Our interim pastor just 'pulled a Jimmy Carter'!

As many of you know, our congregation is seeking a senior pastor. In the interim-- no pun intended-- we have employed an 83 year-old retired Southern Baptist minister as our interim pastor. The reasons we employed an SBC retiree are fairly simple: there are very few American Baptist retirees in our region, Rev. Lance is a 'local boy' and well-known to most of us, is a good preacher and a competent administrator known for his 'collaborative' style. Fast forward to our deacon's meeting this afternoon...

During the 'new business' portion of our deacon's meeting, Rev. Lance asked to speak. He rose and passed out a copy of a letter he sent yesterday to the President of the Southern Baptist Convention, withdrawing from the denomination. He then passed out a copy of another letter to the ABC-USA General Secretary, requesting a transfer of his ordination.

To say the least, we were somewhat surprised by these actions, and awaited his explanation. Without going into a blow-by-blow account of his reasons, Rev. Lance said that he has seen an enormous change in the SBC in the last 40 years, and little of it good. In contrast, his last 2 1/2 years spent among ABC-USA pastors and lay people "felt right to me, Biblically, economically and socially", and after much prayer and self-examination, he could no longer affiliate himself personally or professionally with the SBC. In particular, he believes that the ABC-USA's positions on women's absolute equality, social and economic justice and 'inclusiveness' are truly the foundations of a New Testament church.

In closing, he asked to transfer his own membership to our congregation, saying that he has found a 'spiritual home'.

Hallelujah!