Our church sends messengers each year to the Southern Baptist Convention’s (SBC) annual meeting. Following each meeting, there is a media storm of news and opinions related to the actions taken at the meeting. To answer the questions of our church members, I have written this article to provide my perspective on actions taken and what this means for our church moving forward.
This year, the annual meeting occurred in New Orleans, Louisiana, on June 13 and 14. For those who are unaware, the SBC is our denominational partner, to whom we give a percentage of our offering for the purpose of cooperating with other like-minded churches to expand our impact and reach in critical ministry areas such as international missions and theological education. Because of our giving to the cooperative program and our Statement of Faith and church practices that closely align with that of the SBC, we are entitled to send messengers to vote on critical issues impacting the SBC and to elect leaders and representatives on various committees and boards.
In this year’s business sessions, the messengers of the SBC voted on several items related to our convictions on complementarianism and the role of men and women in ministry. First, the messengers voted to disfellowship three churches. Two of the three churches (Fern Creek Baptist Church of Louisville, KY, and Saddleback Church of California) were disfellowshipped from the SBC for employing, ordaining, and affirming women pastors. This became a high-profile decision due to Rick Warren, former pastor of Saddleback Church, campaigning against the decision to remove churches over the issue of women pastors. However, the SBC voted overwhelmingly to reject the appeals of these churches and finalize their dismissal from the SBC. Additionally, the messengers voted to approve resolutions affirming the complementarian position of the office of pastor being reserved only for qualified men. The convention also approved a constitutional amendment restricting cooperating churches to those who affirm, appoint, or employ “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.” This amendment must be approved again at the 2024 annual meeting for final adoption and approval. When all of these are considered, the messengers of the SBC sent a clear message that we believe that the office of pastor is for qualified men alone. Unlike other mainline denominations, such as the United Methodist Church, the SBC has not compromised on the issue of women pastors and has drawn a clear line in the sand for cooperating ministries.
Another significant development at this year’s annual meeting was the amending of the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Jared Cornutt, Pastor of North Shelby Baptist Church and Gadsden native moved to amend the BF&M2000 to add clearer language on the office of pastor. Cornutt moved that article VI, “The Church,” now say: “Its two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.” Cornutt’s motion added the alternative words for pastor found in the New Testament. This language helps readers understand that we see the offices of pastor and elder as the same office. This was a significant moment in the life of the convention. Any time we make changes to our official statement of faith, it must not be taken lightly or understated. Though the substance of the confession is unchanged, we can rejoice in the greater clarity provided by the amendment.
As we do each year, the messengers elected officers for the 2024 convention. This year, Bart Barber was re-elected as President, Jay Adkins was elected 1st Vice-President, and Kason Branch was elected 2nd Vice-President. Particularly noteworthy in these elections was the lack of a candidate who was a pastor of a mega-church (churches with over 2000 in attendance). Notably, all the candidates nominated were local church pastors rather than mega-church pastors or celebrity pastors. I believe this is worth celebrating as it marks the convention being led by everyday pastors for the first time in decades. I believe that the leadership of our convention of churches should reflect the makeup of that convention which means more regular pastors and fewer mega-church pastors.
Finally, the annual meeting commissioned and sent out 79 international missionaries through the International Mission Board. This special time includes the missionaries sharing their testimonies, call to missions, and prayer requests as they travel to foreign nations for the sake of the Gospel. Many of these missionaries were not allowed to show their faces or reveal details about the specific countries they were traveling to due to significant safety concerns. The sending of missionaries to the ends of the Earth is the heartbeat of the SBC. We cooperate for the sake of reaching the nations. The missions sending ceremony is a powerful reminder each year that the reason we meet is for the purpose of furthering the Kingdom by the Grace of God.
Other personal highlights from the convention include singing hymns acapella each night at the 9 Marks at Nine events, celebrating Dr. R. Albert Mohler’s 30th Anniversary as President of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and sharing great fellowship over fantastic New Orleans cuisine. As always, I am thankful to Bellevue Baptist Church of Gadsden for sending us as messengers to the convention and for being faithful and concerned about glorifying God and leading others to do the same from the mountain to the nations. I return home more energized to faithfully proclaim God’s Word and work together for His namesake as a church.
Colt Hudson 