INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Messengers presented 50 motions at the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention annual neeting and acted on several, rejecting calls to abolish the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and censure Southern Baptist leaders and approving a motion to unseat messengers from a Virginia church.

Abolishing an entity requires two successive two-thirds votes of approval. The crowd in the Indiana Convention Center fell well short of that margin on a motion brought by Tom Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Fla., getting an estimated quarter of the vote. Attempts in recent years to abolish the ERLC have failed by bigger margins.

Louis Cook, pastor of Oak City Baptist Church in Oak City, N.C., presented a motion to censure Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler, Lifeway Christian Resources President Ben Mandrell and then-SBC President Bart Barber in relation to signing an amicus brief in a Kentucky-based statute of limitations case. The messengers ultimately overruled the Committee on Order of Business by ruling the motion out of order.

The motion to unseat messengers from First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., was brought by Aaron Decker, a messenger from Red Village Church in Madison, Wisc. The Credentials Committee followed Decker’s motion with a recommendation to deem the church not in friendly cooperation with the SBC based “on the grounds of their public endorsement of egalitarianism.” The messengers’ agreement with that recommendation unseated the church’s messengers.

Messengers responded with a vote of 6,759 to 563 in agreement with Decker and the Credentials Committee.

Messengers rejected the following motions:

• To appoint a blue-ribbon committee to review the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and return with proposed revisions. Brought by Allen Featherstone, pastor-elder of Deepening at Mosaic Church in Provo, Utah.
• To request a fact-finding committee to review the work of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force. Brought by Sean Dennis, chairman of deacons at Vine Street Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.
• To direct the convention to remove pledges of allegiance to earthly kingdoms from all convention activities. Brought by Michael Sherwood, a messenger from Gore Springs Baptist Church in Gore Springs, Miss.
• To request the SBC president to appoint a task force to examine all legal matters related to NAMB between 2017 and 2024. Brought by Joel Breidenbaugh, lead pastor of Gospel Centered Church in Apopka, Fla.
• To allow the ERLC to raise funds from outside the SBC. Brought by Ben Cole, a messenger from Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano.

Motions referred to the Executive Committee were:

• To consider how Southern Baptists from every cooperating state convention can serve on SBC boards, committees, commissions and institutions, submitted by Jon Ballard of South Dakota.
• To amend the Baptist Faith & Message to include affirmation of the Nicene, Apostles’ and Athanasian Creeds, submitted by John Michael LaRue of Ohio.
• To study the feasibility of remote participation in the SBC annual meeting, submitted by Wally Contreras of Ohio.
• To prioritize funds to update SBC.net, submitted by Tyler Pearce of Florida.
• To enable remote participation by messengers in the SBC annual meeting, submitted by Brandon Booth of California.
• To amend the Business and Financial Plan to ensure greater financial transparency, brought by Wade Thomas of Ohio.
• To require a two-thirds vote from messengers to approve all alterations to the Baptist Faith & Message 2000, brought by Chelsea McReynolds of Oklahoma.
• To reallocate all Cooperative Program funds from ERLC to the International Mission Board, brought by Kenny Cody of Tennessee.
• To form an ad hoc committee to study elders and deacons in local churches, brought by John Boquist of Virginia.
• To amend Article 6 of the SBC Constitution related to qualifications for trustee service, brought by Ethan Jago of Florida.
• To amend Bylaw 26B to allow for additional time for questions during entity reports, brought by Brian Dembowcyzk of Tennessee.
• To require all entities to publish their conflict-of-interest policies, brought by Clay Hall of Kentucky.
• To amend the Baptist Faith & Message to include the Nicene Creed, brought by Stephen Lorance of North Carolina.
• To request the Executive Committee create a task force to study how best to minister to the special needs community, brought by Benjamin Hankin of New Jersey.
• To direct the Executive Committee to publish a schedule of all money spent on legal matters between 2021 and 2024, brought by Casey Fender of North Carolina.
• To request the Executive Committee publish the names of messengers on both sides of the nametags issued at each annual meeting, brought by David Miller of Nebraska.
• To direct the Executive Committee to publish a schedule of all money spent on legal matters between 2021 and 2024, brought by Gregg Kite of Kansas.
• To direct the Executive Committee to publish the contact information for all entity trustees, brought by Wesley Russell of Kentucky.
• To direct the Executive Committee to form a task force to study the long-term effects of vaccine mandates on International Mission Board missionaries, brought by Jared Burdick of Kentucky.
• To amend Bylaw 8, requiring the Credentials Committee to schedule a vote of messengers when a church is considered to be not in friendly cooperation and for the messengers’ vote to be final, brought by Jonathan Raffini of Texas.
• To amend the SBC Business and Financial Plan to require all SBC entities to disclose all financial information included in Form 990, brought by Rhett Burns of South Carolina.
• To amend Bylaw 20 related to the Resolutions Committee, brought by Kristen Ferguson of California.
• To amend the ministry assignment of the ERLC to address sexual abuse awareness and prevention or request the Executive Committee to create a new entity to address sexual abuse awareness and prevention, brought by Megan Lively of North Carolina.

