If the Southern Baptist Convention meeting in Dallas June 10-11 proves to be a rowdy rodeo, we will “be on the lookout” for these issues.
1. The long arm of the Law Amendment. The open letter to SBC churches on a method to resurrect the Law Amendment virtually guarantees that someone will try it. Asked if the issue of male-only pastors was settled even after the 2024 vote in Indianapolis failed its required super majority, SBC Executive Committee President and CEO Jeff Iorg said no, it’s not settled.
Hallway conversations in Indianapolis bore that out, as has the ongoing debate on social media. But it’s the published plan to bring the amendment to the SBC constitution back to the floor, and to cut a year from the three-year process, that tells us what the 2025 convention may be about. It’s women as pastors, again.
On May 28, The New Yorker magazine released a documentary that emerged a 2023 interview with Tom Ascol, a Cape coral, Florida pastor who has been at the forefront of efforts to further define the pastorate as male-only in the SBC. “Somebody needs to be holding the line,” Ascol told the magazine. The documentary, called “Hold the Line,” covers the Convention’s dismissal of two churches with women pastors in 2023.
SBC President Clint Pressley is prepared to deal with the issue, if a motion is made. But what has the parliamentarian deduced about by-passing an introductory year, and instead calling a vote this year the “first reading”? If such a vote is allowed and passes, a second reading, meaning final action, would come in Orlando next year.
BOLO: Look for well-organized lines of presenters at the microphones seeking to get the amendment on the agenda again. If that happens expect a long and possibly complicated explanation about parliamentary procedure that allows—or doesn’t allow—a vote.
2. Defund or debunk. Al Mohler said it would be inappropriate for him as president of one SBC entity to advocate abolishing another. But since the Southern Seminary President’s brief podcast critique of the effectiveness of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), others have taken up the challenge. There’s renewed argument over funding the SBC’s public representation in Washington. And as the 10 former SBC presidents who rose to its defense pointed out, this is not the first time. Nor is it the time to defund the SBC’s voice, they said.
Part of the defenders’ challenge is in debunking stories about progressive attitudes in the ERLC today, and to draw clear lines of demarcation between the leadership of current President Brent Leatherwood and previous president Russell Moore.
BOLO: If this debate makes it to the floor of the convention, will those who want to defund the ERLC get to the mics prior to the vote on the budget? Or will a motion on the viability of the ERLC be brought in such a way that it survives parliamentary rules. Or will a study group be proposed, such as the studies on abuse prevention and reform? This is a hot potato, but it’s not on the menu—yet.
3. Overshadowed Jubilee. We can sincerely hope to be wrong on this one. Several years’ work on the Centennial anniversaries of both the Cooperative Program and the first Baptist Faith and Message will culminate in Dallas. Significant changes in senior SBC leadership and tremulous periods among the teams responsible for planning the big anniversary made many wonder if we were going to miss our shot. But it’s here.
Now the question becomes, Will debate over other issues overshadow the significance of the SBC’s missional and doctrinal commitments?
Those who get their news about the SBC Annual Meeting from secular sources may come away thinking it was all argument over women pastors and perceived wokeness in our public representation. But at the risk of endorsing what may at first appear to be a public relations campaign, seeking out reliable coverage of 100 years of God’s faithfulness through our twin pillars of missions and doctrine is worth the effort.
BOLO: Look at the attendance figures on the floor during the celebrations of CP and BF&M. The numbers in the hall usually drop when controversial issues are off the line-up. And making history attractive is not easy.
Longer term, we should be on the lookout for renewed commitment to CP giving that outpaces inflation and reflects increased percentages from the churches. And let’s see if churches everywhere do what some have done here in Illinois and engage in renewed study of our Baptist statement of faith.
4. Transparency in motion(s). The schedule for the convention includes one less session for business. In contrast with former president Bart Barber’s desire to make more time for motions from the floor, President Clint Pressley has focused on the Centennial anniversaries.
The impact may be less than the record breaking number of motions brought last year. And we will see how many people can be recognized at the floor mics to bring up their pet topic. It seems likely that someone will bring another motion to require greater financial transparency and accountability among SBC entities. One of our mission boards has been the target of such motions for several years now, but the motions have been ruled out of order or referred to the trustees of the entity—both in keeping with the SBC constitution.
BOLO: Will a messenger raise the issue of transparency in such a way that it does not order an action that is procedurally in violation of SBC rules?
5. The Texas two-step. Texas is one of two states with two Baptist state conventions. Unlike Virginia, where the elder convention is waning, the two bodies in Texas are both relatively strong and competitive. The Southern Baptist Texas Convention was founded in 1998 as a more conservative alternative to the venerable Baptist General Convention of Texas. Some of the consternation about preserving the use of the term “associate pastor” for a variety of positions that include women and women’s ministries comes from BGCT churches.
In Dallas, the presence of their messengers could have greater impact on the future of a resurrected Law Amendment than if the convention were in a distant state. Moreso than in many other states, Texas churches seem likely to employ the phrase “them’s fightin’ words” because they have been divided quite literally—over colleges and state conventions and doctrines—for several decades.
BOLO: We’ll see what impact that has on the national debate very soon. Watch for some votes to be closer than expected because of the composition of the messenger body due to the annual meeting’s location.
6. Agent Iorg. As incoming President and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, Jeff Iorg’s first action a year ago was to produce a long treatise on why the Law Amendment was unnecessary. That was a risky first move, either courageous or foolish, depending on your view on the issue. Drawing from decades in ministry in the West, where SBC isn’t quite so Southern, Iorg described a variety of approaches to ministry in a variety of Baptist churches, and contended that there’s room for all of them in the SBC tent.
Some credited Iorg with giving messengers new language to discuss the role of the pastor and a reasonable breadth in terminology employed by autonomous churches—and thereby influencing the vote that preserved the current language in SBC documents.
Whether Iorg will bring his considerable apologetic gifts to bear on a proposed revisit of the Law Amendment, or chime in on the ERLC or other issues will be seen. If he chooses to, expect efforts at settling issues he characterized as unsettled in recent interviews, for the sake of the SBCs mission advance.
BOLO: Iorg does not shy away from vital, but controversial issues. Watch for Iorg’s report to the EC ahead of the Annual Meeting, and to the messengers in the convention itself.
7. Seersucker suits and boots. Clint Pressley is known for wearing seersucker on one of the days of the annual meeting. Clearly a son of the South, he understands the significance of the classic summer suit made popular by Southern lawyers and a few preachers. Pressley may have set a trend, as seersucker is making a comeback. Besides, it’s blazing hot in Dallas and seersucker is cool. Literally.
BOLO: Our reporting team enjoyed looking for Pressley-inspired seersucker suit sightings during several conventions. Pair that with cowboy boots this year, and you have a double winner.
Be on the lookout!
–Eric Reed is editor of the Illinois Baptist.