Again this year I had the privilege of attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention as a messenger. The two days spent together with fellow messengers are essentially the only two days of business for the denomination. The polity of the denomination functions similarly to a church with congregational governance. Major decisions, budgets, appointments, leadership, etc. must all happen in a gathered room with messengers making those decisions. Below are some observations from this year’s meeting.

Historic. The 2025 annual meeting of the SBC was historic in nature. Exactly one hundred years ago (1925), two integral components of SBC life began: the Cooperative Program, the Baptist Faith and Message. The Executive Committee was also established around that window (formed in 1917). With the advent of the Cooperative Program, baptists from all over the United States were able to give through their state conventions and then on to the national convention. The Cooperative Program operates as follows. Each state convention keeps a percentage. In North Carolina, the BSCNC keeps 50 cents of every dollar and then sends 50 cents onto to be distributed nationally. Of every CP dollar given roughly 50% goes to the IMB to send international missionaries, 25% goes to the NAMB to support church planting, replanting, and SEND Relief (disaster relief efforts). The six seminaries receive a proportional amount of what is left based upon enrollment. And a final small percentage goes to the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission as well as the Executive Committee. The cooperative element of Southern Baptist life allows missionaries to go to the field, churches to be planted, and seminary students to be trained. The genius of the Cooperative Program is that forty six thousand churches can combine their giving to support institutional mission and educational structures.

The Baptist Faith and Message was first adopted in 1925 establishing a confession of faith that articulated doctrinal clarity for a denomination that at the time was eighty years old. Building upon the New Hampshire Confession of Faith, the BF&M has become a guiding document that instructs and determines friendly fellowship between churches. Revised in 1963 and 2000, the BF&M serves Southern Baptists as a confessional document for consistent doctrinal application.

The Executive Committee also began in that era (1917) as the standing leadership for the denomination to accomplish tasks and responsibilities for the denomination outside the annual meeting. The EC then and now serves the purpose of the legal and formal representation of the will of the messengers between annual meetings. 

We should not minimize the significance of the institutional history of the SBC. With mainline denominations shuttering doors and prominent seminaries moving or declining, the health of the SBC one hundred years after the establishment of these three components is something to be grateful for. Southern Baptists do not always agree. We face challenges annually and will continue to do so. But our shared history, love for cooperative missions, and willingness adapt to our polity make us a denomination with lasting capabilities. 

Difficult. Sometimes denominational actions are difficult. Over the past several annual meetings, the messengers have done things good and bad. From waiving attorney client privilege for an internal investigation regarding sexual abuse allegations to implementing reforms in the area of accountability for pastors and churches to facing legal bills, decisions at the annual meetings have consequences anticipated and unanticipated. One of the more significant actions of this year’s messengers was approving a financial plan with budgeting considerations for addressing lawsuits. Over the past several years, SBC actions have been perceived as defamation and lawsuits against the EC, SBC, and Credentials Committee have been filed. Fighting these legal challenges is costly. The desire of the messengers in recent meetings has overwhelmingly been aimed at pursuing integrity and transparency. So this year’s budget requests funds for legal fees. While no one likes spending money on legal fees, the SBC is the largest Protestant denomination in the US existing in a litigious society. While we may lament the necessity to pay legal bills we are obligated financially and legally. 

Troubled. At almost every recent SBC meeting, I’ve attended, there have been motions calling for the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission to be defunded or abolished. One of our seminary presidents referred to the ERLC as a “troubled” entity. Rank and file baptists have expressed frustration at the ERLC for calling out conservative and Republican politicians and for accepting funds from sources that are not aligned with the SBC in values and worldview. The ERLC has the unenviable task of addressing policies in a divided political climate. A motion was made to abolish the ERLC once again. While the vote to abolish fell short, more than 40% of the messengers voted to abolish. We should pray that the ERLC board and officers hear the concerns and adjust accordingly. In my estimation, it would be devastating to lose the commission as a voice for the SBC in Washington, D.C. Nevertheless, when such a significant percentage of the messengers vote concerned, the entity should take notice.

Grateful. Parents, we raise our children, not to live at home, but to leave our homes, get married, and begin families of their own. While we may always desire our children to remain close, a sign of good parenting is sending your children away prepared and ready to face the world. Likewise, one of the greatest signs of our denominational values and health is in our sending. Our mission mandates sending (Matthew 28:16-20), and our denomination exists essentially as a cooperative body for mission sending. In 2024, the IMB commissioned 423 missionaries, connected thousands of Southern Baptists on short-term mission trips, and advanced in Project 3000 by engaging unengaged people groups. Last year more than 63,000 people professed faith in Christ due to IMB efforts, thousands of new churches were started, and 84,000 new leaders were trained. We cooperate confessionally in order to send missionaries. Why? Because 166,338 people die every day across the world and enter a Christ-less eternity. 

Highlights. At the luncheon for the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Dr. Albert Mohler noted the health of the Southern Baptist seminaries. Your six Southern Baptist Seminaries (The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, and Gateway Seminary of the Southern Baptist Convention) are six of the ten strongest seminaries in the US. This is because the seminaries are committed to theological fidelity. This past graduation at SBTS, students from more than 13 countries graduated and walked. There were actually students from the Ukraine and Russia to graduate from SBTS. While their countries are at war, the gospel unites believers for the spread of the gospel. Dr. Mohler also made two other observations that should encourage us. First, while Southern Baptists will gather and argue about a great many things, at least we are healthy enough as a denomination to gather, argue, and debate. Many other denominations are not healthy, not gathering, and certainly not growing because they are not committed to biblical inerrancy and authority. Second, the SBC annual meeting may be one of the only places in the world where people in skinny jeans and others with fat ties can gather for mission cooperation and denominational decision-making.

Part of what makes being a Southern Baptist good is that we are diverse. We are imperfect. We disagree. We are overwhelmingly conservative, biblical, missional, and complementation. But we are diverse in the application of doctrine and practice.

If you would like to hear more about the SBC Annual meeting 2025, visit us at Wilkesboro Baptist Church on June 18 at 6 pm. I’ll be giving a more thorough review to our church family.