NASHVILLE — Ed Litton would have been happy remaining a local church pastor.
Instead, Litton finds himself leading the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. as it faces continued divisions over race, a sex abuse crisis and the role of women in ministry.
Litton, elected Tuesday as the next president of the Southern Baptist Convention, is seen by many as a pastor who can help Southern Baptists unite and avoid an exodus of minority members worried about whether they have a future home in the conservative denomination.
"I think in some ways, I was ready to go home," he told reporters Tuesday night. "I told my church last week, I said, 'If next Wednesday morning I wake up and I'm just your pastor, I am so good with that.' The highest honor of my life is to pastor a local church. But I also have a deep burden for people that I love. And I want to do whatever I can to help us pull this together. I'm not Superman. I have no magic.