Indianapolis | Charlotte, North Carolina Pastor Clint Pressley won the SBC Presidency on the third ballot, defeating five other pastors for the top spot. Pressley received 4,244 votes (56.12%), while Dan Spencer, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, Tenn. received 3,305 votes (43.71%). A total of 7,562 votes were cast with 13 disallowed.
Pressley has been senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte since 2010 and is a member of the board of directors for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. He served as vice president of the 2013 SBC Pastors’ Conference and first vice president of the SBC from 2014-15. Since 2015, Pressley has been a trustee for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, with a stint as chairman. He has pastored churches in Mississippi and Alabama.
In his appearance at a presidential candidate forum Monday night, Pressley reiterated his support for the Law amendment to the SBC Constitution limiting pastors to male-only.
“It sounded like BFM (Baptist Faith and Message 2000), which we hold to,” Pressley said. “It sounded like the Bible and felt like it made sense, and it will provide some clarity, so that’s why I’ve thought it makes sense to me. I’m for it.”
–with information from Baptist Press