DALLAS (ABP) — A Florida pastor announced June 1 that he will nominate Frank Page as an alternative candidate for the Southern Baptist Convention presidency during the denomination's upcoming annual meeting.
Forrest Pollock, pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church in Brandon, Fla., has said he will nominate Page at the meeting, set for June 13-14 in Greensboro, N.C.
Page, pastor of First Baptist Church in Taylors, S.C., will face Ronnie Floyd, pastor of First Baptist Church in Springdale, Ark. Floyd is widely believed to have the support of the conservative elites who have long dominated the convention's governing boards and agencies.
Page's nomination will mark the first time since 1994 that two serious candidates announced ahead of time will vie for the presidency. An Internet-based community of conservative leaders — many of them younger — concerned over the denomination's direction and health are expected to support Page.
“Frank Page has a bold vision for the future that involves the next generation of leaders,” Pollock said, in a statement issued to Associated Baptist Press. “He is calling for adding passion, revival, soul-winning and missions to the convention's 30-year concentration on doctrinal purity.”
Page had initially declined the nomination, saying he did not “have a peace about it, and I can't move forward if I don't have that.”
Then, in a May 22 press release, he said he had changed his mind about the position.
“There is a serious disconnect between the leaders of our Southern Baptist Convention and the rank and file lay person and pastor,” Page wrote. “Some perceive that there is a well oiled machine, filled with power hungry politicians, running the show while the vast majority of loyal, supportive people are left without any voice and/or influence. While this observation may or may not be true, there is a serious perception of disconnect and distrust.”
In addition, Page said, declining Sunday school attendance, “dangerous days” and “an overall malaise among many people” in the convention prompted him to accept the nomination.
Pollock, who is “good friends” with Page and works with him on the SBC Resolutions Committee, said Page's track record would help him fix the decline of the “crown jewel” of “worldwide evangelical work.” He cited declining numbers of baptisms, declining support for the convention's Cooperative Program unified budget, lack of respect for leadership and the absence of young people in the denomination as causes for concern.
“Frank is a conservative Bible-believing inerrantist,” he said in the statement. “He also is a strong leader, as evidenced by his church's phenomenal growth from 1072-2352 average attendance since 2000. Southern Baptists deserve a choice. I choose Dr. Frank S. Page.”
Floyd, meanwhile, has earned endorsements from three SBC seminary presidents.
He has come under criticism previously for his church's lackluster Cooperative Program support. The congregation gave 0.27 percent of its $12 million in undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program in 2005. Page's church gave 12.1 percent of its $4.4 million in undesignated receipts during the same period.
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