Baptist Press Challenges Americans United but Not Wiley Drake

Joe Conn, Director of Communications for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, recently received a demand for a correction from Will Hall, Executive Editor of Baptist Press. Hall took exception to Americans United's characterization of former SBC Second Vice President Wiley Drake as once occupying the "third highest post" in the Southern Baptist Convention in a recent press release. That press release commended the IRS for investigating Drake for violating tax laws related to non-profit organizations. Hall also criticized Americans United for mentioning the "fundmentalist takeover" of the Southern Baptist Convention.

AU refused to retract any statements. Here is an excerpt from Joe Conn's response:

As Brother Hall points out, Southern Baptist churches send thousands of "messengers" to their annual meetings to, among other things, "elect leaders," and it was their votes that put Drake in his so-called "honorary" position. They knew Drake was a shrill and divisive figure, and they elected him anyway. Drake may be the crazy uncle in the SBC attic, Brother Hall, but he's your uncle, not mine. Don't try to disown him.

As far as Brother Hall's second point: it is a well known fact that a small cabal of powerful fundamentalist preachers and their allies established a well-organized campaign to take over the SBC. It is quite irrelevant that they exploited the SBC's "democratic" election process to achieve their goals.

What I'm more interested in is the SBC's stance on SBC presidential candidate (and former SBC second vice president) Drake's prayers for my death and the death of others on the AU staff. Brother Hall, do you agree with that call to prayer? Do other SBC leaders agree with it? If not, why haven’t you said so? Where is the SBC press release repudiating Drake's actions as un-Christian and un-American?

For those who desire documentation of the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC, here's a link to the website for Mainstream Baptists and to an article about the effects of the takeover.

For the record, Mainstream Baptists are unanimous in deploring Wiley Drake's call for impreccatory prayers to hasten the demise of Joe Conn, Jeremy Leaming, Barry Lynn or anyone else.