Voddie Baucham is being asked to be a nominee to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) presidency. However, he raised his concern over his eligibility for the post.
Baucham discussed the matter through a statement to The Christian Post (CP).
"I have indeed been asked to accept a nomination for SBC President. While I am honored to have been asked, I am not sure I am eligible. There are questions about the way church membership is considered for missionaries," he said, citing the rules in the Articles II and VIII of the SBC Constitution.
The pastor shared that the church, which sponsors his mission in Africa, recommends its missionaries to join local churches - a practice that is not usually observed in many SBC churches.
"Many spend years on the field being 'members' of churches thousands of miles away, refusing to submit to local church leadership on the ground, and suffering spiritually as a result. Either that, or they practice some kind of 'dual membership,'" he shared.
He went on to share the technical issue of his membership in the convention.
"I am a missionary sent by an SBC church, supported by an SBC church, reporting to an SBC church, but am technically not a member of that SBC church because my family and I entrusted our souls to a healthy, indigenous, local Baptist church at the behest of our SBC church. Hence, it appears my commitment to missions and biblical church membership has rendered me ineligible for any office in the SBC," he explained.
Last year, the pastor underwent an operation at the Mayo Clinic due to heart arrhythmia which turned out to be successful.
He revealed with CP that his heart condition has now returned to normal.
Baucham is a critic of the Critical Race Theory (CRT). In his book "Fault Lines: The Social Justice Movement and Evangelicalism's Looming Catastrophe," the pastor warns against the "sinister worldview" behind the theory and reveals that it has already infiltrated seminaries which has since been causing internal conflicts and ruining people's careers.
In an interview with CBN News, Baucham argued that CRT is in itself a "religious movement" and not just a pseudo-religion. Noting that some of its aspects appear to be appealing to Christians, the pastor cautioned that the theory does not align with Christianity.
Baucham currently serves as Dean of Theology at African Christian University in Zambia. He earned his bachelor degrees in Christianity and Sociology from Houston Baptist University. Further, he completed his masteral and doctoral degrees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also took a post-graduate course at University of Oxford and received an honorary degree at Southern California Seminary.
Aside from Baucham, Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Florida, is also set to be nominated to the post by Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist in North Carolina.
Rice is a trustee at the North American Board and served as president of the Florida Baptist Convention from 2006 to 2008.
The proposals for nominations arose following Pastor Ed Litton's announcement that he will not seek for reelection.
