Back From The Border, Southern Baptists Call For Compassion Toward Immigrants

SBC president Ronnie Floyd held a press conference along with other Baptist leaders after touring government facilities along the border housing unaccompanied minors from Central America. Credit: ERLC via Facebook

Leaders of the largest protestant denomination in the U.S. are returning from the Texas border. They’re calling on evangelicals to have compassion for the tens of thousands of unaccompanied minors flooding from Central America.

The newly-elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention and the head of the Nashville-based denomination’s public policy arm toured sites along the border.

Pastor Ronnie Floyd says the immigrant kids should respect the rule of law, but he calls on the government to “respect the God-given dignity of each of them.”

Russell Moore, who leads the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, goes a bit further.

“Our first response should be one of compassion and justice, not fear or disgust,” he says.

Saddest thing I heard today: a 7 year-old El Salvadoran refugee at border: "No tengo familia" (I have no family).

— Russell Moore (@drmoore) July 22, 2014

Moore says he’s struck by how many children he saw carrying Bibles and crosses. He commends some Christians for how they’ve responded to the crisis. He also calls on Southern Baptists to pray for resolution.