Can’t Count on Their Support if He Seeks Republican Nomination : ‘President Robertson’ No Answer to Southern Baptists’ Prayers

For Southern Baptists like Elizabeth New of Vidalia, Ga., religious broadcaster M. G. (Pat) Robertson would be a fitting successor to President Reagan because he would make “a good Christian President.”

But for a number of other Baptists interviewed this week during the annual meeting of the 14.4-million-member denomination, Robertson has no advantage if he decides to seek the Republican presidential nomination just because he might share some of their religious convictions.

The Rev. W. B. Timberlake, a lobbyist in Sacramento for the Committee on Moral Concerns, thinks that Robertson is a good broadcaster, “but I don’t think he’s qualified by that.” Timberlake’s wife, Lou, also here for the convention, added, “We think the ministry is a higher calling.”

Sees a Problem

The Rev. Winfred Moore of Amarillo, Tex., the moderate-conservative who was defeated in his bid for the Southern Baptist presidency, said he would have a problem with a minister running for President.

Such talk is not surprising to Joe Gray, public relations director for the Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network.

He agreed that Robertson may not have a head start among Southern Baptists over two other possible GOP candidates, Vice President George Bush and Rep. Jack Kemp (R-N.Y.). “Southern Baptists can be very independent, as most people know,” Gray said.

Robertson, 56, “has had words of warm encouragement from Jimmy Draper and Charles Stanley (the past two presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention) to consider a candidacy seriously,” Gray added.

Have Chosen Others

Others in the domination have already expressed preferences for different potential candidates with whom Robertson may compete for the Republican presidential nomination.

The Rev. W. W. Criswell, the influential pastor of Dallas’ huge First Baptist Church, has endorsed Bush. And Ed McAteer, an active “religious right” figure who is a prominent member of the Memphis church of the Rev. Adrian Rogers--the newly elected Southern Baptist president--is supporting Kemp.

Some Baptists said that Robertson will encounter the same public reservations about a minister running for office that they said may have hindered the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a National Baptist clergyman, in his bid for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination.

Robertson’s identification as a Southern Baptist has been minimal--despite the fact that he has interviewed Rogers, Draper and Stanley on his “700 Club” program and has mentioned his denominational affiliation on the air.

He has not been active in Southern Baptist circles, and on television he projects primarily a non-denominational, evangelical perspective on faith, economics and politics.

“Most Southern Baptists in California would agree with his political views, but we never have considered him one of us,” said Herb Hollinger of Fresno, editor of the California Southern Baptist newspaper. “I didn’t know for a long time that he was a Southern Baptist. It blew my mind.”

California is not extraneous to Robertson’s chances. Southern Baptists, the country’s largest Protestant body, form the largest Protestant denomination in California, with more than 375,000 members. Robertson has said that California viewers contribute the highest total of money to his programs.

Robertson’s television reach is considerable. A Neilsen survey last year found that his five-day-a-week program was tops among religious broadcasts, drawing 28.7 million viewers in a sample month. And, amid its musical and business news choices on stereo channels, Eastern Airlines is offering “700 Club” interviews with celebrities witnessing to their salvation.

One Virginia pastor said it would hurt Robertson’s Virginia Beach, Va.,-based television ministry if he tries for the presidency. That is one reason the Rev. Jerry Falwell, another religious broadcaster, has said he will never become a political candidate.

If Robertson declares his candidacy, he would presumably have to stay off his own network or give other candidates equal time.

One potential difficulty for Robertson among Southern Baptists is that he is a “charismatic,” or neo-Pentecostal, Christian who believes in the ecstatic gifts of tongues-speaking, prophecy and healing. Until recent years, charismatic believers were frequently ostracized by Southern Baptists for allegedly divisive, holier-than-thou claims.

Hollinger said the less Robertson appears “charismatic” and uses such expressions as “baptism of the Holy Spirit,” the higher his appeal will be to Baptists.

But a Southern Baptist minister who heads the activities of Robertson’s Freedom Council in Louisiana said: “Southern Baptists are becoming more tolerant in that area” and are beginning to adopt some of the style and beliefs themselves.

The Rev. Billy McCormack of Shreveport, La., said he sees a lot of Southern Baptists switching to congregations that are “charismatic-like” in their enthusiastic worship services.

Robertson’s Freedom Council is trying to persuade Christians to show a more activist concern with electing “godly men” in all areas of government, according to McCormack. As long as Robertson is not an announced candidate, the council will help him educate Christians about these goals, he said.

McCormack said he believes that Robertson has the best chance among Republicans to win the allegiance of Southern Baptists “because he speaks the heart concerns of Southern Baptists. Neither Kemp nor Bush can do that.”

In a talk with members of the Religion Newswriters Assn. before the convention began, Robertson reiterated that he will probably decide “sometime in September” whether to continue looking for support.

Robertson, the son of a former U.S. senator, said his mail is running 85% in favor of him “going for it.” More than that, he said, his success in the early stages of delegate selection in Michigan was encouraging. “As an early test, Michigan was a great victory,” he said.

Robertson chided the reporters, who cover religion for the secular press, for not writing about what he called a spiritual revival occurring in America. Without any specific reference to the Southern Baptists, he indicated that the concerns he raises are broadly felt among the estimated 60 million to 70 million Americans who say they are “born-again Christians.”

These Christians are increasingly getting involved in the political process, he said. “It’s not anything anybody has to be afraid of. We cannot try to impose Christian values per se on the body politic of America,” he said, noting that some religious values inevitably coincide with what is put into law.

A letter to the editor of the Atlanta Constitution voiced one problem with such involvement.

“Campaigning for primary votes in the Bible Belt South could quickly turn into a game of ‘whose halo is brighter,’ with disastrous results for the Republicans,” the letter said.