PHOENIX (BP) — Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines has named the members of the Committee on Resolutions for the June 13-14 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix.
Gaines, pastor of Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church, appointed the committee in keeping with the provision in SBC Bylaw 20 that its members be named 75 days prior to the start of the annual meeting.
Gaines named Barrett Duke of Montana as committee chairman. Duke is the newly elected executive director of the Montana Southern Baptist Convention and a member of Weems Creek Baptist Church in Annapolis, Md.
The other committee members, in alphabetical order, are:
— Ken Alford, pastor, Crossroads Baptist Church, Valdosta, Ga.
— Felix Cabrera, co-founder, Hispanic Baptist Pastors Alliance; pastor, Iglesia Bautista Central, Oklahoma City, a mission of Oklahoma City’s Quail Springs Baptist Church.
— Linda Cooper, national president of Woman’s Missionary Union; member, Forest Park Baptist Church, Bowling Green, Ky.
— Jason Duesing, provost and associate professor of historical theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Kansas City; member, Antioch Bible Baptist Church, Gladstone, Mo.
— David Leavell, pastor, First Baptist Church, Millington, Tenn.
— Matthew McKellar, associate professor of preaching, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas; member, First Baptist Church, Dallas.
— Jeffrey Riley, professor of ethics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans; member, Edgewater Baptist Church, New Orleans.
— Rolland Slade, pastor, Meridian Southern Baptist Church, El Cajon, Calif.
— James Smith, vice president of communications, National Religious Broadcasters, Washington, D.C.; member, Covenant Community Church, Fredericksburg, Va.
The committee’s composition, according to Bylaw 20, must include at least two members who served the previous year, with Cooper, Duesing, Slade and Smith meeting this requirement. Bylaw 20 also stipulates that the committee include at least three SBC Executive Committee members. This year they are Alford, Cooper and Slade.
The procedure for submitting resolutions is as follows according to Bylaw 20:
— Proposed resolutions may be submitted as early as April 15 but no later than 15 days prior to the SBC annual meeting, giving the Resolutions Committee a two-week period in which to consider submissions. The committee also may propose resolutions for consideration during its deliberations. Resolutions may not be submitted during the annual meeting.
— Proposed resolutions must be accompanied by a letter from a church qualified to send a messenger to the SBC annual meeting certifying that the individual submitting the resolution is a member in good standing.
— Proposed resolutions preferably should be submitted by email or mailed to the Committee on Resolutions in care of the SBC Executive Committee, 901 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37203. The drafts must be typewritten, titled, dated and include complete contact information for the person and his or her church.
— No person will be allowed to submit more than three resolutions per year.
— If a properly submitted resolution is not forwarded by the Committee on Resolutions to the SBC annual meeting, a two-thirds vote of messengers would be required to bring the proposed resolution to the convention floor.