Motions referred to the North American Mission Board were:

• To submit a forensic audit from the previous fiscal year, brought by Parker Roberts of Georgia.
• To request a task force to study the need for Christian schools in impoverished and rural communities, brought by James Briggs of Missouri.
• To appoint a task force to study how churches can be more effective in evangelism and baptisms, brought by Scott Talley of Florida.

One motion to publish textbooks for homeschool students, brought by Tim Overton of Indiana was referred to Lifeway Christian Resources.

Motions referred to all entities were:

• To only use outside legal counsel whose values reflect the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 on gender and sexuality, brought by Paul Montgomery of Oklahoma.
• To request that all convention entities revise their codes of conduct related to alcohol, brought by Jonathan Parramore of California.
• To request entity trustees explain how Calvinism / Reformed theology is compatible with the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 and consider not promoting those beliefs in their entities, brought by Curtis Kentmer of Kentucky.

A motion by Ethan Hester of North Carolina to direct the Executive Committee to publish a schedule of payments of more than $5,000 paid to another entity was referred to all entities and the Executive Committee.

A motion by Talmadge Fogg of Florida to request the president to adopt a task force to study Philippine indigenous Baptist pastors was referred to the International Mission Board.

A motion by Joe Sneed of Texas to direct the ERLC to issue a formal apology to the Executive Committee for accusations of covering up sexual abuse was referred to the ERLC.

The following motions were ruled not in order, followed by the reason why:

• To request the SBC president appoint a task force to investigate how Southern Baptists have responded to sexual abuse, brought by David Morrill of Colorado. As stated, the motion requests Cooperative Program allocations be directed to a task force which is not in line with the Business and Financial plan.
• To direct the Executive Committee to disallow any politicians from speaking or advertising at the SBC annual meeting during election years, brought by Ken Rucker of Georgia. As stated the motion would infringe on the rights of certain messengers to the convention, including registration secretary Don Currence, who also serves as mayor of Ozark, Mo.
• To request the Executive Committee examine all North American Mission Board court documents since 2017, brought by Kenneth Carey of Maryland. It was determined to be identical to another motion that was discussed on the floor.
• To request the resignation of Brent Leatherwood as president of the ERLC, brought by Michael Borghese of Texas. Motion instructed an entity employee.
• To ask messengers to affirm the Nicene Creed, brought by Andy Brown of Mississippi. Motion was in the nature of a resolution.
• To request Pastors’ Conference presidents to set apart time for guided prayer during the event, brought by Zack Reno of Alabama. The SBC may not direct the Pastors’ Conference schedule.
• To prohibit Cooperative Program funds being used to pay for entity personnel to attend the SBC annual meeting to serve as messengers, brought by Charles Johnson of Kentucky. The motion directs entities.
• To request all convention entities release a statement supporting the nation of Israel, brought by Matt Dunn of Missouri. The motion was in the nature of a resolution.

Landon Breidenbach to First Baptist Church in Clyde as student pastor.

Ryan Jonse to First Baptist Church in Jefferson as student minister from First Baptist Church in Hallsville, where he was a youth associate.

Terry “Butch” Schneider to Harmony Baptist Church of Palestine as pastor, beginning June 16.

Erik Vance to Stark College & Seminary as professor of church history. He is pastor of Southside Community Church in Fort Worth.

INDIANAPOLIS (RNS)—Clint Pressley, a North Carolina megachurch pastor known for a conservative but even-keel approach to leadership and who does not wear jeans in the pulpit, was elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention.

After a pair of runoff elections, Pressley received 56 percent of the 7,562 votes cast during a June 12 session of the SBC annual meeting at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Tennessee pastor Dan Spencer, who had qualified for the final runoff with Pressley, received 43.7 percent of the votes.

Brad Graves, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Ada, Okla., was elected first vice president, and Eddie Lopez, pastor of First Baptist Church en Español of Forney, was elected second vice president.

Nathan Finn, executive director of the Institute for Transformational Leadership, was reelected as recording secretary, and Don Currence, administrative pastor of First Baptist Church in Ozark, Mo., was reelected as registration secretary.

