality is sin, as are many others," said Warren, a retired textile executive from Gastonia. "But we are not aware of any other sin that has a national organization that promotes its happening beginning in kindergarten and first grade."

Homosexuality is a divisive issue in many churches, regardless of denomination. But the Baptist board's action signals that the convention is willing to take a hard line with churches that silently condone gay relationships among their members.

Its immediate effect is to put about a half-dozen North Carolina churches on notice that their membership may soon be revoked. Many of those churches have not publicly supported or endorsed gays, but they affiliate with the more liberal Alliance of Baptists, an organization based in Washington that welcomes gays as equal members. Twenty-one churches in North Carolina affiliate with the alliance, and many have already left the Baptist State Convention.

One such church, Greenwood Forest Baptist in Cary, decided last month to end its relationship with the state convention.

"It was more a relief knowing we're not part of that anymore," said the Rev. Randy Sherron, pastor of Greenwood Forest, which has 1,500 members. The church partners with the Alliance to help support a church in Cuba.

A fork in the road

Others may have to make such decisions soon. Most said they would rather leave the state convention than break their ties to the Alliance of Baptists.

"I don't like the idea of one Baptist entity telling another Baptist entity who it will cooperate with," said the Rev. Guy Sayles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville. Sayles said his church, which has 3,000 members, gave $10,000 to the state convention this year and $1,000 to the Alliance of Baptists. He said the church will probably reduce or eliminate its contribution to the state convention, though it would still support Baptist colleges and retirement homes.

University Baptist in Chapel Hill will follow a similar path.

"It's one more way of carving out exclusions for God's children," the Rev. Mitch Simpson said of the action by the convention board.

Convention spokesman Norman Jameson disagreed, saying the policy wasn't directed at gays but at churches.

The policy change was sought by the Rev. William Sanderson, pastor of Hephzibah Baptist Church in Wendell. At last year's annual meeting, Sanderson proposed a policy on membership that would deal with homosexuality. The convention agreed and instructed a committee to draft such a policy. That policy was approved late Tuesday night. Sanderson could not be reached for comment.

Stan Hastey, executive director of the Alliance of Baptists, said he was saddened to hear of the board's decision.

"All of us on the moderate side were proud to claim North Carolina as a bastion of reasonable thinking and moderation," Hastey said. "It's clear now that the convention has joined other state units in going fundamentalist."