Religion: New Head Messenger

There were 9,525 Messengers in Memphis last week—the largest number of delegates ever to attend an annual Southern Baptist Convention. High on the agenda: the choice of a successor to President Louie De Votie Newton, a fundamentalist in his religion but a wide-eyed Russophile in his politics. The convention picked a home-town boy for the job: Dr. Robert Greene Lee, 61, of Memphis' Bellevue Baptist Church, the largest white Baptist congregation east of the Mississippi. He is famed for his preaching—especially for his spellbinding sermon, "Pay Day Some Day," on King Ahab and his wicked wife Jezebel. Last week in Memphis,...