Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Associated Baptist Press Foundation
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Huckabee cancels Covenant speech over Jimmy Carter’s criticism of Bush

NewsABPnews  |  May 20, 2007

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ABP) — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has cancelled plans to speak at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration next January because of organizer Jimmy Carter's recent criticism of President Bush.

Carter criticized Bush's foreign policy in a May 19 interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. “I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history,” Carter said.

A Huckabee spokesperson confirmed to Associated Baptist Press May 21 that the candidate and former Baptist pastor is withdrawing from the unprecedented Jan. 30-Feb. 1 pan-Baptist gathering, organized by Carter and Mercer University President Bill Underwood to promote unity among the continent's Baptists.

“While I continue to have great respect for President Carter as a fellow Christian believer and Baptist, I'm deeply disappointed by the unusually harsh comments made in my state this past weekend regarding President Bush and feel that it represents an unprecedented personal attack on a sitting president by a former president, which is unbecoming the office as well as unbecoming to one whose conference is supposed to be about civility and bringing people together,” Huckabee, former governor of Arkansas, told the Florida Baptist Witness, a conservative newspaper affiliated with the Florida Baptist Convention.

Carter did not respond to an Associated Baptist Press request to comment on Huckabee's decision. But other organizers downplayed the candidate's decision and emphasized the non-partisan goals of the Covenant meeting.

Huckabee was one of three prominent Republican politicians added to the New Baptist Covenant lineup May 17 in an announcement by Carter and other organizers. The other Republicans are Senators Lindsay Graham (S.C.) and Charles Grassley (Iowa). Among those already on board to speak are Carter, former President Bill Clinton, former vice president Al Gore, and journalist and author Bill Moyers.

Organizers hope to attract 20,000 people to the Atlanta gathering, billed as the broadest Baptist meeting in America since Baptists split over slavery before the Civil War. But the largest Baptist denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention — of which Huckabee is a member — has declined to participate.

Organizers acknowledged Huckabee did not contact them directly before announcing his withdrawal through a Southern Baptist-affiliated newspaper.

“While we are disappointed to learn of Governor Huckabee's withdrawal through a Baptist state paper, we are enthusiastic about the excellent program that is shaping up for next year's New Baptist Covenant Celebration in Atlanta,” program chairman Jimmy Allen said in a prepared statement. “We are looking forward to celebrating our traditional Baptist values, including sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ and its implications for public and private morality. The speakers who have committed to the program will be exploring our obligation as Christians to spread the gospel, to promote peace with justice, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, shelter the homeless, care for the sick and the marginalized, welcome the strangers among us, and promote religious liberty and respect for religious diversity.”

Other participants said Huckabee is misreading the Covenant's intentions.

“It is unfortunate that Mike Huckabee is letting comments made in the political arena determine his participation in a purely Christian event designed to bring Baptists together across racial, geographic, economic and social barriers,” said Alan Stanford, executive director of the North American Baptist Fellowship, a network of 40 Baptist denominations and organizations. “Democrats Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton and Republicans Charles Grassley and Lindsey Graham are rising above their profession as politicians to join together in their common Christian commitment to alleviate poverty, AIDS, racism and other grave problems that confront both our nation and our world. That kind of Christian commitment that places doing the right thing above party politics is the key to us coming together to make a real difference in our nation and across the world.”

“The [New] Baptist Covenant meeting has never been about politics but about Jesus and unity,” said David Currie, executive director of Texas Baptists Committed. “The fact is, if we have a meeting and only preachers preach, the national press will not cover our message. If prominent politicians of both parties speak, the national press will cover it. I am sorry Gov. Huckabee withdrew, as I have been impressed with him on TV several times. But I'm sure the Religious Right put great pressure upon him. I wish him well.”

The Covenant roster features four Baptist preachers, including two African-Americans — Charles Adams, pastor of Hartford Baptist Church in Detroit and past president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, and William Shaw, pastor of White Rock Baptist Church in Philadelphia and president of the National Baptist Convention USA Inc., largest of the four main black Baptist denominations — a female pastor, Julie Pennington-Russell, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Waco, Texas; and preaching professor Joel Gregory of Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor University and former pastor of First Baptist Church of Dallas.

Two social activists will address the gathering — Tony Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University, an American Baptist school, and founder of the Evangelical Association for the Promotion of Education, and Marian Wright Edelman, civil-rights veteran and founder of the Children's Defense Fund in Washington, D.C., who is a lawyer and Baptist pastor's daughter.

Huckabee cited the “very, very liberal” Edelman as an example of the left-leaning character of the meeting.

He told the Witness he “tentatively” agreed to participate in the meeting “with the understanding that it was a celebration of faith and not a political convocation.” He withdrew so he would not appear “to be giving approval to what could be a political, rather than spiritual agenda,” he said.

Allen said May 17 that Huckabee, who is trailing the field of Republican candidates, had agreed to speak whether or not he is still in the race in January.

