by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World
The meeting of the Southern Baptists this week in Phoenix revealed an interesting surprise. In an effort to increase minority representation in its ranks, the group has elected an African American pastor to become First Vice President. This is the first time in the group’s history that this move has been made.
Rev. Fred Luter Jr. was the man selected for the post, elected on Tuesday to help run the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. The group is seeing declining membership levels, and in response, has been working to bring minorities into the fold. Executive Committee President and CEO Frank Page has admitted that there needs to be “measurable information” to help the Southern Baptists evaluate their progress on race relations.
1 comment:
It’s commendable that the Southern Baptists appointed Rev. Luter to a leadership role, and I think it says a lot about acceptance and the need to diversify the church membership. It also speaks really well to Pastor Goforth’s quote about making the stage reflective of what you want the pew to look like in terms of diversity. I wanted to share this video on Reverend Luter’s election with you. I think you’ll appreciate how it analyzes news coverage from different sources to show various perspectives on the changes in the church. I hope you’ll considering embedding the video in your post.
http://www.newsy.com/videos/southern-baptists-elect-first-black-vp
Best,
Kate
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