ELLIFF CHEERS THE LOSS OF MODERATES IN SBC

In his final address as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Tom Elliff gave thanks to God for ridding the SBC of “parasites” and “barnacles” which slow the “ship of Zion.”

According to a story by Mark Wyatt, California Southern Baptist, Elliff said Southern Baptists owe much to men who stood “flat footed and iron-backed and broad-shouldered and spoke with such prophetic force that the very hull of the ship would reverberate with their thunder.”

Elliff continued, “That thunder shook off the barnacles of parasitic unions, conferences and fellowships, no matter how Baptist or Cooperative they seemed to be.” “We need to pray for more of that prophetic thunder in this generation.”

TBC editorial response:

Elliff’s statements that Baptist “moderates are like barnacles on a ship...hindering its speed... and should be removed” are interesting in that the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which has solidly moderate leadership, is growing five times as fast as the SBC.

Without counting Texas Baptist statistics and without Texas Baptist money, the SBC would be sinking like the Titanic, stuck on the iceberg of its own narrow theology and ideology. Texas Baptists have been the main group keeping the SBC afloat and it is time we seriously consider letting the SBC sink or swim on its own.

September 1998