Although the meeting will occur in the heat of the presidential-nomination season, Carter eschewed any political intention for the gathering. Clinton's involvement sparked criticism the event would become a campaign rally for wife Hillary, the Democratic presidential frontrunner.

“Ironically, by dropping out of the celebration because of political comments with which he disagreed, Huckabee demonstrated why the celebration is so desperately needed — Baptists are tragically divided and polarized,” said Brian Kaylor of the Baptist General Convention of Missouri, one of the organizers. “We must come together to show that our unified faith and values are more important than political, racial, or other differences. The compassionate gospel of Christ is what our divided world needs. I hope that Huckabee will reconsider.”

Carter acknowledged May 17 the Covenant effort was slowed initially by criticism the group was dominated by Democrats. But the group's effort to enlist Republican speakers was “completely successful,” Carter said.

In Carter's interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, he also said Bush's efforts to expand government funding of churches and other religious organizations that provide social services — the so-called faith-based initiatives — violate the former president's religious principles. “As a traditional Baptist, I've always believed in separation of church and state and honored that premise when I was president,” he said, adding, “And so have all other presidents, I might say, except this one.”

Carter was in Arkansas to promote “Sunday Mornings in Plains,” a collection of audio recordings of the famous Sunday school lessons he teaches weekly at Maranatha Baptist Church in his hometown of Plains, Ga.

The White House, asked May 20 about Carter's criticism, dismissed the former president as “increasingly irrelevant.” The brush-off from Bush spokesman Tony Fratto came during a regular press briefing at Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he was on vacation.

-30-

— Robert Marus of Associated Baptist Press contributed to this story.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • More
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Pocket (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Telegram (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)
Tags:Archives
More by
ABPnews
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • Featured

    • Criticism of Andy Stanley is rooted in father wounds

      Opinion

    • This is why people are leaving the church

      Opinion

    • Ken and Angela Paxton do a little sidestep — while quoting Bible verses

      Opinion

    • Fear of dancing and the courage to be serious

      Opinion


    Curated

    • ‘Holy Food’ explores American history and religion through food

      ‘Holy Food’ explores American history and religion through food

    • Connecting With the Good News Generation

      Connecting With the Good News Generation

    • What’s the news impact of the intense racism investigation at Wheaton College?

      What’s the news impact of the intense racism investigation at Wheaton College?

    • Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?

      Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?

    Read Next:

    SBC Executive Committee won’t explain McLaurin’s resume lies, and new interim president backs out one day after being announced

    NewsMaina Mwaura and Mark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • ‘Nobody wants to be an addict’

      OpinionTambi Brown Swiney

    • Men and congregational singing: The rest of the story

      OpinionCharlie Fuller

    • Finding a pastor today is nothing like it was 30 years ago, consultants caution

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Things Christians need to know, for our own sake, about Yom Kippur, Judaism’s Day of Atonement

      OpinionKen Sehested

    • SBC expels Oklahoma church over pastor’s racial impersonations

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • The real religious crisis in America

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • U.S. urged to provide more support for persecuted faith groups in Myanmar

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • North Carolina children’s home trustees release scathing report on longtime president’s misuse of funds

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Fear of dancing and the courage to be serious

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Jen Hatmaker and Tyler Merrit find love and are taking their show on the road next week

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Ken and Angela Paxton do a little sidestep — while quoting Bible verses

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • This is why people are leaving the church

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Criticism of Andy Stanley is rooted in father wounds

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • What do we mean by ‘affirming’?

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • How long before a revolution?

      OpinionJamar A. Boyd II

    • Baylor settles sexual assault lawsuit

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • SBC Executive Committee won’t explain McLaurin’s resume lies, and new interim president backs out one day after being announced

      NewsMaina Mwaura and Mark Wingfield

    • It’s ‘Boycotts R Us’ for American Family Association

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • On death

      OpinionGlen Schmucker

    • Al Mohler vs. Andy Stanley: What’s really going on?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • More religion in public schools raises concerns about religious liberty

      OpinionBryan Kelley

    • Must we change our language to reach climate change deniers?

      AnalysisRick Pidcock

    • A surprising window into Black Jesus

      AnalysisKristen Thomason

    • In biblical truth-telling, we need to mind the gap between clergy and laity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • Finding a pastor today is nothing like it was 30 years ago, consultants caution

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • SBC expels Oklahoma church over pastor’s racial impersonations

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • U.S. urged to provide more support for persecuted faith groups in Myanmar

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • North Carolina children’s home trustees release scathing report on longtime president’s misuse of funds

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Jen Hatmaker and Tyler Merrit find love and are taking their show on the road next week

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Baylor settles sexual assault lawsuit

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • SBC Executive Committee won’t explain McLaurin’s resume lies, and new interim president backs out one day after being announced

      NewsMaina Mwaura and Mark Wingfield

    • It’s ‘Boycotts R Us’ for American Family Association

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Prior explores the origin of evangelicalism’s ‘empire mentality’