Dial back the heated rhetoric

Pressley, who has led Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte the past 14 years, prefers a suit and tie and a more traditional approach in worship, and he has indicated that his more formal style will translate into his leadership.

“It seems like the kind of rhetoric and the temperature is really high, and I’d like to see it come down a good bit,” Pressley told Religion News Service earlier this year.

He repeated that message at a forum hosted by the National African American Fellowship of the SBC earlier this week, saying he hoped Southern Baptists, known for evangelism and missions, would “get our attention focused back on what we do.”

“We got to quit arguing and start going back to work,” he said.

Pressley was one of six candidates seeking the SBC presidency, an influential volunteer role in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Three of the candidates—North Carolina pastor Bruce Frank, Oklahoma pastor Mike Keahbone and Tennessee pastor Jared Moore—were eliminated after the first round of votes. David Allen, a longtime seminary professor, missed the cutoff during a first runoff.

The field of six candidates was the largest since 2008. This year’s race was the first to be undecided after one runoff since 2016. That year, a runoff between North Carolina megachurch pastor J.D. Greear and Tennessee megachurch pastor Steve Gaines ended in a tie. Greear dropped out of the race but was elected president two years later.

Pressley supported the so-called Law Amendment, a measure that would have barred churches with women pastors. He also has been generally supportive of abuse reforms but did have questions about a proposed database of abusers, which was approved for the third year in a row by messengers.

Supports training to deal with abuse

He supports more training and awareness for churches in dealing with abuse. At an SBC presidential forum, Pressley said that in the past, his church would not have been prepared to deal with abuse. But the recent reforms, he said, caused his church to take the issue seriously and enact policies and training to deal with abuse.

That training meant the Hickory Grove leaders knew what to do when a church volunteer recently was accused of abusing a family member. Had the SBC not started dealing with abuse in recent years, he said, “We would not have known what to do.”

In his first news conference, Pressley told of growing up in a Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and then how his life changed when his family began attending a Southern Baptist church.

“Never heard anything like that,” Pressley said. His family soon joined Hickory Grove, the congregation he now leads.

Pressley said he is glad to serve Southern Baptists but is aware of the limits of the president’s role, which is a volunteer role.

“As the Southern Baptist Convention president,” he said. “It sounds like you have a whole lot of power, but you don’t.”

Pressley said he is confident long-promised abuse reforms will move forward.

He also said that despite the failure to pass the Law Amendment, which would have added a constitutional ban on churches with female pastors of any kind, the SBC remains committed to complementarianism—the belief that men and women have separate roles in the family and in the church.

When asked about a newly passed resolution warning about the ethics of in-vitro fertilization, the North Carolina pastor volunteered that he and his wife had dealt with infertility, and IVF had been one of the treatment options they thought about. He said pastors should use the resolution to help Southern Baptists think through the issue.

“We have just not thought about it very much,” Pressley said.

Pressley detailed some of his career as a pastor, saying he’d served small rural churches and older churches before coming back to lead Hickory Grove. He said Southern Baptists should be known for their joy—something he said Southern Baptists have a duty to show.

In a moment of self-deprecation, Pressley also admitted he’ll need help in overseeing the denomination’s annual meeting. His predecessor, Texas pastor Bart Barber, is known for his expertise in parliamentary procedures and Baptist polity.

That’s not Pressley’s strong point, he admitted.

“I shudder to think of how poorly I will compare to Bart Barber.”

Adelle M. Banks contributed to this report.

After extensive debate, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention approved resolutions about integrity in leadership, religious liberty, support for Israel and in vitro fertilization.

The Committee on Resolutions brought 10 of 27 properly submitted proposed resolutions for consideration to messengers of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, spread out over three business sessions.

The committee published their proposed resolutions May 31, with a change enacted at the 2023 meeting to bylaw 20 of the SBC constitution to give at least 10 days to consider the resolutions in a preliminary report prior to the annual meeting, Kristen Ferguson, committee chair from California, said.

Without specifically naming any individuals but calling to mind the failure of recent leaders in Southern Baptist life including Paige Patterson, Paul Pressler, Johnny Hunt and others, Resolution 1 addressed “Integrity in SBC Leadership.”

It proposed calling sinful leaders to repentance and removing themselves from ministry positions “to pursue conciliation” where “disqualifying sin” has been committed.

In the event leaders who’ve committed disqualifying sins do not remove themselves from positions of ministry, the resolution calls on Southern Baptist churches to subject those leaders to church discipline.

Stephen Owensby from Gaffney, S.C., proposed an amendment that added: “Whereas, the Apostle Paul models for leaders how to biblically acknowledge imperfections through confessing pride, pleading with the Lord for help, trusting his grace to be sufficient in weakness and proclaiming God’s strength even as we are weak. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10.”

