FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) -- A music professor has taken early retirement at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary rather than resigning a part-time position and moving his membership from a church that the Southern Baptist Convention declared out of fellowship in June.

Michael Cox, professor of music theory and composition at Southwestern's School of Church Music since 1990, is a member of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, and director of the church's Chancel Choir.

Cox

The Southern Baptist Convention voted June 23 to sever its 125-year-old ties with Broadway, after the congregation failed to convince denominational leaders it was in compliance with SBC membership requirements banning churches that affirm homosexuality.

Since Southwestern requires its professors to belong to a Southern Baptist church, that meant Cox, composer of more than 160 published works recognized 11 times by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP), had to make a choice.

"I'm sorry Southwestern and the Southern Baptist Convention put Michael in this difficult position," said Brent Beasley, senior pastor of Broadway Baptist Church. "But from Broadway's perspective, we're thrilled that he made the courageous decision he did to take early retirement from Southwestern and stay at Broadway."

The church responded by naming Cox as composer-in-residence, a one-year appointment in addition to his part-time job as director of the Chancel Choir. Beasley said the composer-in-residence position will carry a stipend, and Cox would compose several pieces during the year for use in worship services at the church.

Michael Cox

"Michael is a gifted composer and conductor, and he means a lot to our Chancel Choir and entire congregation," Beasley said. "And continuing their relationship with Broadway is obviously important to Michael and Rhonda, as well."

According to Cox's online biography, which has been removed from Southwestern Seminary's website, he has composed and published numerous sacred choral and keyboard works for use in the church. 

His seventh keyboard collection, titled All Glory, Laud and Honor, was published by Shawnee Press. More recently, his compositional efforts have focused upon larger works for festival-size choir and orchestra. His Deo Gratias was recorded by the Southwestern Seminary Oratorio Chorus and the Fort Worth Chamber Orchestra. His latest effort in this genre is an eight-movement work for tenor soloist, choir, and orchestra titled Symphonic Psalms. It was commissioned and premiered by the Oklahoma Baptist University Oratorio Chorus and Orchestra.

Cox has degrees in piano performance, orchestral conducting and composition. Prior to joining the Southwestern faculty in 1990, he taught for 18 years at Oklahoma Baptist University.

In June, SBC messengers booted the congregation after a year-long investigation spurred by news reports about a controversy over whether to include photographs of same-sex couples in Broadway's new church directory.

Broadway eventually resolved the issue with a compromise that used candid individual and group photos of all church members instead of family portraits, but in the process church leaders acknowledged there were a handful of openly gay members and that some of them had served on church committees.

The SBC, the nation's second-largest religious body behind Roman Catholicism, amended its constitution in 1992 and 1993 to change membership requirements by adding a prohibition on affiliating with churches that "act to affirm, approve or endorse homosexual behavior."

After the convention ruled Broadway not in "friendly cooperation" with the SBC, the University of the Cumberlands, which is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention, withdrew an invitation to the church's youth group to build houses for poor people in Appalachia.

After scrambling on short notice, the youth group managed to salvage its annual mission trip with a detour through Nashville, Tenn.

Cox and Southwestern officials both declined to comment.

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This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  is senior writer for Associated Baptist Press.

Previous stories:

Broadway Baptist Church youth choir detours through Nashville (7/8)

Baptist school cancels mission trip for church dismissed from SBC (6/30)

SBC messengers sever ties with Texas church over gay members (6/23)

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