New National Baptist leader takes on health care, families
Tennessean.com
Bob Smietana and Dwight Lewis
Oct 04, 2009
New National Baptist leader takes on health care, families
October 4, 2009
The Rev. Julius R. Scruggs, a former Nashville pastor, was recently elected president of the oldest African-American denomination in the United States, the National Baptist Convention U.S.A. He now has the job of revitalizing the denomination, whose influence on American culture has declined.
Election of Scruggs, now pastor of First Missionary Baptist Church in Huntsville, Ala., was nearly derailed by a last-minute court challenge from his opponent, the Rev. Henry Lyons, a controversial former convention president. The courts ruled against Lyons, and Scruggs won in a landslide.
Tennessean religion writer Bob Smietana and editorial page editor Dwight Lewis sat down with Scruggs to talk about his hopes for the convention on Thursday at American Baptist College. Here are excerpts from that interview...
