Tuesday, June 13, 2006

Frank Page Press Conference

Frank Page's post-election press conference just ended a few minutes ago. I don't have time to provide a full summary, but I want to hit a few highlights.

The first thing Page said was that he "did not expect to be here at all." He then went on to say that he believed his election sent a statement that the SBC "belongs to the Lord and His people" and that we can do more together than we can separately. The floor was then opened up for questions from the professional media. The following are some statements Page made in response to various questions:

  1. The parameters of cooperation he requires are a "sweet spirit, evangelistic heart, and a belief in the integrity of the Word of God." He emphasized that he will appoint only inerrantists. He later added generously supporting CP to this list.
  2. Blogs played a role in the election beyond their number. There are a small number of blogs, but many SBC leaders read them. Blogs are a growing force and phenomenon in denominational life.
  3. Page has no animosity toward any of the entity heads who endorsed other candidates. He thinks it best that entity heads refrain from endorsing candidates, but people can do what they wish.
  4. This election is a defining moment and turning point in the SBC. There will be a different tone in denominational life.
  5. Regarding the issues with the IMB and NAMB, the president has a limited role. He primarily can serve an an encourager and adviser. Anything he does will be through the trustee boards.
  6. We need to be careful about narrowing doctrinal parameters beyond the BFM 2000.
  7. He will emphasize church transformation in addition to addition and missions. He also agrees with Ronnie Floyd's emphasis on spiritual renewal.
  8. "The reason I'm sitting here today is because people have said the Cooperative Program is important."
  9. This election is not about launching a revolution or cleaning house.

3 comments:

Kiki Cherry said...

Thanks for posting this. I'm excited about the direction that he seems to be taking.

Bart Barber said...

Ah....So President Page has already started narrowing participation in the SBC beyond the limits of the BF&M 2000. Now you have to meet a certain threshhold of CP support (a concept mentioned nowhere in the BF&M 2000) in order to have a seat at the table.

Tim Sweatman said...

Kiki,

I'm also excited and optimistic about what this could mean.

**********

Bart,

Well, technically the BFM says nothing about having a sweet spirit or an evangelistic heart either. And no, Page did not lay out a minimum requirement for CP; he actually said that he would rather not use a specific percentage amount because that would restrict involvement. However, I would suspect that he might have some questions about how committed someone is to the SBC if he or she refuses to give generous support to the CP.