SBC 2024 in Review

I didn’t grow up Southern Baptist—heck, I didn’t grow up Baptist! When I started dating a cute redhead at the end of high school, I became Baptist. The difference was that she was not Southern Baptist. She grew up in a GARBC church (General Association of Regular Baptist Churches). When we got married, and I moved her back to my home state of Texas, my father-in-law told me not to attend an SBC church because they were liberal. After years of running from the Lord, I submitted to his call on my life for vocational pastoral ministry. I got plugged into an SBC church where I learned about the Cooperative Program and the SBC’s history of missions. I have been a proud Southern Baptist since that day!

I share this because, last week, I spent several days with the crazy uncles of the Southern Baptist Convention at our annual meeting in Indianapolis. I have attended the annual meeting for the last four consecutive years, and by God’s grace, I intend to go every year until he calls me to glory. I have observed that the Baptist calendar begins to heat up at the end of April and goes into May, and it hits a fever pitch the week before the annual meeting. This sets the tone for the meeting and the business the messengers will address. This year was no different.

There was much discussion, leading up to the meeting, around what has become labeled the “Law Amendment.” This amendment to the SBC constitution and by-laws would restrict women from holding the office of “pastor” of any kind. As a strong complementarian, I supported this amendment. There were also discussions surrounding the report published by the group put together by President Bart Barber to discuss the boundaries of cooperation for the SBC. Additionally, there were six presidential candidates, something I do not recall seeing in my relatively short time in the SBC (12 years). Lastly, there was a lot of discussion surrounding the potential removal of a historic SBC church from “friendly cooperation” because of its egalitarian position on women pastors. These are only a few business matters I was prepared to vote on when representing my church. The rest of this blog will share the outcomes of these issues, a few others, and my thoughts on them.

1. Clint Presley was voted in as SBC President. This is the best possible outcome. He is a faithful pastor and a consistent voice of conservative theology without being a jerk. He is also the candidate that I supported since his nomination.
2. FBC Alexandria in Alexandria, VA, was removed from friendly cooperation for their views on female pastors. I supported this decision, albeit without joy. I do not celebrate the separation of a church over a doctrinal issue.
3. The Law Amendment failed to receive the necessary 2/3 majority for ratification. I anticipated this result after the vote on FBC Alexandria. The argument was this: we have a process that works, and the amendment is unnecessary. While the process did work, it was inefficient, and I anticipate being a perennial conversation for years to come. It is worth noting that while the 2/3 majority was not achieved, over 60% of messengers voted for the amendment. This suggests Southern Baptists are still divided on the issue of complementarity.
4. The Coop-Group (as they have come to be known) was well received, and the four points of cooperation were generally accepted. For more information on the report, click here. In the link, Dr. Burke provides some helpful commentary, which I agree with.
5. There was a strong push to abolish the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). This has been another hot-button topic in recent years based on the moderate position the commission tends to take. I don’t know where I land on this one. I value a commission that speaks to the intersection of ethics and religious liberty. This can be a valuable and vital part of Baptist life. However, there will always be dissenters based on such strong political divides within a convention of 50,000 churches. When ethical issues become policy issues, this will continue to be a source of angst.
6. The resolutions were a waste of time. I believe the resolutions are unnecessary. They take a lot of debate and argument over precise and minute wording and have no bearing on the convention’s business; however, they provide insight into the thinking of the convention from year to year, but they are tedious. This year did present an interesting resolution on the ethical use of IVF and a call to adopt frozen embryos. The ethical implications of this resolution are significant, and I gladly voted in favor of it.

There was certainly a lot more that took place, and this is only my unsolicited opinion. Please do not take this as an exhaustive run-down of SBC business. As I close, the fellowship was the best part of this year’s annual meeting, like all the others I have been to. Seeing old friends, meeting new ones, and having conversations in the hallways and expo hall were great joys that filled my tank. Also, this year, I took my whole family to experience this part of pastoral ministry. We made memories that will last a lifetime. Even though all the votes didn’t go my way, I was able to represent my church and had a great time doing it. I remain a committed Southern Baptist, crazy uncles and all!