Fred J. Luter Jr. (born 1956 November 11 in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

) is a former president of the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

(SBC). He was elected on 2012 June 19, and was SBC's first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

president. According to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary president

Daniel L. Akin Daniel Lowell "Danny" Akin (born January 2, 1957) is the sixth president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and the College at Southeastern in Wake Forest, North Carolina, United States. A leader in the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC ...

, ". . . the most significant event to happen in our BC'shistory since our formation" is Luter's election. On June 20, the day after electing Luter, SBC voted to permit use of the designation "

Great Commission In Christianity, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples to spread the gospel to all the nations of the world. The Great Commission is outlined in Matthew 28:16– 20, where on a mountain i ...

" as an alternative to "

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

" for congregations desiring a break from the geographical and historical eponym. Nominated by David Crosby of New Orleans' First Baptist Church, Luter succeeded

Bryant Wright Bryant Wright is a Baptist pastor and author. He served as senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Georgia from its founding in 1981 until 2019. He also served as elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) from ...

of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in

Marietta, Georgia Marietta is a city in and the county seat of Cobb County, Georgia, United States. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 60,972. The 2019 estimate was 60,867, making it one of Atlanta's largest suburbs. Marietta is the fourth largest ...

. Luter cited "to improve racial harmony" as his goal on his reelection to the second (and final) year of SBC presidency. On June 11, 2014, Dr.

Ronnie Floyd Ronald Wayne Floyd (born November 11, 1955) is an American religious leader and a former pastor and Southern Baptist executive. Ronnie was the Senior Pastor of Cross Church (formerly called First Baptist Springdale), a Southern Baptist megachu ...

of Cross Church in Arkansas succeeded Rev. Luter as SBC president.

Earlier ministry

Luter had begun his ministry in 1977 in New Orleans'

Lower Ninth Ward The Lower Ninth Ward is a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans, Louisiana. As the name implies, it is part of the 9th Ward of New Orleans. The Lower Ninth Ward is often thought of as the entire area within New Orleans downriver of the Industr ...

after he suffered a motorcycle accident. He has credited his motorcycling misadventure as his "road to Damascus moment"—his analogy to the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. He began as a

street preacher A street is a public thoroughfare in a built environment. It is a public parcel of land adjoining buildings in an urban context, on which people may freely assemble, interact, and move about. A street can be as simple as a level patch of dirt, ...

at the corner of Caffin and Galvez. During his streetpreaching days Luter observed a need to draw men, particularly fathers, into his evangelistic appeal by urging events which attract male interest, on one occasion, in 1981, hosting a gathering for a pay-per-view televised

boxing match Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing boxing glove, protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a ...

between Thomas Hearns and Sugar Ray Leonard. His first sermon in a churchbuilding was in 1983 at New Orleans' Law Street Missionary Baptist Church. He was a staff minister at the city's Greater Liberty Baptist Church when he learned of the opening at Franklin Avenue and sought the job.

Franklin Avenue Baptist Church

Luter is senior

minister Minister may refer to: * Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric ** Minister (Catholic Church) * Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department) ** Minister without portfolio, a member of government w ...

of the Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. He has been with the congregation since 1986, when it had 65 members. Before

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

struck in 2005, the congregation had grown to over 7000 members, making it the largest congregation affiliated with SBC in

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. Luter led the rebuilding of the membership after the

diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of origin. Historically, the word was used first in reference to the dispersion of Greeks in the Hellenic world, and later Jews after ...

from Katrina, and as of his election to the Southern Baptist presidency the congregation had 5000 members. Luter's strategy for congregational growth is rooted in his concept "FRANgelism"—the

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

"FRAN" standing for ''friends'', ''relatives'', ''associates'', and ''neighbors'' in acts of

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

ing people into the life of the congregation.

Personal life

Luter was the middle child of five siblings and, after his parents divorced, was largely brought up single-handedly by his seamstress mother Viola Luter. In 1980 Fred Luter married Elizabeth W. Luter. The couple has two children: daughter Kimberly Ann "Kim" Luter was born in 1982; son Fred J. "Chip" Luter III, born 1985, is a graduate of

Dallas Baptist University Dallas Baptist University (DBU) is a Christian liberal arts university in Dallas, Texas. Founded in 1898 as Decatur Baptist College, Dallas Baptist University currently operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst. History Dallas Baptist Uni ...

and is also a Baptist minister. Elizabeth Luter (born 1956) is involved in LifeWay Women's Conferences.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Luter, Fred 1956 births Living people African-American Baptist ministers Baptist ministers from the United States Hurricane Katrina recovery in New Orleans People from New Orleans Southern Baptist ministers Southern Baptist Convention presidents Baptists from Louisiana 21st-century African-American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century American politicians

Earlier ministry

Franklin Avenue Baptist Church

Personal life

See also

Notes