The California Supreme Court’s decision to legalize same-sex marriage overturned Proposition 22, which defined marriage in California as between a man and a woman. Earlier this year, four activist judges based in San Francisco wrongly overturned the people's vote, legalizing same-sex marriage.

Their decision did not just overturn the will of California voters; it also redefined marriage for the rest of society, without ever asking the people to accept this decision. The ruling has far-reaching consequences. For example, since public schools already are required to teach the role of marriage in society as part of the curriculum, schools will now be required to teach students that gay marriage is the same as traditional marriage, starting with kindergarteners.

The solution to this action is to inform church members about Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment which would define marriage as between a man and a woman. California law already grants domestic partners all the rights a state can grant to a married couple.

During its September 2008 meeting the CSBC Executive  Board adopted a resolution endorsing Proposition 8. The resolution calls on California Southern Baptists to pray about the issue and conduct voter registration drives through Oct. 20, the cutoff date for voter registration. The resolution urges pastors to inform their congregations of issues related to the Proposition and encourages them to participate in the grassroots effort. Additionally, California Southern Baptists are encouraged to financially support Proposition 8 and church leaders are urged to avail themselves of Internet resources provided from a variety of sources. To read the full text of the resolution click here.

California Southern Baptist Convention is providing resources to help churches in relating information to their members about Prop 8.

Check out the resources listed here. This list will be updated as new resource become available.

What churches can and cannot do
If church leaders are unsure about what churches can and cannot do in the political process, check out this resource which clearly identifies actions falling into both categories. 

Protect Marriage Web Resources
Until the November election CSBC will relay helpful information and resources to its churches about Proposition 8 – the constitutional amendment defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

Click here for a listing of Websites that pastors, church staff and lay leaders can use to stay informed about events and happenings related to the Protect Marriage campaign. 

Protect Marriage Conference Calls/Webinars
Pastors, church staff and leaders in California Southern Baptist congregations are encouraged to attend the statewide Pastors Strategic Protect Marriage Conference Call hosted in at more than 150 locations at 10 a.m. September 24.. Find the nearest location and register for the event.

Chris Clark, pastor of East Clairemont Southern Baptist Church in San Diego, said, “We desperately need more pastors and churches to agree to be a host site for this conference call.”

Congregations interested in hosting conference calls, can register.

Clark said the upcoming conference call is scheduled to feature Phillip Goudeaux, pastor of the Calvary Christian Center in Sacramento, on why he has cleared everything from his 12,000-member church’s calendar and is focused solely on working to pass Proposition 8.

Also slated for the call is:

• a "status check" as to where pastors should be in their efforts to turn out the vote on November 4
• information about making donations to the effort
• an e-mail/texting "Q & A" session related to issues relative to the effort

For the most current information about the monthly Protect Marriage Conferences – scheduled for September 24, October 8 and 22, and November 6 – visit www.protectmarriageca.com.