For critics of the Southern Baptist Convention, former President Jimmy Carter is the gift that just keeps on giving. Over the last several days, yet another round of news reports has trumpeted the news that the former president has resigned his membership in the Southern Baptist Convention. Almost a decade after he first made this announcement, his repetitive return to this theme set up a new avalanche of news reports. Reports, we might add, that are not news. Adding insult to injury, the reports are about a “resignation” that isn’t even a resignation. Try explaining that to the international media.

A Memorandum Prepared for the Great Commission Council of the Southern Baptist Convention

Sir Winston Churchill once complained of those who were “decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift.” Such cannot be said of the Southern Baptist Convention. During the June 11-13 meeting of the Convention, the denomination spoke clearly and courageously to issues of current debate and controversy.

The Axioms of Religion
The Library of Baptist Classics
edited by Timothy and Denise George
Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997

Rep. Jim McDermott is a man on a mission. The congressman represents Washington state’s 7th district, and he is known as one of the most liberal members of the U. S. House of Representatives. His crusading efforts for the liberal cause include advocacy of national health insurance, defense of partial-birth abortion, and support for gay rights-including homosexual marriages.

Given the current controversy between the Southern Baptists and the American Jewish community, you might think that Baptists had proposed to force their way into synagogues during the High Holy Days. Major Jewish organizations and liberal Christian groups have accused the Baptists of “spiritual intolerance” and “theological genocide.” What is this all about?

Article from the Western Recorder, June 28, 2000

One of the most promising signs of renewal in Southern Baptist life is the emergence of genuine theological discussion and historical interest. After decades marked by the absence of significant interest in many doctrines, Southern Baptists are awakening to historic doctrinal debates in a new key.

Jimmy Carter’s flamboyant departure from the Southern Baptist Convention drew the headlines away from the presidential election—if just for a moment. George Bush and Al Gore took a temporary back seat to America’s most hyperactive ex-president as Carter railed against the SBC and announced that he is no longer identifying with America’s largest evangelical denomination.