Southern Seminary president and SBC presidential candidate Al Mohler has withdrawn from the race due to upcoming colon surgery.

His decision to withdraw follows the discovery of a pre-cancerous tumor during a routine colonoscopy on Feb. 11. Mohler felt it was best to bow out due to an expected “extensive period for recuperation and recovery.” No date has been set for the surgery.

Mohler went through similar surgery in Dec. 2006 which was complicated by blood clots that formed in his lungs. A statement on the seminary’s website said his physicians “will take special precautions to prevent a recurrence of the blood clots with this new surgery.”

Mohler’s withdrawal leaves three other contenders in the presidential race: Georgia pastor Frank Cox of North Metro First Baptist Church in Lawrenceville; and Californians Wiley Drake, pastor of First Baptist Church of Buena Park, and Bill Wagner, former missionary and seminary professor and current president of Olivet University International in San Francisco.