The committee found this amendment to be friendly, and it was adopted without objection.

Jolee Sisney from Kansas City, Mo., attempted to amend the resolution by including a reference to an amicus brief filed by lawyers for the SBC Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Lifeway Christian Resources. The brief was aimed at limiting liability for sexual abuse claims.

The committee considered the amendment unfriendly because what they provided was “a generic resolution about a pattern of behavior, not targeting one specific thing,” the committee member presenting the resolution, Byron McWilliams of Odessa, said.

Sisney defended the amendment, saying it offered “a small opportunity for messengers to speak to the filers of the amicus brief.” She said some of them had not yet spoken about it, even though the filing “blind-sided” and “devastated” many in the SBC. Her amendment failed.

Separately, a motion to censure signers of that brief—Lifeway CEO Ben Mandrell, SBC President Bart Barber and Southern Seminary President Al Mohler—was brought to the floor but defeated.

Religious liberty debate

Resolution 2, “On Defending Religious Liberty,” called for upholding historic Baptist principles on religious liberty, in response to growing Christian nationalist movements, although it did not use that term.

Messengers who disagreed with several points of the resolution said it was too murky to be helpful; that Jesus is the ruler of kings on earth, so the nation is obligated to confess Jesus is Lord; and it left room for antisemitism or restrictions on Southern Baptists proclaiming God’s word.

Dusty Deevers, an Oklahoma state senator, called for “a point of order and division of the room” in contest of the vote count on a proposed amendment by James Mitzenmacher of Florida.

Mitzenmacher, who noted he is ethnically Jewish, presented an amendment to “steadfastly oppose all legislation that would designate any portion of the Holy Bible as hate speech, or impose any restriction on proclaiming God’s word, or otherwise stifle the religious liberty of Southern Baptists.”

Bart Barber explained Deevers’ “division of the house” motion was in order and meant that the vote would be retaken, by standing instead of by raised ballot.

The vote still showed the amendment had failed to pass from his perspective, Barber continued. But, he advised Deevers he could call for a marked ballot vote if he was still not satisfied with the count.

A clear majority opposed Devers’ motion for a marked ballot. So, after a requested parliamentary ruling concluded the vote against the amendment stood, Resolution 2 was adopted as worded in the SBC Daily Bulletin.

Just War debate

An amendment by James Ag from Ohio to correct a Scripture reference to Matthew 24:6 from Matthew 26:4 on Resolution 3, “On Just War and Pursuit of Peace,” was received as friendly and approved.

The messenger from Ohio proposed several additional changes, noting it is “nonsensical to say we dropped a bomb on people because we love them.” His proposed amendments ultimately were voted down, and the resolution passed with the amended Scripture reference.

Noting the lack of pre-filed amendments related to several resolutions, Barber and the committee proposed dealing with four of them at one time to speed up the process.

The convention agreed to approve three of the four by general acclamation: Resolution 7, “On the God-Given Rights and Responsibilities of Parents;” Resolution 9, “On Evangelism and the Great Commission;” and Resolution 10, “On Appreciation for Indianapolis.”

Resolution 8, “On the Danger of Abusing Non-Disclosure and Non-Disparagement Agreements,” was pulled from the group approval set when objections to it were noted.

Messengers robustly discussed Resolution 4, “On Justice and Peace in the Aftermath of the Oct. 7 Attack on Israel.” It denounced Hamas and urged Southern Baptists to be united in support of the nation of Israel, opposing any call for a permanent cease-fire until all hostages are released.

Messengers voted down an amendment by Braden Hodgekiss of Florida, the committee had deemed friendly. It removed the language “since God called them as his people” and added “we especially pray” in acknowledgement of Palestinian and Jewish Christians.

Ferguson moved to accept Resolution 6, “On the Ethical Realities of Reproductive Technologies and the Dignity of the Human Embryo.”

IVF debate

Daniel Taylor proposed a pre-filed amendment to soften the language of the resolution to be sensitive to Christians whose families have been built through IVF. He passionately spoke to his amendment, telling the story of his godson who would not have been born without IVF.

Ferguson responded that while his story pointed to the need for sensitivity in this conversation, the committee had taken all of it into consideration in their draft and did not consider the amendment to be friendly.

The resolution passed without amendment despite impassioned pleas from an additional messenger who personally was indebted to IVF for the birth of his children and grieved to have messengers affirm a resolution which he said paints IVF as an evil.

