INDIANAPOLIS — In his routine, succinct style of responding to inquiries, Clint Pressley completed his first press conference as Southern Baptist Convention president in roughly 10 minutes. Media representatives from across the nation gathered to ask questions and hear from Pressley following the conclusion of the SBC Annual Meeting on June 12.

INDIANAPOLIS — In a highly anticipated vote on the final day of this year’s Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, messengers narrowly defeated the proposed Law Amendment which specified that only men can serve “as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.” During last year’s annual meeting in New Orleans, messengers adopted a motion by Mike Law, pastor of Arlington Baptist Church in Virginia, that the SBC Constitution

INDIANAPOLIS — It took “double overtime” but the Southern Baptist Convention now has a new president. North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley was elected on Wednesday morning, defeating Dan Spencer, pastor of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, in a second run-off at the SBC’s annual meeting.  Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, won the second runoff with 4,244 votes (56.12 percent). Spencer received 3,305 votes (43.71 percent).  Pressley was

INDIANAPOLIS — Messengers at the SBC annual meeting are still waiting to see who the next president will be. With six candidates originally in the race, voting on Tuesday night did not result in a winner, instead leading to a run-off between the top three vote-getters — Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.; Dan Spencer, pastor of First Baptist Church in Sevierville; and David Allen,

INDIANAPOLIS — During a 20-minute press conference on Tuesday night, Josh Wester sounded almost like a football coach after a significant victory. Moments earlier, Wester, who serves as chair of Southern Baptist Convention’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, had seen the SBC messengers overwhelmingly approve recommendations presented by the task force. “I’m thankful, filled with gratitude, for what we just saw from the messengers,” said Wester during the press conference.

INDIANAPOLIS — The six announced nominees for president of the Southern Baptist Convention spent almost 90 minutes answering questions about recent SBC concerns. The Q-and-A session, which lasted late into the night on June 10, drew a crowd of roughly 2,000 Baptists. The presidential forum was hosted by The Baptist Review, which describes itself as “a curated platform devoted to Convention conversation.” A recently formed digital platform, “The Baptist Review

INDIANAPOLIS — The 2024 SBC Pastors Conference ended just like it started: With a pastor from the Tennessee Baptist Convention in the pulpit. Steve Gaines, senior pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova and a former SBC president, preached the conference’s final sermon on Monday night. Roughly 24 hours earlier, the two-day event opened with a message from Bartholomew Orr, senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church, which is located

INDIANAPOLIS — Tennessee Baptists have a strong contingent at the SBC’s 2024 Pastors Conference, both in the audience and in the pulpit. When Adam Dooley, senior pastor of Englewood Baptist Church in Jackson, delivered his sermon during the Tuesday afternoon session of the conference, he became the second pastor from a TBC church to preach at this year’s event. Bartholomew Orr, senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church (which is

INDIANAPOLIS — Tennessee Baptists who made the trip to Indianapolis for the Southern Baptist Convention 2024 Pastors Conference are being treated to a little home cooking.  Three of the pastors on this year’s 11-speaker lineup are from churches in the Tennessee Baptist Convention, including the event’s “lead-off hitter” — Bartholomew Orr — who opened the two-day conference on Sunday night. Orr is the senior pastor of Brown Missionary Baptist Church,

BRENTWOOD — Almost all churches believe they are welcoming places for everyone. But many families that include individuals with special needs often feel otherwise. Experts say it doesn’t have to be this way. Churches who want to welcome everyone, including those with special needs, should begin by asking questions, said Sandra Peoples, the disability ministry consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and mother of a son with autism.