The 50-plus people gathered at Rehoboth Baptist Church in Tucker elected the Rev. Bill Jaggar, pastor of the 1,000-member North Peachtree Baptist Church in Doraville, as interim moderator of the new Metro-Atlanta Southern Baptist Association.
"I have great confidence that God's hand is upon us," Jaggar said after the meeting.
The new group was formed after the Atlanta Baptist Association, which represents 99,000 people in more than 100 congregations, failed in two votes this year to expel Oakhurst and Virginia-Highland churches, both known as gay-affirming churches. The two churches were dismissed from the Georgia Baptist Convention in 1999.
But Jaggar said he does not want the new association to be known "as anti-anyone."
"We're pro-kingdom of God, pro-Southern Baptist Convention, pro-Georgia Baptist Convention, pro-winning souls to Jesus," he said.
Bylaws require that member churches in the new association abide by the Baptist Faith and Message, a statement of faith adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention last year that opposes homosexuality, abortion and racism and states that wives should be submissive to their husbands and that husbands should love their wives.
