Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. will take part in a conversation on faith and race with a minister from California on Friday at the Robinson Center Performance Hall in Little Rock.
D.A. Horton, lead pastor of the Baptist-affiliated Reach Fellowship Church in Long Beach, Calif., is the author of several books, including Enter the Ring: Fighting Together for a Gospel-Saturated Marriage, which was co-written with his wife, Elicia Horton; and To the One Who Conquers: Freedom From Sin Through the Revelation of Christ.
Scott, who was sworn into office last month as Little Rock's first black mayor elected by popular vote, is also an associate pastor at Greater Second Baptist Church in Little Rock.
City Center Conversations was formed by Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock after its senior pastor, the Rev. Steven Smith, was in New York and attended an installment of the event series Socrates in the City, which tackles questions about faith and life. Best-selling author and radio-show host Eric Metaxas, who created and hosts the series, was the first guest at the Little Rock series in 2017.
Smith said he will interview Horton, whom Smith said has a "great story," before Hutchinson and Scott join them onstage for a panel discussion.
In a Feb. 8 tweet about the forthcoming City Center Conversations, Horton said he was "humbled to be part of this event."
Scott, in a Facebook post also on Feb. 8, thanked Immanuel Baptist for hosting the event.
"Race relations in Little Rock have stymied our city's job growth, quality of life and overall connections with one another," Scott said in the post. "This is not an easy conversation to have, so their willingness to invite controversy into their congregation outside of sanctuary walls is a challenge to all of us."
Scott also said he had "basic fundamental disagreements" with Horton's beliefs concerning inclusion.
"I decided long ago to be a unity and inclusion leader," Scott said in the post. "I will never be able to deliver on my promise to unify our city if I only talk to people who agree with me."
Reach Fellowship Church adheres to the teachings of the Baptist Faith and Message -- the summarized statement of faith of the Southern Baptist Convention, with which Reach Fellowship and Immanuel are affiliated. The message in part states, "Christians should oppose ... all forms of sexual immorality, including adultery, homosexuality, and pornography."
"Sometimes we must be willing to be uncomfortable in order to make progress, but we never have to sacrifice our principles," Scott said. "I will not."
Hutchinson did not return a request for comment on Scott's remarks, but J.R. Davis, Hutchinson's spokesman, said the governor has participated in several faith-oriented forums, including one during last year's campaign held at Saint Mark's Baptist Church in Little Rock.
"[Hutchinson will] just be speaking from the state's perspective as governor and how the faith community are good partners in that effort," Davis said.
Smith expressed gratitude for Scott's involvement in the event and willingness to engage in dialogue.
"As a local church pastor in Little Rock, I'm extremely grateful for a mayor who's willing to engage in the arenas of critical issues like race in the city and who is not afraid to dialogue with people of various opinions," Smith said Wednesday.
"I love being in Little Rock," Smith said. "I mean, here's a city, like most cities -- especially Southern cities -- that has to deal with this issue [of race].
"I don't know that that's going on [in other Southern cities], but it is here. We're going to talk about it even though it's hard and difficult and awkward, especially for me, because I'm an Anglo-Saxon pastor, you know? What do I have to say about race being a white guy?
"But it's something we're going to talk about, and so I'm thrilled to do it."
Religion on 02/23/2019