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Upcoming BNG webinar guests: Matt Cook and Bill Wilson, Emily Smith, Amy Butler

      NewsBNG staff

    • Number of countries with blasphemy laws grows by 13%

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • The SBC’s far-far right believes all members of a Cooperation Group should agree with their views

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Judge again rules DACA illegal; humanitarian advocates call for congressional response

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Kansas is latest state to fund anti-abortion groups that encourage women to give birth

      NewsSteve Rabey

    • Growth of Christianity in China may have stalled but no one knows for sure

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Transitions for the week of 9-15-23

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • SBC Executive Committee eliminates 20% of staff due to budget crisis

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • At AWAB lecture, Susan Shaw lays out 10 lies Christians tell about queer people

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Evangelical leaders condemn DeSantis for politicizing state executions

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Fellowship Southwest’s first conference calls for advocacy and action

      NewsJeff Hampton

    • Two other venues also have declined to host Promise Keepers events

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • McRaney to file appeal and keep his case against NAMB alive

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Retired pastor’s book finds Methodist history ‘strangely lukewarm’ on confronting racism

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • ‘Nobody wants to be an addict’

      OpinionTambi Brown Swiney

    • Men and congregational singing: The rest of the story

      OpinionCharlie Fuller

    • Things Christians need to know, for our own sake, about Yom Kippur, Judaism’s Day of Atonement

      OpinionKen Sehested

    • The real religious crisis in America

      OpinionMartin Thielen

    • Fear of dancing and the courage to be serious

      OpinionGreg Jarrell

    • Ken and Angela Paxton do a little sidestep — while quoting Bible verses

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • This is why people are leaving the church

      OpinionJulia Goldie Day

    • Criticism of Andy Stanley is rooted in father wounds

      OpinionRick Pidcock

    • What do we mean by ‘affirming’?

      OpinionRobert P. Sellers

    • How long before a revolution?

      OpinionJamar A. Boyd II

    • On death

      OpinionGlen Schmucker

    • Al Mohler vs. Andy Stanley: What’s really going on?

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • More religion in public schools raises concerns about religious liberty

      OpinionBryan Kelley

    • In biblical truth-telling, we need to mind the gap between clergy and laity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • A ‘sad day’ for America?

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • In the midst of history-engendered pessimism, don’t forget the hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Sometimes, ‘resignation’ isn’t the reason clergy walk away from their ministry callings

      OpinionMary Kate Deal

    • Life lessons learned while pondering ‘that little man!’

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Reflecting upon a new opportunity to minister to senior adults

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Confronting our violent culture with an engaged spirituality

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • The Jesus Room

      OpinionErich Bridges

    • Post-evangelical snapshots

      OpinionDavid Gushee, Senior Columnist

    • Do complementarian men do better? A response to Nancy Pearcey

      OpinionSheila Wray Gregoire and Joanna Sawatsky

    • An out-of-the-box lesson from Barbie

      OpinionJeremiah Bullock

    • Anthony, Aldean, Dylan and Guthrie

      OpinionRichard Conville

    • ‘Holy Food’ explores American history and religion through food

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Connecting With the Good News Generation

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What’s the news impact of the intense racism investigation at Wheaton College?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Who was Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Sikh activist whose killing has divided Canada and India?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Riding a wave of converts, one group aims to fuse Orthodoxy with Southern values

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Mormons (And People Of Faith In General) More Likely To Be Fraud Victims

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Senator Demands to Know if World Vision Is Funding Terrorism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Texas teacher reportedly fired after reading from Anne Frank’s diary to students

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Trump Says On Rosh Hashanah That ‘Liberal Jews’ Voted To ‘Destroy America’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • African churches urge US Congress to reauthorize PEPFAR

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Lawsuit by Islamic rights group says US terror watchlist woes continue even after names are removed

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Bible debates, ancient and modern: Why did early church choose only four Gospels?

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • March for Our Lives, faith leaders call on Florida lawmakers to ‘cease and desist’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Survivors Of The Birmingham Church Bombing Say GOP Culture War Bills Are Trying To Erase Their History

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Let’s Have A Look At Education And Religious Attendance

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Her plans to play the piano and sing with the choir were interrupted by the news that the nearby 16th Street Baptist Church had been bombed.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are times for soul-searching, but not on your own – community has always been at the heart of the Jewish High Holidays

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Wheaton College Releases Report on Its History of Racism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Catholics in Ukraine struggle as Pope Francis’ approval rating is at an all-time low

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope’s visit to France stirs debate over immigration, secularism

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • As Soccer Moses, Jars of Clay guitarist Stephen Mason finds unexpected joy

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Saudi Reforms Soften Islam’s Role, But Kingdom Takes Hard Line Against Dissent

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Security experts urge Jewish communities to prepare for possible High Holidays bomb threats

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope Francis and Bill Clinton set discussion on climate change at Clinton Global Initiative

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • At Rosh Hashanah reception, Doug Emhoff and Kamala Harris talk about putting antisemitism plan ‘into action’

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2023 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS