The Southern Baptist Convention elected a moderate Alabama pastor to be its next president, bucking an effort by conservatives to continue controlling the religious group, AL.com reports.
Ed Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama since 1994, ran on a platform of seeking racial justice and promoting racial reconciliation for the 14 million member group, which is made up of more than 40,000 independent congregations.
Litton defeated the conservative favored Georgia pastor Mike Stone 52% to 48% among the messengers, or delegates, sent by the various congregations. Stone belongs to a Conservative Baptist Network, a conservative coalition within the Convention that vowed to “take the ship” to maintain conservative control of the Convention.
Litton was nominated by New Orleans Pastor Fred Luter, who was elected as the first Black president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 2012. “Take it from Fred, vote for Ed,” Luter said in his nominating speech.