DALLAS — Southern Baptists will be gathering soon in Dallas for this year’s Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting (June 10–11), which is expected to draw well over 10,000 people.
North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley appears to be running unchallenged — at least for now — for a second term as SBC president.
Other officer positions also only had one nominee announced at press time.
Still, plenty of questions and opportunities for debate concerning the Convention’s future are anticipated at the annual meeting under the theme, “Hold Fast: Confession and Cooperation,” inspired by Hebrews 10:23–24.
The role of women in ministry, sexual abuse prevention, ongoing financial challenges and the future of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission are some of the issues messengers can expect to address.
Women in ministry
Last year, messengers voted down a proposed amendment to the SBC Constitution that was promoted as a way to emphasize a preference of the role of pastor being occupied only by men.
The amendment failed to receive the needed two-thirds majority vote for the second consecutive year.
The 2024 vote was done by ballot while the 2023 vote, which was deemed as obtaining two-thirds of the vote, was assessed from the platform as messengers raised their ballots.
Originally introduced by Virginia pastor Mike Law in 2022, the amendment stated a church could only be considered in friendly cooperation with the SBC if it “affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”
Confusion and concern surfaced once it was clear Law and his supporters intended for the emphasis to go beyond the senior pastor role.
However, when the SBC Credentials Committee earlier this year declined to take action against Newspring Church in South Carolina after complaints were filed because of its employment of a female teaching pastor (not senior pastor), renewed efforts for the amendment surfaced.
Supporters of the so-called “Law amendment” are reportedly now urging messengers to suspend Standing Rule 6 in order to bypass the routine Executive Committee review and go straight to a floor vote.
Some argue that the Convention must act decisively to provide clarity on pastoral qualifications.
The vote would need two consecutive years of two-thirds majority vote in favor of it in order to be added to the SBC Constitution.
Abuse reform and budget challenges
After SBC messengers tasked the Executive Committee with finding a home for sexual abuse prevention and developing related strategies during last year’s annual meeting in Indianapolis, Southern Baptists will have the opportunity in June to weigh in on the latest EC initiatives addressing these issues and other related financial reforms.
During its February meeting in Nashville, EC president Jeff Iorg unveiled a three-part plan focused on launching a new Sexual Abuse Prevention and Response department, overhauling the SBC’s Business and Financial Plan for improved transparency, and allocating $3 million from the proposed $190 million Cooperative Program budget to help cover legal expenses from past abuse investigations.
Meanwhile, the new abuse department, led by Jeff Dalrymple, is working to implement six initiatives including training events and curriculum updates.
With SBC reserves nearly depleted, messengers will be asked to approve a revised budget strategy to maintain accountability.
More funds also will be needed for the remaining pending lawsuits.
ERLC
Debate about the ERLC and whether it should continue has repeatedly surfaced during the SBC Annual Meeting in recent years.
Recent weeks of growing online chatter along with a current podcast receiving widespread attention all but ensures the topic to be a prominent issue in Dallas.
Speaking on the Baptist 21 podcast April 30, Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, raised his personal concerns about whether ERLC has remained viable in representing the Convention on key cultural issues.
In response, ERLC leaders and supporters, including ERLC president Brent Leatherwood and trustee chair Scott Foshie, have defended ERLC’s work in Washington and its support for churches navigating complex moral topics.
Celebrating 100 years of CP and Baptist Faith & Message
This year SBC messengers will celebrate 100 years of the Cooperative Program, the giving channel for missions and ministry, and the Convention’s statement of faith and practice, the Baptist Faith & Message.
The celebration for CP will begin during the Committee on Resolutions report Tuesday afternoon. On Wednesday afternoon, messengers will celebrate the Baptist Faith & Message during a follow-up report.
Officer elections
As noted, Pressley — pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte — will be nominated for his second term as SBC president by Michael Criner, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Rockwall, Texas.
Learn more about who else is running this year for SBC officer positions.
Pastors Conference
This year’s SBC Pastors Conference theme will be “Worth Following.” The conference will feature a series of expositional sermons from 2 Timothy.
Aaron Burgner
Aaron Burgner, senior pastor of Lakes Church in Lakeland, Florida, will be nominated for president of the 2026 SBC Pastors Conference by Jimmy Scroggins, lead pastor of Family Church in South Florida.
Resolutions & motions
In New Orleans during the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting, messengers approved changes to Bylaw 20. This moved the timeline for submitting resolutions and working on resolutions and publishing a preliminary report.
This year, for the second year, messengers could have submitted resolutions as early as April 1 and no less than 20 days prior (May 22) to this year’s meeting. The committee is mandated to submit a preliminary report 10 days before the convention.
For more information, go to sbc.net/resolutions. A resolution has traditionally been defined, according to sbc.net, “as an expression of opinion or concern, as compared to a motion, which calls for action.”
“A resolution is not used to direct an entity of the SBC to specific action other than to communicate the opinion or concern expressed.”
Crossover: Churches set to serve throughout Dallas area
In a recent episode of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s “Road to Dallas” video series, Ryan Jespersen, executive director of the Dallas Baptist Association, highlighted plans for Crossover 2025 — an evangelism initiative set to take place in the days leading up to the SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas.
Unlike the large-scale Harvest event of 2018, Jespersen noted, this year’s Crossover will emphasize church-to-church outreach, empowering local congregations to host customized evangelistic events such as Vacation Bible Schools, backyard Bible clubs and block parties.
A few larger gatherings, including an event at First Baptist Church Rockwall featuring Shane Pruitt, the North American Mission Board’s national Next Gen director, are still planned. FBC Rockwall will host a rally at 6 p.m. on June 6. Cross Church’s North Richland Hills campus will host another one at 4 p.m. on June 7.
While these are bigger events, Jespersen noted the focus is on grassroots, church-led efforts.
Interested churches can register to host or volunteer at namb.net/crossover. To learn more about the Crossover student rallies, visit namb.net/crossover-student-rally. B&R