Anti-LGBT Southern Baptist Official Resigns Over 'Inappropriate' Relationship

A high-ranking official with the Southern Baptist Convention, one of the most anti-LGBT religious denominations in the nation, has resigned due to an unspecified "morally inappropriate" relationship.

Frank Page, 65, quit Tuesday as president and chief executive officer of the convention's executive committee, reports the Baptist Press, an official news service of the denomination.

"I spoke with Dr. Page and learned that his retirement announcement was precipitated by a morally inappropriate relationship in the recent past," executive committee chair Stephen Rummage announced.

Page released a statement Tuesday afternoon, saying, "It is with deep regret that I tender my resignation from the SBC Executive Committee and announce my retirement from active ministry, effective immediately. As a result of a personal failing, I have embarrassed my family, my Lord, myself, and the Kingdom. Out of a desire to protect my family and those I have hurt, I initially announced my retirement earlier today without a complete explanation. However, after further wrestling with my personal indiscretion, it became apparent to me that this situation must be acknowledged in a more forthright manner. It is my most earnest desire in the days to come to rebuild the fabric of trust with my wife and daughters, those who know me best and love me most."

The Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S., is one of the strictest when it comes to teachings on sexuality. It considers same-sex relationships as well as opposite-sex relationships outside marriage to be sinful. The nature of Page's "inappropriate" relationship has not been revealed.

Page has unequivocally supported church teachings. In 2014, as president of the executive committee, he backed the denomination's expulsion of New Heart Community Church, an LGBT-friendly congregation in California. "This action does not reflect a lack of love for homosexuals. ... But when you love someone, you tell them the truth about their actions," Page said at the time, according to Raw Story. "By its action on behalf of the convention, the Executive Committee is telling New Heart that its failure to condemn homosexuality breaks the heart of God."

Page, the former pastor of a church in South Carolina, has been president of the executive committee since 2010 and was president of the denomination as a whole from 2006 to 2008.