My Thoughts on the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting
Over the past week several members of our congregation have asked me my thoughts about the recent Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Nashville. I struggled to give a clear answer and decided to write this post. In no way is this comprehensive or even exhaustive; I will only be able to hit some high points.
Things I’m thankful for from Nashville
First, the ability to gather with brothers and sisters in Christ from across the country refreshed me and so many pastors. Even brief connections with people we have known across the years brought encouragement. In many cases the spirit in the hallways was one of reunion.
Second, one of the most significant moments was the messengers’ approval of Vision 2025. Under the leadership of Executive Committee CEO Ronnie Floyd, our convention committed to several strategic actions that advance the goal of reaching every person in every town, city, state, and nation with the Gospel. Among these actions are the expansion of our IMB missionaries by a net gain of 500 and a commitment to plant thousands of new churches across North America. This is a wonderfully clear vision that makes me hopeful for the future.
Third, the IMB commissioning service on Monday evening was the absolute highlight of the week. Our convention sent out 64 new missionaries going to all regions of the world. Together Southern Baptists support over 3,631 missionaries all over the globe! The result of this is that over 750,000 people heard a Gospel presentation this past year. 89,000 of these individuals professed faith in Christ!
Fourth, in spite of a massive attendance and some measure of disagreement across the convention, much of the business occurred in Christlike manner. Our convention leadership emphasized the importance of praying together both before and during the meeting and I believe that this bore fruit in how things developed through the week.
Finally, the SBC took several steps to strengthen the Convention’s commitment to end sexual abuse in our churches and hold accountable churches who do not take this matter seriously. This is certainly a good thing and I’m thankful for it. What I’m not sure about is the manner in which this was presented. Ostensibly the Executive Committee acted improperly in the handling of past sexual abuse accusations. The calls for investigation appeared to be directed at certain individuals and as such seemed to have a partisan tinge to them. I am hopeful that the results of the investigation will lead to clarity about what happened and help the Convention take whatever actions are necessary to prevent abuse and help victims find justice.
Things I’m prayerful about from Nashville
First, there was far too much worldly political maneuvering. This is nothing new in SBC life but that doesn’t make it less unseemly. Between social media broadsides back and forth, leaks, and even tabloid style newspapers being distributed outside the venue, some elements of the SBC resembled the politics of Washington rather than disagreements among God’s people. God’s people should be able to disagree and conduct our affairs without such worldly tactics. I pray we can do better in the future.
Second, although the annual meeting did not implode into complete chaos and partisan rancor, there is still a great deal of division in the convention. I’ll provide a few examples here. We had lengthy debate over Resolution 1, titled: “Baptist Unity and Maintaining our Public Witness.” If we cannot unify around a resolution about unity, we aren’t quite unified! The presidential election went into a runoff and when the final vote was tallied, less than 600 votes separated the top two candidates. This is not unique to 2021; many SBC presidential elections have been close but it certainly speaks to a difference of opinion on who we want to lead our convention. The recent proliferation of various networks and tribes in convention life also seems to be a manifestation of the disagreements. Perhaps division has been most pronounced in the ways various people have threatened to leave the convention if a certain outcome were to occur or not occur. Even now in the aftermath of the convention how some are discussing leaving. I understand such sentiments but I do not share them. If history has demonstrated anything about the SBC, it is that we need to pay attention to the long game. One election or one resolution does not seal our fate. Each annual meeting gives the opportunity for messengers to influence the direction of our convention. Rather than leaving, we need to work and advocate for the future we prefer.
Third, some in the SBC have adopted a dismissive attitude when it comes to those who voice theological concerns. Two major topics over the last year in this regard have been Critical Theory and Complementarianism. Emotional arguments (rather than logical arguments) to the effect that we should care more about sharing Jesus than these other issues have tended to be standard fare. While I agree wholeheartedly that if we are more passionate about some theological hobbyhorse than we are about sharing Jesus something is wrong; we should nevertheless be very careful we don’t succumb to a false dichotomy. The choice is not between theological clarity and mission. Theological clarity and mission go hand in hand and we would be well served to remember that and fight for both.
Coming out of Nashville I am thankful and prayerful. I am praying for our new president, Ed Litton, and other SBC leaders. I am praying for the leadership of Ronnie Floyd. I am committed to lead our church to cooperate in advancing the Gospel to the ends of the earth. I am committed to contend for the faith. We are people of the Book. May we believe it and act like it.