A great day for Baptists

Yesterday, the Southern Baptist Convention had one of it's finest hours. It has been a much anticipated and hyped up buildup to the election of Fred Luter as our next president.  Luter is being celebrated mostly because he is the first African-American to be elected president of the SBC.  This is a denomination which stated over division among Baptists in colonies whether slave owners could play a significant role in missions efforts.  The issue of slavery led us to withdraw from our Baptist brethren and form a new organization that would become one of the largest denominations and one of the greatest missionary forces on the planet.  The SBC publicly repented years of that poor decision years ago, but still has had a hard time overcoming the stereotype and bringing predominantly Black churches into the SBC.

Luter is the right man for the job, and not just because of the color of his skin.  Fred Luter has been a shining star in the SBC for many years.  He has led a church that has baptized thousands and is a major force in the city of New Orleans.  He has traveled for years preaching on the SBC Evangelism Conference and Annual Meetings circuit.  He is a faithful teacher of God's word and a gracious, humble leader.  Now he will lead our Convention of churches - no small task for such a divided group.

Congratulations Fred Luter and Southern Baptists!  For one brief moment, we stopped our squabbling and posturing and did something right. (Then we started arguing about changing the name)