Ed Litton

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Ed Litton
63rd President of the Southern Baptist Convention
Assumed office
June 16, 2021
Preceded byJ. D. Greear
Personal details
Born
Harry Edward Litton Jr.

(1959-07-17) July 17, 1959 (age 62)
Kingsport, Tennessee, U.S.
Spouse(s)Tammy Litton (died 2007)
Kathy Litton
Children3
EducationGrand Canyon University (BA)
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv)
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin)

Harry Edward Litton Jr. (born July 17, 1959) is an American evangelical pastor who is the 63rd president of the Southern Baptist Convention, elected in June 2021.[1] He also serves as the senior pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama.[2]

Early life and education[]

Litton was born at Kingsport, Tennessee's Holston Valley Community Hospital on July 17, 1959 to Harry and Sue Litton.[3][4]

He graduated from Grand Canyon University in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion and theater. He later received a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.[5]

Career[]

Litton began his career as a pastor at churches in Arizona and Texas. Since 1994, he has served as the pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Alabama.[6] He was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention in June 2021 on the second ballot with 52 percent of the vote and a margin of 556 votes.[1]

Litton has been described by news outlets as ideologically moderate,[1][7][8] but identifies himself as both politically and theologically conservative.[9] He is known for his work on race issues in the greater Mobile, Alabama area and in the Southern Baptist Convention, and was nominated and endorsed for the SBC presidency by Fred Luter, the only black pastor to ever serve as the president of the convention.[10]

Personal life[]

Litton's first wife, Tammy Litton, was killed in a car crash in 2007. His second wife, Kathy (also widowed from a first marriage), was a director with the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board and the denomination's first woman registration secretary.[11] He has three children from his first marriage.[5]

Plagiarism allegations[]

In June 2021, Litton was accused of plagiarism after a YouTube user published a video[12] showing him preaching a sermon that media outlets described as strikingly similar to a sermon preached a year earlier by J. D. Greear.[13] Further videos were released of sermons Litton preached on Romans 13[14] Romans 14,[15] and the Book of Acts, all of which were compared to sermons preached by Greear.[16]

Some media outlets described the controversy as Sermongate.[17] Newsweek and The Washington Post reported that Litton's church had removed videos of over 140 sermons from their website.[18][19] Litton released a statement on his church website admitting to using Greear's words without proper attribution.[20] Textbooks on sermon preparation and delivery generally discourage such practices.[21] Further allegations have now been made against Litton's co-pastor, Taylor Anderson, who also appears to have plagiarized a sermon by Greear.[22]

References[]

  1. ^ a b c Graham, Ruth (June 15, 2021). "Southern Baptists Narrowly Head Off Ultraconservative Takeover". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  2. ^ Baker, Shannon (July 1, 2016). "Litton honored by ministers' wives". sbc.net. Southern Baptist Convention. They now serve together at Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala., where he is senior pastor.
  3. ^ "The Baby Has Been Named". Kingsport Times-News. July 22, 1959. Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Harry Litton". Press-Register. July 19, 2013. Retrieved June 17, 2021 – via Legacy.com.
  5. ^ a b Gang, Duane W.; Meyer, Holly (June 16, 2021). "Who is pastor Ed Litton? Meet the new Southern Baptist Convention president". The Tennessean. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  6. ^ "Southern Baptists Elect A New President, Ed Litton, Who Is Seen As A Bridge Builder". NPR. June 15, 2021. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  7. ^ "Southern Baptists elect moderate Ed Litton president in defeat for hard right". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  8. ^ Warren, Michael. "Moderates win the day in close vote over Southern Baptist presidency". CNN. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  9. ^ Smietana, Bob (June 17, 2021). "Who is Ed Litton, the new Southern Baptist Convention president?". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  10. ^ Smietana, Bob (June 16, 2021). "Ed Litton, a pastor known for racial reconciliation, is surprise winner for SBC president". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
  11. ^ Shellnutt, Kate (June 15, 2021). "Southern Baptists Elect Ed Litton as New President". Christianity Today. Retrieved June 16, 2021.
  12. ^ Litton and Greear: Borrowing or Plagiarism?, retrieved June 29, 2021
  13. ^ Capstone Report (June 26, 2021). "BREAKING: Ed Litton's church removes damning video at center of Plagiarism allegations". Capstone Report. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  14. ^ Ed Litton plagiarizes yet another Romans sermon from JD Greear on YouTube
  15. ^ Southern Baptist President Plagiarizes Romans 14 Sermon in Endless Sermongate Scandal on YouTube
  16. ^ Ed Litton Plagiarizes JD Greear as far back as 2013 on YouTube
  17. ^ Capstone Report (June 28, 2021). "Ed Litton's Sermongate shows moral idiocy of the Southern Baptist Convention". Capstone Report. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  18. ^ "Pastor Ed Litton Removes Over 140 Video Sermons After Being Accused of Plagiarism". www.msn.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  19. ^ Garrison, Greg (June 28, 2021). "Ed Litton, Alabama pastor, new Southern Baptist president, pulls sermons after plagiarism accusations". AL.COM. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  20. ^ "Pastor's Statement | Redemption Church". goredemption.com. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
  21. ^ Raymond Bailey, “Ethics in Preaching,” in Handbook of Contemporary Preaching, ed. Michael Duduit (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), 551; Warren W. Wiersbe and David Wiersbe, The Elements of Preaching: The Art of Biblical Preaching Clearly and Simply Presented (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1986), 48–49; James D. Berkley, ed., Preaching to Convince, vol. 8, The Leadership Library (Carol Stream, IL; Waco, TX: Christianity Today, Inc.; Word Books, 1986), 109–110; Jerry Vines and Jim Shaddix, Power in the Pulpit: How to Prepare and Deliver Expository Sermons (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1999), 206;Trull , Joe E., and Creech, R. Robert. 2017. Ethics for Christian Ministry: Moral Formation for Twenty-First-Century Leaders. (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017), 78-79; W. H. Griffith Thomas, The Work of the Ministry (London; New York; Toronto: Hodder and Stoughton, n.d.), 271; Abraham Kuruvilla, A Manual for Preaching (pp. 228-233). Baker Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.
  22. ^ "Ed Litton's Co-Pastor, Taylor Anderson, Also Plagiarized JD Greear in a Romans 12 Sermon". July 7, 2021.
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