DALLAS (ABP) — After 30 years of serving on the National Religious Broadcasters board of directors, Pat Robertson has lost his bid for re-election.
The loss came just days after Robertson canceled his planned keynote address at the closing ceremony of the NRB annual convention in Dallas. Robertson said he canceled at the last minute due to “scheduling complexities.” Other observers suggested the NRB was backing away from their most visible member.
Robertson, founder of the Christian Broadcasting Network and the American Center for Law and Justice, among other organizations, has come under attack for several controversial comments he made on his “700 Club” television show.
Two of the most inflammatory comments were his suggestion that the United States assassinate Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his statement that God gave Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon a debilitating stroke as punishment for Sharon's release of some Palestinian land.
In an interview with World magazine, Robertson said he alone made the decision not to speak at the NRB. But according to reports, NRB chairman Ronald Harris and president Frank Wright met with Robertson before the convention, and the three agreed Robertson would not speak.
NRB's Wright said while he led no distinct effort to distance the board from Robertson, “there was broad dismay with some of Pat's comments and a feeling they were not helpful to Christian broadcasters in general,” the Washington Post reported.
But Christopher Merola, NRB director of media, told Associated Baptist Press that Robertson's lost bid had become “old news” that didn't have much significance for NRB or Robertson.
“It's not the slap in the face that some people have made it,” Merola said. “Some people want to make an issue where there is none.”
Had Robertson “not made those comments earlier, none of this would be an issue,” Merola said. “There were 38 nominees for 33 seats on the board,” he said. “[Robertson] wasn't the only one to lose a seat. There were four other people as well.”
Robertson has attended only one NRB board meeting during his 30-year tenure.
Southern Baptist author Henry Blackaby spoke in place of Robertson at this year's conference.
Southern Baptist ethics leader Richard Land condemned Robertson's earlier controversial comments. “I am both stunned and appalled that Pat Robertson would claim to know the mind of God concerning whether particular tragic events … were the judgments of God,” Land told reporters at the time. “Pat Robertson should know better.”
Although he publicly apologized for his comments, Robertson continues to defend them.
“The Lord spoke to me last year. Israel is entering into the most dangerous time in its history as a nation,” Robertson told World. “All I'm doing as a faithful Bible teacher is teaching the Bible. And if Dr. Land doesn't believe the Bible, I'm sorry. That's his problem.”
Robertson's “700 Club” was named NRB's best television talk show of 2006, and CBN gave NRB $161,300 in 2004-2005, according to AP reports.
The NRB annual convention involves roughly 200 Christian broadcast professionals and 300 vendors.
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