SBC 2021 Annual Meeting Review

I have written and rewritten this post at least three times already. Each rewrite has been prompted by a desire to communicate more of why things happen at the SBC over just reporting the specifics of what happened. If you are interested in knowing about the specifics, I am more than willing to have that conversation. For a parliamentary law nerd, this year had some real delights. At one point in the meeting, during a close vote, I was explaining to Dana that RONR stipulates that a certain way of voting should be the next step in the process, but in all my years, I had never experienced such a vote. At that moment, the president called for that type of voting, and we both laughed and enjoyed the moment. So, if you would like to have a deeper conversation about the specifics, call me, and we will talk over coffee.

In my preview post about what I expected to be the major issues at the convention, I listed five: presidential election, critical race theory, cooperation, cultural change, and controversies. If you have not read that post, I would encourage you to do so. These five issues were certainly given great attention, though some were more significant than I anticipated while others were less. So, now that the 2021 annual meeting is in the books, here are five areas of significance that I perceived from this year's meeting.

1) Presidential election

The presidential election may have been the issue that was responsible for driving much of the interests and attendance this year. Ed Litton, a pastor from Alabama, won the presidency on the second ballot. All four candidates had different areas of interest and emphases, but all four were men who held to a faithful view of scripture and are theological conservatives. I certainly had my preference as to who I wanted to lead our convention, but even so, I was confident that whomever the messengers choose would lead us well.

2) Resolutions and CRT

There was more interest in resolutions this year than I have seen in a long time. For the SBC, resolutions are not laws or motions that require action but are the way the convention expresses itself. If you are interested in reading the resolutions that were adopted, you can read them and every other resolution past conventions have adopted online at sbc.net. The resolutions that generated the most attention were “On the Sufficiency of Scripture For Race And Racial Reconciliation” and “On Abolishing Abortion.”

The resolution on the sufficiency of scripture for race and reconciliation stated the following:

RESOLVED, That we reject any theory or worldview that finds the ultimate identity of human beings in ethnicity or in any other group dynamic; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we reject any theory or worldview that sees the primary problem of humanity as anything other than sin against God and the ultimate solution as anything other than redemption found only in Christ; and be it further

RESOLVED, We, therefore, reject any theory or worldview that denies that racism, oppression, or discrimination is rooted, ultimately, in anything other than sin;

Some messengers wanted CRT specifically named and rejected, but in the end, the messengers overwhelmingly decided that the language of rejecting “any theory” that was contrary to scripture rather than a specific theory was the better language.

The resolution on abolishing abortion was originally declined by the resolutions committee, but an effort from the floor to bring it out for consideration by the messages was successful. The resolution was declined by the committee because it rejected (in its original language) any incremental approach to ending abortion and called for legal prosecution of mothers who have aborted their babies. The messengers of the SBC are unequivocally pro-life and thus naturally supportive of any call to end abortion. However, the rejection of all legislative measures that have limited abortions and laid the legal groundwork to overturn Roe v. Wade concerned the messengers. Though we have historically been clear on the sin of abortion, we have also been gracious to those who have aborted babies. The resolution passed with one amendment, but it was not an overwhelmingly strong vote. My sense is that the messengers did not want to be weak on abortion but had some reservations about the specific language of the resolution.

This year’s resolutions are not the last word. The 2022 SBC annual meeting will have more to say about these subjects and new ones as well.

3) Curtailment of the Executive Committee

I have struggled with what word is best to describe the mood of the messengers towards the executive committee. The first word I used was "rebuke," but I think that is too strong. So, I have settled on curtailment. There was a sense of uneasiness, or even distrust, with the executive committee. This was reflected in surprising rejections of some of their recommendations and decisions. The two issues that reflected this most dramatically were the rejection of a proposed business and financial plan that would have significantly increased the authority and power of the EC over other SBC entities and the creation of a task force to investigate the EC regarding their handling of sexual abuse claims. This second matter, according to standing convention rules, was going to be referred to and handled by the EC. However, messengers voted to consider the matter themselves and, by their action, removed the investigation from under the authority of the EC and created an independent task force to oversee the investigation.

4) Growing diversity

Here is some good news – the most significant growth in the SBC is among non-Anglo congregations. African American congregations had the most significant growth in the SBC with 289.3% from 1990-2018. Hispanic, Asian American, and other ethnic congregations all reported equally significant growth. This is indeed good news and encouraging for all Southern Baptists.

5) The integrity of the process

The SBC annual meeting is a deliberative meeting that affords every messenger equal standing before the body. That means that, unlike other denominations, we have our debates and make our decisions in public. We debate and decide issues of doctrine, theology, and the practical matters of administrating the convention in public. This does not always provide for the best public relations presentation, but it has proved to be very effective in keeping the convection from straying from its purpose and biblical fidelity. The SBC is the only major protestant denomination that has been recovered from the grip of theological liberalism. That is primarily due to the power and authority vested in the messengers that constitute the SBC.

At times it can be a messy process, often misunderstood by the world (and even Southern Baptists), but it has been an effective process. The messengers hold the greatest authority in the SBC. The messengers vest that authority in the trustees they elect each year to oversee the various entities of the SBC. This year the messengers reasserted their authority and reaffirmed the polity that has served so well for so long.

Final thoughts

The spirit you experience in the room is not the spirit you encounter on social media. I have had many ask me about the meeting because they heard that it was very contentious. We certainly dealt with issues that were greatly debated but for the most part decisions of the messengers were clearly decisive and at no time was there a spirit of unkindness or disrespect.

What binds us together is the BFM 2000 and our passion for evangelism and missions. The BFM 2000 provides doctrinal and theological boundaries that are strong enough to articulate what we believe and broad enough to allow for different understandings within the boundaries. Our commitment and passion for evangelism and missions is the defining character of the SBC. The cooperative program will never allocate funds in a way that perfectly pleases the passions, desires, and focus of every SBC church or member. However, the cooperative program has no equal in its effectiveness and ability to fund missions and evangelism here and around the world. There may be a few churches that lean toward the independent Baptist model and polity, but I remain confident that the overwhelming number of SBC churches and members see the value and effectiveness of the cooperative program. We gather annually for two days to debate and decide issues important to the work of the convention; then, we return home to our communities and churches to do and be about the work of the great commission.