SBC

SOUTHERN BAPTIST EVANGELISTS FOCUS ON FAMILY WITH HUCKABEE, PENROD

By Kevin Willoughby Baptist Press NASHVILLE — As a musician since the age of 11, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee told Southern Baptist evangelists he knows the first thing he has to do when he picks up an instrument is to tune it so each note sounds like it should. Huckabee was the guest June 13 of the Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists (COSBE) at that group’s annual Sunday worship

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EC TO ELECT NEW VICE CHAIR AFTER FAILED MESSENGER ATTEMPT TO RETAIN TOM TUCKER

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — South Carolina pastor Tom Tucker’s reelection Monday (June 14) as vice chairman of the SBC Executive Committee became moot Wednesday (June 16), when messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting rejected a motion to nominate him to a second term on the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee elected Tucker to a second term as vice chair during its meeting Monday with the knowledge

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ABORTION, SEX ABUSE, RACISM, CHRISTIAN UNITY ADDRESSED IN DIVERSE RESOLUTIONS

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — A day after overruling the Resolutions Committee, messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting adopted a resolution June 16 calling for “abolishing abortion immediately, without exception or compromise.” The Resolutions Committee had declined the resolution, reasoning that while “messengers would agree with some aspects of this resolution,” the issue of abortion was addressed in another resolution condemning the repeal of the Hyde Amendment,

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TENNESSEE PASTOR LEADS CHARGE FOR INDEPENDENT TASK FORCE TO OVERSEE INVESTIGATION

By Erin Roach Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting overwhelmingly approved a motion calling for a task force to oversee a third-party investigation into allegations of mishandling abuse claims at the SBC Executive Committee. The motion, offered by Grant Gaines, pastor of Belle Aire Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., was among 32 motions made by messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting June 15 in

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GREEAR EXTOLS GOSPEL-CENTERED UNITY AND EVANGELISM IN FINAL SBC ADDRESS

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Saying they faced a defining moment, the “most important crossroads” in a generation, departing SBC President J.D. Greear challenged Southern Baptists to hear the concerns of the entire body while unifying around the one true Gospel and the Great Commission. “If we believe in the sufficiency of Scripture as the rule for the church, let’s not rush into making the rules for the church

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VISION 2025 AMENDED, ADOPTED BY MESSENGERS

NOTE: This article has been updated to correct the wording of a sixth strategic action, which was adopted as an amendment. The strategic action is: “Prayerfully endeavor to eliminate all incidents of sexual abuse and racial discrimination among our churches.” By Timothy Cockes Baptist Press NASHVILLE — After two amendments, messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting adopted Vision 2025, a strategic initiative aimed at reaching every person in the world

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SBC MESSENGERS ELECT LITTON AS PRESIDENT AFTER RUN-OFF

By David Dawson and Lonnie Wilkey Baptist and Reflector NASHVILLE —  After a tight race that required a run-off, Ed Litton was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday evening at the SBC’s annual meeting in Nashville. Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala., defeated Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Ga., in the run-off by earning 52.04 percent (6,834) of the votes among

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SOUTHERN BAPTISTS APPOINT 64 MISSIONARIES IN SENDING CELEBRATION

By Scott Barkley Baptist Press NASHVILLE – International Mission Board president Paul Chitwood made a confession to the thousands gathered in the Music City Center on June 14. As 2020 dragged on, he said, challenge after challenge made the IMB’s goals seem further and further beyond reach. “I questioned at times if we would be able to do everything that is necessary to appoint, train and deploy new missionaries in

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EC DECLINES SEX ABUSE MOTION, ELECTS OFFICERS

By David Roach Baptist Press NASHVILLE — If the SBC Executive Committee’s meeting Monday (June 14) is any indication, the convention’s annual meeting this year could involve drama. In a series of closely contested votes at the Music City Center in Nashville, the EC declined to consider a motion related to sexual abuse, ousted a Conservative Baptist Network leader from an EC officer position and set up a potential SBC

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ADAMS PUBLISHES CAMPAIGN TABLOID, DECLINES SPECIFICS OF FUNDING

By Scott Barkley Baptist Press NASHVILLE — SBC presidential candidate Randy Adams said he, along with others he declined to name, combined to fund the publication and delivery of a tabloid-styled newspaper. “SBC News” was being distributed outside the Music City Center Sunday and Monday (June 13-14). The tabloid alleges dishonesty and corruption among SBC institutions, in keeping with the charges Adams has routinely made as part of his campaign

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