Amen to Bart Barber! Barber argues that Southern Baptists should not hold their breaths waiting for the cultural elites to congratulate us about the election of Fred Luter. He says that CNN is not the most important audience for this week’s historic election. He writes: If the folks at CNN aren’t the most important audience, then who needs to know that Southern Baptists have elected Fred Luter? The kids in your youth group, pastor—they need to know… You need to report back to your congregation with a Powerpoint slideshow and you need to make certain that the people in your congregation see a photograph of the new SBC President. The…

Albert Mohler has posted his reflections on the 2012 Southern Baptist Convention. Among other things, he writes about the election of Fred Luter, the name change, and our mission as Southern Baptists. He also notes the discussions about doctrine at this particular convention. He writes: The 2012 SBC was marked by talk about theology, and the issue of Calvinism in particular. At this point, the reality is more like talking about talking about theology, but the talk will become more organized, partly through a process to be led by the SBC Executive Committee. In the meantime, Southern Baptists need to be kind, open, generous, and truthful. We should expect the…

Over a century and a half ago, Baptists in the south split from Baptists in the north over the issue of slavery. Southern Baptists wanted to appoint slave owners as missionaries, and the northern Baptists disagreed. And so in 1845, the Southern Baptist Convention was born. In the mid-90’s, Southern Baptists affirmed a resolution of repentance for being on the wrong side of slavery and Jim Crow. It was too long in coming, but it was good and needed. Today, however, Southern Baptists had their Acts 26:20 moment. We brought forth deeds in keeping with repentance. I cannot overstate how deeply significant the election of Fred Luter is. Nor can…

Russell Moore’s article in the most recent issue of Southern Seminary magazine is about the SBC and racism, and it is a must-read. It’s impossible to understand the significance of Fred Luter’s candidacy for president without remembering where Southern Baptists have come from. We all have our stories, but Moore shares one of his. He writes: One of my earliest memories is of a substitute Sunday school teacher in my Southern Baptist church chastening me for putting a coin in my mouth. “That’s filthy,” she said. “Why, you don’t know if a colored man might have held that.” It might just be my imagination playing tricks on me, but it…