Southern Baptists resist push from right in divisive vote Poll Yes Dr. Ronnie Floyd, center, president and CEO of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, speaks during the executive committee plenary meeting at the denomination's annual meeting Monday, June 14, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – The Southern Baptist Convention tamped down a push from the right at its largest meeting in decades on Tuesday, electing a new president who has worked to bridge racial divides in the church and defeating an effort to make an issue of critical race theory. The more than 15,000 delegates in attendance picked as their next leader Ed Litton, a white pastor from Alabama who was nominated by Fred Luter, the only Black pastor to serve as president of the United States’ largest Protest denomination. Luter praised Litton’s commitment to racial reconciliation and said he has dealt compassionately with the issue of sexual abuse within SBC churches, another hot-button subject at the gathering.