Southern Baptist Leaders Find New 'Moral Voice' on the Environment and Climate Change

ATLANTA, March 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Prominent and influential Southern Baptist leaders called for a "unified moral voice" on the need for people to care for creation and to take a "position of prudence" in "taking responsibility for human contributions to global climate change" in a declaration signed by 46 leaders and released today.

    Media Teleconference with Southern Baptist Spokespersons

    Jonathan and James Merritt and Danny Akin will conduct a media
    teleconference Monday, March 10, at 2 p.m. EST. They will make prepared
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Demonstrating new conviction by key pastors, denominational leaders and heads of Southern Baptist institutions, the leaders signed a comprehensive declaration that stakes out positions far beyond former SBC statements and pledges to "give serious consideration to responsible policies that effectively address" environmental and climate change concerns.

The declaration identifies the denomination's past pronouncements on the environment as "too timid" and moves beyond the resolution on global warming adopted at the 2007 Southern Baptist Convention.

"Today marks a new day for many Southern Baptists, as we pledge to take seriously Scripture's creation care mandates in light of pressing environmental realities, said Jonathan Merritt, 25, a student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the project director who has rallied fellow Southern Baptists -- including many leaders of the denomination -- to address environmental issues. "Environmental crises are theological problems, and Southern Baptists will honestly engage these problems with a spirit of humility and compassion," Merritt said.

    Signatories include

    -- Frank Page, president of the Southern Baptist Convention
       (2006-Present), Taylors, South Carolina

    -- James Merritt, former president of the SBC (2000-2002) and pastor of
       CrossPointe Church, Duluth, Georgia

    -- Jack Graham, former president of the SBC (2002-2004) and pastor of
       Prestonwood Baptist Church, Plano, Texas

    -- Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary,
       Wake Forest, North Carolina

    -- David Dockery, president of Union University, Jackson, Tennessee

    -- Timothy George, President of Beeson Divinity School of Samford
       University, Birmingham, Alabama, and Senior Editor of Christianity
       Today

    -- Ken Whitten, pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church, Tampa, Florida

    -- Ronnie Floyd, pastor of First Baptist, Springdale, Arkansas

    -- Herschael York, President of the Kentucky Baptist Convention and
       Professor at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville,
       Kentucky

Timothy George said: "As evangelical, Bible-believing Christians, Southern Baptists want to take seriously the stewardship God has granted us to care for his creation. We have taken bold steps to uphold the sanctity of human life in the midst of a culture of death and we must continue to be advocates for 'the least of these.' But we also recognize that 'the earth is the Lord's,' and we bear a special responsibility -- precisely as Christians and as Baptists -- to treat with protective care and concern the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the earth on which we live, move, and have our being as persons made in the image of God. With this new statement, Southern Baptists, more boldly than ever before, own this responsibility and we invite others to join us in this worthy effort."

"This declaration seeks to address the biblical call to the stewardship of God's creation. In doing so, it serves as a timely response to contemporary environmental concerns in our culture," Dockery said.

"This is a call to be informed and get involved in caring for creation, what John Calvin called 'the theater of God's glory,'" said Akin. "Here we find a challenge to be prudent, wise and active as biblical stewards of God's good gift."

James Merritt added: "Southern Baptists should lead the way in modeling proper care of the environment in both practice and precept because this is a God-created world that deserves the very best of our ecological stewardship. This declaration advances our voice on these important issues in a prudent yet firm way."

    The declaration offers four sections with the following headings:

    -- Humans must care for creation and take responsibility for our
       contributions to environmental degradation

    -- It is prudent to address global climate change

    -- Christian moral convictions and our Southern Baptist doctrines demand
       our environmental stewardship

    -- It is time for individuals, churches, communities, and governments to
       act.

For the text of the full declaration of a complete list of signatories, go to www.baptistcreationcare.org. To interview spokespersons for A Southern Baptist Declaration on the Environment and Climate Change, contact Mitch Leff at mitch@schroderpr.com or cell (404) 861-4769, or Amber Rigsby at amber@schroderpr.com or cell (678) 644-7249.