ORLANDO (BP) – Two candidates have announced their willingness to be nominated for the office of president of the Southern Baptist Convention– Florida pastor Willy Rice and South Carolina pastor Josh Powell. Powell will be nominated by Tennessee pastor Jay Hardwick. Rice announced his candidacy in an online video; it is unknown who his nominator will be.
The candidates sat down with Baptist Press for interviews covering the current state of the SBC and the issues or priorities that would define their term as SBC president.
Willy Rice
Rice contends that recent debates in the SBC have damaged trust and diminished support of the Cooperative Program. (Read his BP interview here. See the video here.)
Pastor for the last 22 years of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Fla., Rice put forward his thoughts on what’s needed in the SBC at his own website. There, he lists seven “pillars” for renewal, the first of which is convictional clarity.
“We’re living in an age where I just think that is so important,” he said. “I’m looking for people who really have that kind of convictional grounding … people who are willing to lean in and engage. We need people who are willing to speak up, ask tough questions and are excited about … the opportunity to serve … [to] see it as an opportunity to be engaged in the process.”
Rice said he has supported recent proposed amendments to the SBC Constitution regarding the role and function of a pastor, but he also proposes a task force that would study the issue and bring a report to more clearly define terms.
“I really believe the overwhelming majority of Baptist people would be united [through] a clearly written report that says, this is what Baptist people think, this is what we believe, this is what the New Testament says, and these are appropriate recommendations coming out of that,” he said.
As the annual meeting’s presiding officer, Rice said he would leave plenty of time for business. While he appreciates times of singing and inspiration, he believes “there’s sometimes a frustration of messengers. … You get to important matters of debate, and you seem to run out of time,” he said.
Josh Powell
Powell acknowledges that the SBC has had its problems and challenges. “Cooperation is hard,” he said. (Read his BP interview here. See the video here.)
“[But] there are two options we can take. There are those in the convention [who] want to focus on our problems … to talk about them all the time. I would rather focus on the priorities, because I believe that … you cannot focus on the priorities and the problems at the same time.”
Powell also supported the failed attempts to amend the SBC Constitution in recent years, but also believes other avenues for solving the issue are available.
He recommends a reevaluation of the SBC Credentials Committee. One of the recommendations by 2024 Cooperation Group was to decouple the Credentials Committee from the SBC Executive Committee and have it report directly to the messengers, for instance.
“The Convention approved those recommendations, and then they weren’t put into place,” Powell said. “I still think that’s the best way to handle it.”
As for a meeting over which he would preside, Powell said, “I just want to create a meeting that is God-glorifying, Christ-exalting and mission-focused to who we are,” he said. “So let’s address the things we need to address. Let’s deal with those things. I want to create that kind of atmosphere for our messengers.”
Other candidates announced thus far include:
First and second vice president
Craig Carlisle, current SBC second vice president, will be nominated for first vice president. He is the only known candidate so far. Carlisle is associational mission strategist for the Etowah Baptist Association in Alabama and a member of First Baptist Church in Gadsden, Ala. He will be nominated by Charles W. Smith, member of Redemption Church near Mobile and president of the University of Mobile.
Two pastors have announced their willingness to be nominated for SBC second vice president – Kentucky pastor Austin Rouse and North Carolina pastor Allen Murray.
Rouse, pastor of families and students at Southern Heights Baptist Church in Russellville, Ky., will be nominated by Michael Schultz, senior pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Lewisburg, Ky.
Murray, Mt. Pisgah Baptist Church in Supply, N.C., will be nominated by Chris Griggs, lead pastor of First Baptist Church Welcome, N.C.
Recording secretary
Jonathan Greer, pastor of Franklin Creek Baptist Church in Moss Point, Miss., will be nominated by Tyler Armstrong, pastor of Woodward Avenue Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Ala.
Travis Kearns, associational mission strategist for the Three Rivers Baptist Association in Taylors, S.C., will be nominated by Denny Burk, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary professor and an associate pastor at Kenwood Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.
George Schroeder, pastor of First Baptist Church in Fairfield, Texas, will be nominated by Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church in Tallahassee, Fla.
Registration secretary
Current SBC Registration Secretary Don Currence is the only announced candidate for the position for the next year. Currence, administrative pastor of First Baptist Church Ozark, Mo., and mayor of Ozark, will be nominated by Jay Adkins, pastor of First Baptist Church Westwego, La.
Pastors’ Conference president
Wayne Bray, pastor of Upstate Church, a multi-site church in South Carolina, is the only announced candidate for president of the 2027 SBC Pastors’ Conference, to be held in Indianapolis. Bray will be nominated by Ted Traylor, pastor of Olive Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla. The election for pastors’ conference president will take place during this year’s conference, June 7-8.
Elections for SBC officers will be held during the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting, June 9-10 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.
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