Sarah Fowler

The Clarion-Ledger

The Southern Baptist Convention voted Tuesday to amend a resolution against the Confederate battle flag, following a similar denouncement by the state's Methodist Church last week.

“We call our brothers and sisters in Christ to discontinue the display of the Confederate battle flag as a sign of solidarity of the whole Body of Christ, including our African-American brothers and sisters," the amendment stated.

William Perkins, the editor of the Baptist Record, the paper of the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention, said Wednesday that changing the state flag was the Christian thing to do.

"My opinion as editor, as I have expressed, is that if there is something that seriously causes my brother to stumble or that comprises my Christian witness, then I’m willing to change it, and that is biblical," Perkins said.

Referencing 1 Corinthians 10:28 when the apostle Paul speaks out against eating sacrificial meat, Perkins said, "brought up to a modern context, that involves something like this symbol that causes some of our brothers and sisters in Christ the potential to suffer over this issue."

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Hayes Dent, a Yazoo City-based lobbyist who promoted two bills during the past legislative session to change the flag, said he was excited about the convention's decision.

"In a state like Mississippi, the Southern Baptist Convention has huge sway, so if you are in favor of changing the flag, that’s a big deal, there’s no getting around it," Dent said.

Last week, the Mississippi annual conference of the United Methodist Church urged state leaders to change the flag, according to Brad Chism, who authored the resolution.

Chism acknowledged that the flag was "revered by some," but said it is a "painful symbol."

The resolution passed, with the church agreeing to "love our neighbor first" so "all of us can embrace and recognize (the flag) as a symbol for a better Mississippi," Chism said.

Dent referenced the fact that the Methodist convention also voiced opposition to the state flag and said "the dominoes are starting to get lined up."

"I think that it gives a lot of credence to, and encourages, the 2017 legislature to call for a vote now," Dent added. "There’s an overwhelming sense that some of this is moving in a direction to have at least another vote."

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A lifelong Southerner, Perkins said he understood the flag was a symbol of history to some but getting rid of the emblem on the flag was the "right thing."

"We certainly respect anyone who sees the flag differently," he said. "As a native Southerner, I have heard the stories from my grandparents passed down from their grandparents about the valor of the people who fought in that war, but this is 2016, and as Christians we need to decide whether we’re going to be held back by symbols of the past or whether we’re going to move forward and do the right thing, and that requires prayer from each one us."

Perkins said he could never truly know the pain that symbol inflicted on others.

"There's simply no way, as a white Southerner born and raised in Mississippi, that I can relate to that symbol like my African-American brothers and sisters do.

"It’s a symbol of oppression and strife and offense. If it compromises my Christian witness then I need to seriously think about whether to defend that symbol or not."

Contact Sarah Fowler at sfowler@gannett.com or 601-961-7303. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter.