NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Rev. James Merritt, 47-year-old pastor of an 11,000-member church in Snellville, Ga., near Atlanta, is a candidate for next president...

...University and Hardin-Simmons University and the Hispanic Baptist Theological School, all in Texas. SBC President James Merritt, a Georgia pastor, sees "seeds of destruction" in the proposal. Texas Baptist officials accuse the seminaries...

...much as anything else, is what really distinguishes us from so many other denominations," outgoing SBC President James Merritt recently told the Baptist Press. To fire up conventioneers' missionary fervor, Tuesday's session will feature...