Frank Page, the newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, has a new website devoted to addressing a variety of issues facing the contemporary SBC. Dr. Page takes a strong stand on his site on the issue of the prudence of alcohol abstinence. As Dr. Page puts it:
“My stand on alcohol use is clearly defined in the Southern Baptist Convention’s most recent statement concerning alcohol use. As a member of the Resolutions Committee, I was a part of the unanimous vote to encourage Southern Baptists in this stance on alcohol. I have stood against the use, as well as misuse of alcohol, my entire ministry. Having seen its impact in my family as a young man, I decided that was something that would lead only to ruin and hurt. Even if I felt a scriptural freedom to partake in alcoholic beverages, I still feel that it would be highly inadvisable for any person to become involved in the use of alcohol simply for testimony sake. While I know many in our modern day culture do not agree with that, it is clearly where I have stood for thirty years of being a pastor.”
Of course, both Dr. Page and the man who nominated him, Forrest Pollock, pastor of Bell Shoals Baptist Church, served on this year’s Resolutions Committee, which presented a resolution calling Southern Baptists to abstain from supporting the beverage alcohol industry in this cultural context.
The site includes statements affirming biblical inerrancy, a complementarian view of male headship in the church and home, and strong support for the Cooperative Program.
HT: Jedidiah Coppenger.
