ST. LOUIS (KFSM) — During the national Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday (June 14), the body voted to condemn displaying the Confederate battle flag.
The measure was proposed by William Dwight McKissic Sr., who is a black pastor in Arlington, Texas. He told the Washington Post he thought it was important for the church body to make a statement about the flag, especially after the massacre in a Charleston, South Carolina, church last year.
The condemnation of the flag, on Flag Day no less, is even more notable since the Southern Baptists were founded as a pro-slavery denomination that sympathized with the Confederacy.
“The Convention recognized today what the flag represents, and what it says to our African American brothers and sisters in Christ,” wrote evangelical writer Russell Moore in a blog post. “The flag also points to years and years of domestic terrorism against African-Americans, often with threats of physical violence.”
McKissic’s proposal was actually amended to make the Convention’s stance more strict. It originally called for Southern Baptists to “limit” its display or “consider” stop flying it. They also removed language stating that the flag stands as a memorial for those who have died in the Civil War and an emblem to honor their valor.
The final resolution states:
“We call our brothers and sisters in Christ to discontinue the display of the Confederate battle flag as a sign of solidarity of the whole Body of Christ, including our African-American brothers and sisters.”
On Tuesday morning Cross Church senior pastor Ronnie Floyd, president of the SBC, led a panel called “A National Discussion on Racial Unity in America.”
Floyd called for Southern Baptists to “rise up and cry out against racism that still exists in our nation and in our churches.”
