Less than 24 hours after Mr. Littons election, Josh Buice, the pastor of Prays Mill Baptist Church west of Atlanta, was preparing to send an email to his congregation asking for prayer about its future in the denomination.
When Mr. Buice, who is also the founder of a conference that attracts many ultraconservative Baptists, asked his followers on Twitter whether Mr. Littons victory was indicative of a leftward theological move that will necessitate your churchs departure from the SBC, 70 percent of more than 600 people answered that they were at least giving it serious consideration.
Those alarmed by Mr. Stones candidacy were relieved by his defeat, however narrow. Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, warned last week that he would leave the denomination if Mr. Stone or Al Mohler Jr., the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, took the presidency.
I will remain, Mr. McKissic, a leader of the denominations antiracism efforts, wrote on Twitter on Tuesday evening. The Southern Baptist Convention, he said, is in good hands with Litton.
There are more than 14 million Southern Baptists in the United States, making them the countrys largest Protestant denomination and an avatar for white evangelicalism. Their seminaries train thousands of young conservative Christians a year, and their leaders pronouncements about politics and culture make national headlines.