By Tammi Reed Ledbetter, Baptist Press
NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Newly elected Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter Jr. engaged a roomful of reporters in his hometown of New Orleans June 19, sharing his surprise at “the confidence Southern Baptists are putting in me and my leadership skills and what God has done in my life.”
The unanimous endorsement of the first African American to serve America’s largest Protestant denomination is more than symbolic, Luter said, though he understands why fellow blacks might view it as such, waiting to see that “this is not a one-and-done deal.”
“If we stop appointing African Americans or Asians or Hispanics to leadership roles in this convention after my term is over, we failed. We absolutely failed,” Luter said. Instead, he said, “This was a genuine, authentic move by this convention that says our doors are open, and the only way they can see that is not just putting up an African American president, but seeing other ethnic groups in other areas of this convention. Time will tell and I’ll be a cheerleader promoting that.”The full content of this page is available to Baptist Message subscribers only.