By Staff SARALAND, Ala. – Ed Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama, will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, according to a report published in Baptist Press. Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, announced to Baptist Press on Jan. 19 that he would nominate Litton. The 2021 SBC Annual Meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, June 15-16. STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT Luter told Baptist Press he has had a friendship with the candidate since 2001. “I have known Ed Litton for over 20 years. Our relationship started when we preached for each other as part of the SBC Racial Reconciliation Sunday during the month of February,” Luter said. “From there our relationship developed to more than just colleagues to bring races together. We both shared the hope of drawing people closer to a relationship with Jesus Christ and then growing disciples for Christ. In both of our churches our focus has been the same all of these years. “That’s why I am honored to nominate Ed Litton as the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention. With Ed’s commitment to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission, he is what our Convention needs to help us … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor VANCOUVER, Wash. (LBM) – Randy Adams, executive director of the Northwest Baptist Convention, a regional network of 500 congregations across Oregon, Washington and northern Idaho, will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention, according to press releases from multiple sources. Russell Fuller, former Old Testament professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary who has decried the growth of liberalism (specifically, Critical Race Theory) at SBC seminaries, announced via email to the Baptist Message that he would nominate Adams. The 2021 SBC Annual Meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, June 15-16. STATEMENT OF SUPPORT Fuller said he was pleased that Adams “is allowing me to nominate him in Nashville for president of the Southern Baptist Convention," and he emphasized that the SBC is at a point in time when “courageous leadership” was needed to repair the damage done to the work of Southern Baptists. “The SBC has historically been an evangelistic cooperative mission force in North America and around the world, but over the last 10 years experienced both major declines and internal challenges that threaten our future if we do not change,” Fuller … [Read more...]

By Baptist Message staff ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The Louisiana Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists has voted to align with the Conservative Baptist Network of Southern Baptists. During LACOSBE's annual meeting through Zoom on Monday, Jan. 18, the 12 members in attendance -- of the 15-member body -- unanimously approved the motion. The Conservative Baptist Network is a broad-based grassroots movement of Southern Baptists of all generations who are committed to the sufficiency of Scripture for all facets of life and application. According to Brad Jurkovich, Conservative Baptist Network spokesperson and pastor of First Baptist Church, Bossier City, its 57-member Steering Council includes more than 7,000 pastors and laypeople from across America, including well-known figures such as former Atlanta fire chief Kelvin Cochran, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, past New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary President Chuck Kelley, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins, past SBC President Charles Stanley, and 2021 SBC presidential candidate and immediate past SBC Executive Committee Chairman Mike Stone. “We share the same approach to evangelism and theology as the Conservative Baptist Network,” LACOSBE President … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message executive editor VILLA RICA, Ga. (TCI) – Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Georgia, “will be nominated in June to be the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention,” according to a letter released Jan 13. Kevin Williams, pastor of Villa Rica Baptist Church, Villa Rica, Georgia, and president of the Georgia Baptist Convention, released the announcement to The Christian Index, the state convention’s news service. The 2021 SBC Annual Meeting will be held in Nashville, Tennessee, June 15-16. STATEMENTS OF SUPPORT “At this critical moment in our history, Southern Baptists need to be led by a trusted local church pastor with strong convictions about the sufficiency of Scripture, a passion for evangelism, and deep experience in the work of our Convention,” Williams wrote. “Pastor Mike Stone is a trusted leader among Georgia Baptists and I believe he is the kind of experienced pastor and statesman Southern Baptists need.” “The Lord has blessed Emmanuel Baptist with great growth. Yet it is not so large that Pastor Mike cannot relate to the everyday challenges of our pastors and churches. The experience Pastor Mike has helping to lead our state and nearly 25 years … [Read more...]