[1]DALLAS (BP) – Messengers to the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention submitted 28 motions in Dallas, narrowly defeated a proposed constitutional amendment and voted not to abolish the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) during the two-day session of the Convention held June 10-11.
Messengers also voted against a motion by Tom Buck of Texas that the SBC Executive Committee (EC) investigate claims that EC mistreated a former chairman. Initially, the motion was slated to be referred to the EC. However, messengers voted to overturn the recommendation to refer and subsequently rejected the motion altogether.
A motion to amend the SBC Constitution to define a cooperating church as a congregation that “affirms, appoints or employs only men as any kind of pastor” gained just over 60 percent of the vote. But it failed to garner the first of two two-thirds majorities needed to adopt it.
The amendment was proposed by Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas. He offered a revised version of a similar amendment presented in 2022 by Virginia pastor Mike Law. For Sanchez’s motion to be considered by messengers and not automatically referred to the EC, messengers voted to suspend one of the Convention’s standing rules.
“The aim of this motion is simply to provide help by clarifying what the Baptist Faith and Message already says regarding the office of pastor,” Sanchez said to messengers prior to the final vote. He added that he hoped it would provide “further guidance” to the SBC’s Credentials Committee. While the motion received support of more than 60 percent of messengers voting, it fell short of the needed two-thirds majority for passage.
[2]In the latest attempt to abolish or defund the ERLC, nearly 57 percent of messengers voted to keep the entity.
A total of 6,563 ballots were cast, with 3,744 (56.89 percent) opting to support the ERLC and 2,819 (42.84 percent) voting to abolish it. Two successive majority votes are necessary to abolish an SBC entity.
“We thank the messengers for affirming the need for a Southern Baptist entity that advocates for our policy priorities before our nation’s leaders in ways that are rooted in Scripture, reflective of the Baptist Faith & Message and responsive to the actions of our messengers,” said ERLC President Brent Leatherwood. “We are committed to continually listening to Southern Baptists on ways to better serve our Convention in the public square.”
The motion was brought by Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla.
The following motions were referred to the Executive Committee:
- To instruct the SBC’s legal counsel to countersue former SBC President Johnny Hunt to recover legal fees incurred defending a suit Hunt filed against the SBC, submitted by Benjamin Cole of North Carolina.
- To amend SBC Bylaw 20 to state that resolutions cannot be amended once they are presented to SBC messengers and that they must receive a two-thirds vote to be adopted, submitted by Chad Gilbert of Louisiana.
- To amend the SBC Business and Financial Plan requiring SBC entities to publish annually the information required on IRS form 990, with exceptions to protect international missionaries, submitted by Erik Smith of Georgia.
- To amend the ERLC’s ministry assignment, submitted by J.D. Strouth of Indiana.
- To amend the ERLC’s ministry assignment to limit its advocacy to policies in line with the Baptist Faith and Message or SBC resolutions, submitted by Andrew Hebert of Texas.
- To study the possibility of establishing an accreditation agency for K-12 schools, submitted by Tim Overton of Indiana.
- To request that the EC chairman appoint a committee to study the SBC’s governing documents, including the criteria for deeming a church not in friendly cooperation, submitted by Derek Allen of Alabama.
- To request that the EC either cease assigning separate SBC ID numbers to different campuses of a church or amend the SBC’s governing documents to state that campuses of a church are autonomous churches, submitted by Jordan Nelson of Alabama.
- To request that the EC create a task force to study special needs ministry, submitted by Benjamin Hankin of New Jersey.
- To amend Article 6 of the SBC Constitution to state that no one receiving compensation from any SBC entity may serve as a trustee of any entity or as a member of the EC, submitted by Ethan Jago of Florida.
- To amend the ERLC’s ministry assignment limiting their advocacy to policies in line with the Baptist Faith and Message or SBC resolutions, submitted by Andrew Hebert of Texas.
- To ask the SBC president to form a committee to establish an auxiliary focused on ministry to pastors’ wives, submitted by Tiffany Helms of South Carolina.
- To amend SBC Bylaw 19 to require release of the Committee on Committees report 90 days before the SBC Annual meeting, submitted by Riley Prather of Connecticut.
- To form a committee to draft a confessional statement to bring clarity to the issue of women in ministry, submitted by Jared Long of Georgia.
- To request that the EC consider adding to the SBC Calendar a Sunday focused on ministry to people with disabilities, submitted by Sandra Peoples of Texas.
The following motion was referred to the North American Mission Board:
- To ask NAMB to encourage the development of resources to support ministry to individuals with special needs, submitted by Shannon Diehl of Maryland.
The following motion was referred to the ERLC:
- To form a task force to study a biblical stand on immigration, submitted by Jose Arzate of Texas.
The following motion was referred to Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary:
- To request that SEBTS trustees investigate alleged unauthorized distribution of the story of a sexual abuse survivor, submitted by Charles Johnson of Kentucky.
The following motion was referred to all six SBC seminaries:
- To request that each seminary board of trustees consider adding a course to their curriculum focused on prayer, submitted by Andy Harrison of Oklahoma.
The following motion was referred to all entities and the EC:
- To request reports by SBC entities on actions taken to elevate biblically qualified leaders from diverse ethnic backgrounds, submitted by Larry Mayberry of New York.
The following motion was referred to the Committee on Order of Business:
- To add the Pledge to the Christian Flag and the Pledge to the Bible to the SBC Annual Meeting agenda, submitted by Lindsay Holland of Maryland.
The following motions were ruled out of order:
- To instruct the Credentials Committee that any church employing a woman as a pastor of any kind shall not be regarded as having a faith and practice identifying with the Convention’s statement of faith, submitted by John Michael LaRue of Ohio.
- To instruct the EC that Cooperative Program funds should only be distributed to SBC entities that disclose the financial information required on IRS form 990, submitted by David Henneke of Texas.
- To ask the SBC president to appoint a task force to study financial transparency among SBC entities, submitted by Mark Coppenger of Idaho.
- To empower the SBC president to appoint a task force studying how seminaries might address the need for biblical pastoral leadership, submitted by Keith Taylor of Alabama.
- To instruct each SBC entity to adopt a policy of refusing contributions from organizations that take public stands on human sexuality or the sanctity of life opposed to the Baptist Faith and Message, submitted by Chase Davis of Colorado.
BP chief national correspondent Scott Barkley contributed to this report.
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