NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) — Pat Robertson’s call for the assassination of Venezuela’s president has prompted the president of the Southern Baptist Convention to distance the SBC from remarks Robertson made on his Aug. 22 700 Club telecast.

Bobby Welch, SBC president and pastor of First Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., said, “The Southern Baptist Convention does not support or endorse public statements concerning assassinations of persons, even if they are despicable despots of foreign countries, and neither do I.

“The Christian’s responsibility,” he noted, “is to pray for our leaders as well as the extremists around the world. Jesus Christ can save these people and change their lives.”

Robertson, on his Aug. 22 telecast, said the United States has the ability to “take out” Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, whom Robertson accused of supporting communism and Muslim extremism. Killing Chavez would be a “whole lot cheaper” than starting a war, Robertson said.