Georgia Baptists meeting at their annual convention amended their constitution Tuesday to remove churches that "affirm, approve or endorse homosexual behavior," but fell 5 percent short of the two-thirds majority needed to pass the amendment to remove any church that "separates itself from historic Baptist tenets through non-biblical worship practices" including the encouragement of members to speak in tongues, being "slain in the spirit" or to engage in "divisive and disruptive worship practices."

The Rev. John Hatcher of River's Edge Community Church attended the convention and said it could be characterized as "harmonious" and with "hardly any discord."

The two issues were voted on separately with a show of hands to indicate their vote. The issue of excluding churches that endorse homosexual behavior was passed overwhelmingly. As the vote to remove churches practicing charismatic worship was too close to call, a paper ballot indicated 1,190 voted yes, comprising only 61.44 percent of the vote, while 747 voted no.

The convention is comprised of like-minded, Georgia churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. The denomination is designed so that the individual churches are autonomous, but have a constitution to define the common beliefs of Baptists, making it permissible to remove or exclude a member church.

The Southern Baptist Convention passed an amendment at their last meeting defining family and marriage. The Georgia Baptists move to exclude churches that affirm homosexual behavior establishes official policy on the issue to prevent multiple individual cases that must be dealt with later on as homosexual churches may proliferate.

According to the Rev. Hatcher, the proposed amendment regarding the charismatic worship helped to keep the Baptist identity. He noted that two things characterize a Baptist church, "the primacy of preaching, even over the need for worship" and "Sunday School," which he said has been a strength of Baptist life.

"The historical rootage is not in Pentecostalism," said Hatcher. "Most Baptists want fervency and vitality in services, but without the phenomena, such as being 'slain in the spirit.'"

According to the Book of Reports 1998 of the Georgia Baptist Convention, the charismatic movement, which encompasses this phenomena, is modern and has had a resurgence in the 1990s in theology and practice within Baptist churches. This resurgence is a result of "the spiritual hunger, which is left unfulfilled by liberalism, lifeless preaching, and inadequate biblical emphasis."

Being "slain in the spirit" has become a common occurrence in many Pentecostal and charismatic churches, a practice that received media attention in the revivals that have taken place this decade at the Airport Vineyard Church in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and at Brownsville Church of God in Pensacola, Fla.

The Rev. Chuck Griffith, pastor of the Fayette Assembly of God, said that there is not a lot of biblical foundation for the occurrence; rather, it is more of an experiential occurrence, he said. However, he said the church does not chastise people if this experience occurs.

"At my church we don't look for it, expect it or prep people for it," Griffith said.

Mainline Pentecostal denominations include the Church of God, Assembly of God and Pentecostal Holiness. Griffith said that the Pentecostal distinction lies in the belief that the "initial physical evidence of being saved is to speak in tongues based on Acts 2:4, Acts 10 and 19."

The Baptist Book of Reports said that teaching that "entire groups of people" can all speak in tongues or that the emphasis on the gifts of tongues and healing as "preeminent spiritual gifts" is in direct conflict with the Bible based on I Corinthians 14:4 and II Corinthians 12:30.

"When one's 'experience in the Holy Spirit' becomes more important than biblical adherence, this is a path down the road toward anarchy," the Book of Reports said.

Other worship behaviors that were included in the proposed amendment included "the laughing renewal" that originated in Toronto, and the "bizarre emotionalism found in churches in which animal noises and behavior is practiced."

The convention, however, stressed that "Georgia Baptists must confront these issues and at the same time 'speak the truth in love,'" acknowledging that most charismatic and Pentecostal believers are genuinely seeking God in their lives.

"Because of their great desire, they must not be condemned as false prophets who intentionally twist the Word of God or discard the Word of God," the Book of Reports said. "They must be lovingly brought back into the fold and be shown that the Word of God is the ultimate authority for all theology as well as practice."

Interestingly, Hatcher and Griffith are the two of the original initiators of the unity movement sweeping the southside of Atlanta and organized the monthly meetings of area ministers to pray and seek God together.

Griffith said while those Pentecostal, charismatic and Baptist ministers who don't know one another may look at the other with suspicions, the ministers here locally have forged a relationship here to maintain the existing unity.

The main thing, both pastors agree, is that they all believe in the name of Jesus Christ.