Home Christian News 50+ SBC Members, Pastors Sign What Dwight McKissic Calls ‘Most Racially Divisive...

50+ SBC Members, Pastors Sign What Dwight McKissic Calls ‘Most Racially Divisive Resolution Ever’

Fallout From the Seminary Presidents’ Statement

The fallout from the SBC seminary presidents’ statement last year was significant. Houston pastor Rev. Ralph West responded by withdrawing from pursuing a doctoral degree at Southwestern Theological Baptist Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. He also cut ties with the SBC entirely. In doing so, West joined other Black church leaders, such as John Onwuchekwa, who had already concluded that fighting for racial equality within the SBC is a futile endeavor.

 “To be sure, I do not offer a full-throated affirmation of all of the tenets of critical race theory and conceptions of intersectionality,” said West. But the presidents’ “stand against racism rings hollow when in their next breath they reject theories that have been helpful in framing the problem of racism.” 

West also criticized the fact that no minorities were represented in the statement. “Instead of reaching out to fellow brothers and sisters who have lived with the reality of racism in formulating their view, these six men took it upon themselves to dictate how we should think about racism.” 

McKissic initially supported the seminary presidents’ statement, but later changed his position, expressing concern that it would pave the way for rescinding Resolution 9. In January, McKissic pulled his church out of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, which issued a statement rejecting CRT/I a few weeks prior to the statement from the seminary presidents. At this time, however, McKissic’s church remains part of the SBC. 

Dr. Tony Evans was another Black church leader who distanced himself from the seminary presidents’ statement, indicating there were “beneficial aspects” to CRT/I. Other Black pastors who were troubled by the statement included Rev. Marshal L. Ausberry Sr., who is the president of the National African American Fellowship (NAAF) of the Southern Baptist Convention and is the first vice president of the SBC. 

After issuing the statement, the Council of Seminary Presidents met with the NAAF at the latter’s request. The two groups then issued a joint statement, saying, “All of us acknowledge that conversations of this nature should have happened ahead of time. The Council of Seminary Presidents regrets the pain and confusion that resulted from a lack of prior dialogue.”

Mike Stone’s Critics Respond

The resolution from Mike Stone not only appears to be repeating last fall’s debacle but also, according to some critics, exacerbates existing challenges. 

“The seminary presidents’ statement drove Black churches from the SBC,” said Tennessee pastor Grant Gaines. “Reaffirming it would multiply that problem. More importantly, it’s simply not true that an analytical tool is useless if it’s rooted in a secular worldview (which is what Mike’s resolution claims). That would mean we could literally learn nothing from non-Christians, since all of them have a secular worldview, which I’m sure Mike would agree is absurd.” 

Moreover, Gaines, McKissic and others perceive an inconsistency between SBC leaders’ rejection of CRT/I as secular theories and their willingness to rely on atheist James Lindsay to combat “woke” ideologies. 

Said McKissic: “SBC once joined with the Confederacy in support of a racial theory that argued Blacks were cursed by God, & assigned to White servitude. Today, certain SBC leaders have aligned with an atheist to oppose CRT. In both instances, their actions were against the best interests of AAs [African Americans].