Starr: An active churchgoer?

As Baptists continue to comment on the selection of former prosecutor Kenneth Starr as Baylor University’s new president, ethicist Robert Parham has questioned university regents’ description of him as an “active churchman.” Parham’s EthicsDaily.com confirmed that Starr currently attends University Church of Christ in Malibu, Calif., but is not a member. Other media reports have […]

As Baptists continue to comment on the selection of former prosecutor Kenneth Starr as Baylor University’s new president, ethicist Robert Parham has questioned university regents’ description of him as an “active churchman.”

Parham’s EthicsDaily.com confirmed that Starr currently attends University Church of Christ in Malibu, Calif., but is not a member. Other media reports have said the dean of Pepperdine University’s law school belongs to McLean Bible Church in the Virginia suburbs of Washington.

“Why would a ‘church leader’ not have a local church home where he lives?” asked Parham, who notes Starr has been on the West Coast since 2004. “If Starr represents ‘the very best’ of what it means to be an ‘active churchman,’ then Baylor’s leaders have redefined churchmanship for Texas Baptists. Call it minimalism or absenteeism. But for honesty’s sake, don’t call it active church leadership.”


Starr has told the Baptist Standard that he plans to “readily, cheerfully and enthusiastically” join a Baptist church before he begins his post at the university in Waco, Texas, on June 1.

(Photo credit: http://www.baylor.edu)

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