As a candidate in 1976 who introduced the term "born again" into the political lexicon, as a president who was criticized for witnessing to world leaders, as a goodwill ambassador through his work with Habitat for Humanity, and as a Sunday School teacher at his small church in Plains, Ga., Carter has been one of the most visible and respected Southern Baptists for 25 years.

But in a letter and press statement released Oct. 19, Carter lamented the new "creedal" direction taken by the SBC. He said the recent changes in the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M) doctrinal statement are "profound and revolutionary" and reflect "an increasingly rigid SBC creed."

"I had never been involved in the political struggle for control of the SBC and have no desire to do so," Carter wrote in the letter, which was mailed to 75,000 Baptists nationwide by the moderate group Texas Baptists Committed. He said he was disappointed that his effort two years ago to promote dialogue between SBC factions failed. "My hope was that, as a traditional Baptist layman, I could find some channel through which I could help fulfill our Christian commitments.

"But since that brief interlude of apparent harmony, I have been disappointed and feel excluded by the adoption of policies and an increasingly rigid SBC creed, including some provisions that violate the basic premises of my Christian faith. I have finally decided that, after 65 years, I can no longer be associated with the Southern Baptist Convention."

Carter called the move "a torturous decision to make," in an interview with Associated Baptist Press (ABP). "I do it with anguish and not with any pleasure."

Carter, 76, said he could no longer "add my name and my support" to SBC efforts because its leaders "have departed from what I believe."

He decided to go public with his decision after meeting, at his initiative, with moderate Baptist leaders from Texas, Virginia and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF).

"This is strictly personal for me," he told ABP. "I am not trying to speak for my church. ... I'm not going to mount a crusade against anybody. We've had enough of that."

He said he will remain a deacon and Sunday School teacher at Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains and support the church's recent decision to send half of its missions contributions to CBF.

In his press release, Carter said he and his wife, Rosalynn, want to associate with "other traditional Baptists who continue to share such beliefs as separation of church and state, servanthood and not domination of pastors, local church autonomy, a free religious press, and equality of women."

He lamented the SBC's departure from those beliefs and the exclusion of those who disagree from service in the convention. He expressed concern that the new BF&M has become "mandatory criteria that must be accepted by employees, by members of committees who control the convention's affairs, and by professors who teach in the SBC-owned seminaries. Obviously, this can have a far-reaching and permanent effect."

Carter told ABP that one particular change in the 2000 doctrinal statement "overrides and explains the other concerns I have" - the SBC's decision to eliminate language that identifies Jesus Christ as "the criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted."

"Most disturbing has been the convention's recent decision to remove Jesus Christ, through His words, deeds and personal inspiration, as the ultimate interpreter of the Holy Scriptures," he said in his press release. "This leaves open making the pastors or executives of the SBC the ultimate interpreters."

Carter told ABP the recent decision by directors of the Christian Index, the Georgia Baptist newspaper, to restrict articles and ads promoting the CBF "is improper and a violation of freedom of press."

"The fact is that almost everyone in Georgia who gives money to CBF is also giving to the Georgia Baptist Convention. And the Christian Index is supposed to represent all Georgia Baptists.

"I don't like that at all," he continued. "That's just a forerunner of things that are pending and just a further imposition of the creed."

Carter hopes someday Baptists of different stripes can work together in cooperation, humility and service. "I would like to find a home somewhere, in addition to the CBF, where more Baptists can come together," he said.

SBC president James Merritt told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he views Carter's decision as "an unfortunate turn of events."

Southern Baptists "cannot maintain a relationship with anyone that would come at the expense of what we believe to be biblical truth," Merritt said.