Blogger posted in this thread that he had noticed:
"...There are some good guys on that list. Also some very notable absences. Glad the absences abstained from getting involved in the propaganda."Walmartian, from your first link, I found the following signatories listed:
That link listing them above matched their listing in the CNN article:
- Frank Page, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, 2006-Present (Taylors, SC),
- James Merritt, Pastor of Cross Pointe Church and former SBC President, 2000-2002 (Duluth, GA), and
- Jack Graham, Pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church and former SBC President, 2002-2004 (Plano, TX)
- Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention since 2006;
- James Merritt, president of the convention from 2000 to 2002, and
- Jack Graham, president of the convention from 2002 to 2004.
Question 1: Walmartian and Blogger, are Frank Page, James Merritt and Jack Graham current and/or ex-leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention?
Question 2: Walmartian and Blogger, are the Signatories listed on the site Southern Baptist Environment & Climate Initiative leading members of the Southern Baptist Convention?
Question 3: Are the listed Signatories current Southern Baptist Convention leaders?
Question 4: Blogger, can you support and/or clarify what Walmartian has said above?
Thanks to both of you in advance.
The thing you have to realize is that the SBC is NOT a governing body for the churches. No official resolution from the SBC has been made. Only a few past and present leaders have joined as signatories concerning this effort. Resolutions are only made after a vote of the representatives of the Convention’s individual churches. I doubt such a vote would survive, though given the right person pitching it, it might as well.
There are several past presidents whose names I do not see on the list and some big names in the denomination. Dr. Al Mohler, for example, while a good friend of James Merritt and president of the flagship seminary of the convention, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is not on the list. Paige Patterson, President at Southwestern and key leader in the conservative resurgence of the SBC is also not listed. Richard Land, who heads up the SBC on the Ethical Commission is not listed. And, there are many others.
This effort, therefore, is one reflecting the views of some individual leaders in the SBC but can not be said to be an SBC effort as a whole. Until the whole convention votes on the matter, nothing has been said in the name of the entire convention. Hopefully, nothing ever will be said.