Southern Baptist Convention rejected resolution criticizing 'alt-right'; plans to reconsider

Show Caption Hide Caption Pastor's resolution on alt-right movement rejected Texas pastor William D. McKissic Sr. says public criticism at the Southern Baptist Convention of his resolution to disavow the "alt-right'' movement was "unfair" and "inappropriate."

The Southern Baptist Convention will reconsider an effort to condemn white supremacy Wednesday, the final day of the Protestant denomination’s annual meeting being held in Phoenix this week.

The decision to take up a resolution disavowing the “alt-right” movement follows the Southern Baptists Convention’s initial rejection of a similar effort on Tuesday afternoon. That rejection spurred a tense debate that carried into the evening, prompting the convention to craft a new resolution, which is expected to be voted on Wednesday afternoon.

Prominent Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore, the president of the convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said Wednesday morning in a Twitter post that he expects the convention will “enthusiastically” pass the new resolution.

“The so-called Alt-Right white supremacist ideologies are anti-Christ and satanic to the core. We should say so,” Moore said on Twitter.

Tuesday’s controversy was sparked by a separate, but similar resolution William D. McKissic Sr., a pastor at the Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, submitted to the SBC’s Committee on Resolutions. He wanted the entire convention to vote on his resolution.

His resolution failed to gain approval by a two-thirds majority of the committee.

The nearly 5,000-person convention on Tuesday was allowed to vote on whether it wanted the resolution to be heard at a later meeting, but that also failed to garner the two-thirds majority needed.

The "alt-right" — short for alternative-right — is a term often applied to those whose political views embrace white nationalism, racism and anti-Semitism.

McKissic's resolution stated that the Southern Baptist Church should denounce "every form of 'nationalism' that violates the biblical teachings with respect to race, justice and ordered liberty" and that the convention should "reject the retrograde ideologies, xenophobic biases, and racial bigotries of the so-called 'alt-right' that seek to subvert our government, destabilize society, and infect our political system."

Committee chair cites 'inappropriate language'

After nine other resolutions passed with near-unanimous votes, McKissic approached the committee and asked it to reconsider his resolution and allow convention attendees to discuss the proposal.

SBC Committee on Resolutions Chairman Barrett Duke told McKissic the committee had concluded his resolution had "inappropriate" language and subsequently opposed bringing it to the floor.

That's when SBC officials held a vote to ask those in attendance if they'd like McKissic's resolution to advance, which the group rejected.

McKissic last year succeeded in having the SBC endorse a resolution condemning the Confederate flag as a symbol of racial injustice.

Garrett Kell, a pastor at Del Ray Baptist Church in Virginia, spoke shortly after and asked the convention to clarify its stance on the alt-right movement, saying the previous interaction was "confusing."

Duke said McKissic's resolution was "too open-ended," but the SBC isn't necessarily against the spirit of his proposal.

"Some of the ideology associated with certain people with the alt-right are certainly offensive to us," Duke said. "If we had received a resolution that we believe could speak to those problematic ideologies in a way that would enable us to only speak to those who are associated with the alt-right, we would have been happy to take that up."

Alt-right movement explained Just what is the alt-right movement anyway?

The committee was concerned the language of McKissic's resolution could implicate people with conservative views as members of the alt-right movement, Duke said.

He added the committee believes McKissic's resolution was over-reaching in asserting that members of the alt-right support ethnic cleansing.

"The resolution just contained some significantly inflammatory language that we felt was over the bar," Duke said.

Pastor 'shocked'

After the session, McKissic said he thought Duke's public criticism of his resolution was "unfair" and "inappropriate."

"He's allowed to attack this resolution from the floor of the Southern Baptist Convention, and I'm not allowed to respond?" he said. "I'm shocked that this would be permitted."

McKissic said he was "horrified" that "the same man who attacked my resolution says 'Let's show compassion,' but let's not show compassion to the people that the alt-right is attacking."

Duke, in his opening statement, said the resolutions that would be voted on "speak with conviction as well as compassion."

McKissic met with Southern Baptist Convention leaders after the session, demanding equal time to respond to the group.

An official with the Southern Baptist Convention said it would be logistically difficult to gather all committee members and hold another convention vote to accommodate McKissic's request for time to speak.

He instead suggested that McKissic ask for a point of privilege to address his concerns at the next business meeting later in the convention.

Kell reiterated his concern to leaders that the Southern Baptist Convention did not have a clear enough stance on the alt-right.

"I'm disappointed that we as a convention could leave the illusion that we don’t reject the racist ideologies held by many in the alt-right movement," he said.

A time of tension

What is the Southern Baptist Convention? Roger Oldham, vice president for convention communications, talks about the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention being held at the Phoenix Convention Center June 13-14. Mark Henle/azcentral.com

The Southern Baptist Convention is the largest Protestant denomination in the country, with more than 15 million members and 46,500 churches.

The convention, being held this year at the Phoenix Convention Center, annually brings together leaders and members to discuss events and trends occurring within the denomination's churches nationwide.

Participants vote on resolutions that establish the convention's stance on varying issues.

McKissic's resolution didn’t specifically mention President Donald Trump, but its consideration comes at a time of tension among Southern Baptists that was spurred in part by concerns about the president’s character and whether or not evangelicals could support him as a candidate.

Prominent Southern Baptist leader Russell Moore, the president of the denomination’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, emerged as a vocal critic of Trump during the divisive 2016 campaign season, raising questions about his moral character and fitness as a leader.

Moore’s criticism and the post-election pushback he received for it highlighted a fault line among those Southern Baptists who want to be at the table when politicians make policy decisions and those who want to keep a clear division between the denomination and the Republican Party.

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