Few stories about life in the Deep South are without some reference to the region's conservative politics or Protestant religions. And now Mitt Romney finds himself smack-dab in the middle of back-slapping, good ole' boy politics that have defined these two southern states for decades. The question is, can a Mormon from the northeast connect with Protestants from Dixieland?

GOP leader and self-defined Southern Baptist A.B. Lowther thinks voters in Alabama and Mississippi will look past religion and region to find the best candidate who can defeat President Obama in November.

"All I can say is I know a little about how Mitt Romney must feel," Lowther, who heads up Romney's efforts in Elmore County, Ala., told The Christian Post. "To me, Mitt seems to be an 'introvert' by nature and so am I. As someone who grew up in the Northeast, I understand what he's going through since I've been here for 20 years." more >>

The Rev. Fred Luter II of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, La., is set to become the first ever African-American president of the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention, as he is so far the only candidate for the election in June.

The Southern Baptist Convention, which has long dealt with issues of race since splitting in 1845 with Northern Baptists over the right to hold slaves, has grown to accept a diverse array of cultures within its congregation. Once an all-white membership, nearly 20 percent of its current congregation nationwide now is composed of minorities. Until now, however, it has never had an African-American president – Luter himself was the first ever African-American first vice-president of the denomination, appointed in June 2011.

Luter has had a long and turbulent road to rise in the ranks, The Tennessean reported, revealing that when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, his church was destroyed and lost its entire 7,000-member congregation, most of whom fled the city. Three years later, however, the Franklin Avenue Baptist church reopened its doors after help from the entire neighborhood, and now draws 5,000 people for church services. The report goes into detail about Luter's background and upbringing, sharing how a near-fatal motorcycle accident when he was 21 guided him in the right direction toward God. more >>

Let's begin by making one thing crystal clear. The debate generated by the Obama administration's requirement that virtually all healthcare insurance plans provide free contraceptives, abortifacients, and sterilization services in all health insurance plans is not a debate about contraception or "reproductive services."

This debate is about coercion, not Catholics; conscience, not contraception; and freedom, not fertility. This is about principle, not "pelvic politics."

We believe as Americans that every human being has a God-given right of freedom of faith and conscience. Due to our forefathers' persecutions, persistence and insistence, this freedom is acknowledged and recognized in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. more >>

One Southern Baptist who was opposed to his denomination changing its name is relieved to hear that the Southern Baptist Convention may be keeping its name after all.

An SBC task force made the recommendation this week to not make a legal name change but rather add an informal title – "Great Commission Baptists." Under this proposal, a church can choose to identify either as a Southern Baptist, a Great Commission Baptist or both.

Dr. Darrell Orman, member of the SBC Executive Committee, said he was "immensely relieved" at the recommendation. more >>

A Southern Baptist Convention task force appointed to investigate the possibility of a name change for the denomination has recommended that the SBC keep its name, but introduce an "informal" optional title, "Great Commission Baptists."

The task force, which was appointed by SBC President Bryant Wright, released their report and its recommendation on Monday. Rather than a legal name change, the panel recommended "a descriptor name be adopted to go with the SBC official name."

"I'm in complete agreement with the position they have taken," said Wright in an interview with The Christian Post. more >>

The leadership of a major Christian retailer has voted to continue selling the latest translation of the New International Version.

Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources approved the NIV 2011 for their stores in response to a nonbinding resolution passed by the Southern Baptist Convention in 2011 asking LifeWay to reconsider sale of the controversial translation.

Dr. Douglas J. Moo, chair of the Committee on Bible Translation, which translated the NIV 2011, told The Christian Post that he welcomed the decision on the part of the trustees. more >>