HATTIESBURG, Miss. (ABP) -- John Merritt, general secretary emeritus of the International Baptist Convention, died of cancer Dec. 29. He was 76.

Merritt served as a missionary with the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board -- then known as the Foreign Mission Board -- for 34 years. In 1972 he became the general secretary of the European Baptist Convention, which is an association of English-speaking congregations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It changed its name to the International Baptist Convention in 2003.

Merritt retired from his position in 1996, when he was given the emeritus title.

Merritt became widely known in Baptist circles after he wrote The Betrayal, a book about the 25-year struggle between fundamentalists and moderates in the Southern Baptist Convention and its impact on Baptists in Europe. In it, Merritt said conservative leaders had plotted to gain control of churches, agencies, schools and boards connected with the SBC and influence the entities toward a more fundamentalist version of Christianity.

James and Wilma Heflin, who served with the European Baptist Convention from 1996 to 2001, called Merritt a "Christian statesman" who "loved God with all his heart, soul, mind and strength."

"John's faith was evident in countless ways throughout his illness, and he continued to have strong hope and confidence in the Lord," they said in a joint statement. "He served God faithfully with integrity and wisdom."

Doctors diagnosed him with lymphoma in 1997 and then with leukemia in late 2006.

Merritt is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; two sons, Michael Merritt of Alexandria, Va., and James Merritt of Purvis, Miss.; a sister, Cora Davis of Hattiesburg; a brother, J.P. Merritt of Hattiesburg; and two grandchildren.

-30-

---