Life
Rev. Fred Luter poised to become first African-American president of the Southern Baptist Convention
He told the Baptist Press the tragedy showed him that “life is like a vapor on this side of eternity. What you have today could be gone tomorrow. You can’t put your trust in earthly things.”
Despite the loss of his home and church, Luter never missed a Sunday preaching and soon began driving a circuit to reach his scattered flock.
“Everywhere I went I would see people from my church and it was like a family reunion, with me crying and wiping snot from my nose,” he said.
Those members still in New Orleans started meeting at a white church, First Baptist New Orleans, where the two congregations soon formed close ties that remained even after Franklin Avenue re-opened in 2008. First Baptist pastor David Crosby will nominate Luter for president at the SBC meeting.
The tragedy even resulted in two new Franklin Avenue churches being formed, one in Houston and one in Baton Rouge, La., both cities where many former members remain.
Despite huge membership losses at Franklin Avenue in New Orleans after Katrina, about 5,000 people attend services each week and a recent Sunday found people standing along the walls with the sanctuary filled to capacity. To cheers and applause, Luter invited them all to come to the city’s convention center and witness a historic moment where their pastor would be elected as the first African-American president of the Southern Baptist Convention.
His election is not guaranteed, but with the SBC’s annual meeting a week away, Luter so far has no challengers for the position.
