Rebranding Southern Baptists
One man charged with navigating and changing that opinion is Russell Moore. Moore was made head of the Southern Baptists Convention's important Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission in 2013. Combined with the election of Fred Luter as SBC president last year, the first black president of a denomination born in slavery, along with the retirement of Moore's lightning rod predecessor Richard Land, Moore's post was meant to send a message about Southern Baptists engaging the world. Moore has taken that charge seriously. He has formed a braintrust of conservative but eclectic thinkers, played down culture warring, and tried to forge alliances on issues that have not typified Southern Baptist activism, such as immigration and, his own passion, adoption. Moore told the Christian Post, "The issue is whether or not we communicate the way Jesus did -- convictionally, but with the sort of kindness that recognizes our ultimate goal is the Gospel."
