Meeting in Anaheim, California, more than 8,000 Southern Baptist Convention members recently gathered for their annual summit. Topping the agenda was how to deal with sexual abuse and the election of a new president. Both received overwhelming approval.
ANAHEIM, Calif. Southern Baptists chose a northeast Arkansas native as president Tuesday evening, placing Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, at the helm of the nation's largest Protestant denomination.
Southern Baptists chose a Northeast Arkansas native as president Tuesday evening, placing Bart Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, at the helm of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.
With a new president, and hard-won commitments for survivors of the sex abuse scandal that shook the faithful, the organization takes a first halting step toward healing.