ROCKWALL, Tex. — Rev. Steve Swofford, chairman of the presidential search team for the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention, responded today to growing concerns that his committee has not considered any minority candidates to succeed Frank Page, who resigned last March. On Jan. 29, three leading pastors sent a letter to Swofford and the other committee members stating it would be “difficult, if not impossible, to explain . . . why no minority candidate was even given the courtesy of an interview.”

“I am pleased to announce today that the presidential search process is nearing the finish line,” Swofford said. “We have heard Southern Baptists loud and clear, and I can confirm that we have not only interviewed a minority candidate, but we are preparing to recommend that candidate to the full board in the coming days.”

“As part of our rigorous search process, we have asked the three 60-year old white male candidates we interviewed to submit saliva for DNA genetic testing and analysis, and the results have just come back. The committee is excited to report that we are preparing to recommend the first-ever president who has a confirmed minority heritage.”

The presidential search committee retained the services of renowned molecular biologist and popular geneticist, Carlos Bustamante, to test the candidates’ samples.  A Harvard graduate and professor at Stanford University, Bustamante concluded that while the the leading candidate’s spittle shows “strong evidence of primarily European descent,” the results “strongly support the existence of an unadmixed Native American ancestor in the sample’s pedigree 6-10 generations ago.”

The analysis further indicates that the leading candidate for the Executive Committee post is between 1/32 and 1/1024th Native American.

“It is a new day for Kingdom diversity in the Southern Baptist Convention,” Swofford exclaimed. “We are making history by refusing to perpetuate Anglo-majoritarian homogeneity in our denominational leadership structures. I am thankful that our committee had the courage to take this bold, visionary step for the future.”

To read Bustamante’s full DNA analysis, click here.

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