PHOENIX -- Citing unimpressive baptism numbers, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention said Christians are failing in efforts to reach America's growing population.
AgapePress reported the Rev. Ed Young, senior pastor of 18,000-member Second Baptist Church in Houston, said first-century European evangelical Christianity is nearly nonexistent and baptisms in the Southern Baptist Convention have been stagnant for 50 years, as the population in the United States has doubled.
Speaking at the annual meeting of the SBC in June, Young said 38,000 of about 42,000 Southern Baptist churches reported baptisms in the last reporting period. Of those churches, 29,000 reported 10 baptisms or less.
Young, a former SBC president, said Christians should proclaim the message of Christ to the world and identify with those who are lost and hurting. He said Christianity has been watered down in the United States.
"If you doubt this, what about Patricia Ireland becoming the president of the YWCA?" he asked. "Patricia Ireland, former president of the National Organization of Women? Patricia Ireland, who believes in abortion on demand? Patricia Ireland, who is openly bisexual?"
Ireland was appointed as head of the Young Women's Christian Association in mid-May. In her autobiography, "What Women Want," Ireland admitted that she is a bisexual who has had a homosexual partner and a husband, according to the news service report.