The resolution stated: “In Vitro Fertilization most often participates in the destruction of embryonic human life and increasingly engages in dehumanizing methods for determining suitability for life and genetic sorting, based on notions of genetic fitness and parental preferences.”

It also asserted “between 1 million and 1.5 million human beings are currently stored in cryogenic freezers in an embryonic state throughout the United States, with most unquestionably destined for eventual destruction.”

The adopted resolution called on Southern Baptists “to reaffirm the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage, and to only utilize reproductive technologies consistent with that affirmation especially in the number of embryos generated in the IVF process.”

The North American Mission Board will not fund church starts in partnership with the Baptist General Convention of Texas unless Texas Baptists change their statement of faith.

However, NAMB will be glad to help BGCT churches start churches anywhere in North America other than Texas.

NAMB President Kevin Ezell offered that answer in response to a question raised by Dustin Slaton, pastor of First Baptist Church in Round Rock.

Recently, BGCT Executive Director Julio Guarneri told Texas Baptists’ Executive Board he had learned NAMB no longer would fund church starts of singly aligned BGCT churches in Texas.

Desire to partner with NAMB and BGCT

Slaton noted his congregation—like the BGCT—officially names the 1963 Baptist Faith & Message as its statement of faith, although he affirmed the belief that the office of pastor is reserved for men.

He said his church wants to start churches in nearby Taylor to reach Koreans and other Asian groups moving to the area in the next 10 years.

“I want to lead my church to start complementarian Southern Baptist churches—gospel-preaching churches,” Slaton said. “And I want to do that with NAMB. And I want to do that with the Baptist General Convention of Texas.”

Slaton asked Ezell to clear up this “murky situation.”

“NAMB has gladly accepted my church’s financial investment in the North American Mission Board for decades without asking which version of the BFM we have in our documents or concern about which state convention we’re a part of,” Slaton said.

“So, can we now count on the North American Mission Board to reciprocate that investment by partnering with us to plant genuinely Southern Baptist churches in Texas and invest in us with the same resources, training, guidance, relationships and financial opportunities you would provide to a church who partners with our other wonderful state convention?”

He asked how a “dyed-in-the-wool Southern Baptist” church that also is affiliated with the BGCT could work together with NAMB.

Consider adopting the 2000 BF&M

Ezell said NAMB’s “longstanding commitment” is to start churches in partnership with state conventions that affirm the 2000 Baptist Faith & Mission.

“We can partner with your church to plant a church anywhere in North America outside of Texas, because those states do affirm the Baptist Faith & Message 2000,” he said.

It is a “difficult and awkward situation” for NAMB in Texas because the BGCT does not affirm the 2000 version of the Baptist Faith & Message, he said.

“My question has always been back the other way,” Ezell said. “I cannot and will not change that standard. But I would love for you to consider and for your state convention to adopt the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.”

In his “Texas Baptists Weekly” email on June 12, Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Julio Guarneri wrote: “There are those who would like Texas Baptists to adopt a strictly complementarian position like the SBC and the BFM 2000. There are also those who would like Texas Baptists to be officially egalitarian. Yet, we are committed to unity in diversity under the Scriptures and the Lordship of Christ.”

Guarneri recently noted an increasing number of churches beyond Texas have asked to affiliate as part of the GC2 initiative, focused on Christ’s Great Commission and Great Commandment.

“We will continue to welcome churches from any state who align with our commitment to God’s mission under the Lordship of Christ and the authority of Scripture who desire to affiliate with us. We can do more together than we can do apart,” he wrote in the June 12 email.

“We will continue to partner with like-minded Great Commission entities who are willing to partner with us for the sake of the gospel.”

INDIANAPOLIS (RNS)—Leaders of a volunteer task force charged with implementing abuse reforms in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination say they were given an impossible task.

In the end, the task proved too much.

“We took this work as far as we were allowed to take it,” North Carolina Baptist pastor Josh Wester, chair of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, told the more than 10,800 messengers gathered June 11 for the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting.

Instead, the SBC’s Nashville-based Executive Committee will now have the task of implementing those reforms.

Resources created, but database still not online

The task force was charged two years ago with creating resources to help churches deal with abuse, publishing a database of abusive pastors and finding permanent funding and long-term plans for abuse reforms. While the task force unveiled a new “Essentials” training resource for churches, the other two tasks remain incomplete.

Wester said the task force has vetted more than 100 names of abusers but has not been able to publish them on an online “Ministry Check” database of abusers, largely due to concerns about insurance and finances.

“I wish that standing before you today, I could say that the Ministry Check website is now online,” Wester told the messengers. “But I cannot do that.”

In his report to the messengers, Wester detailed some of the challenges the task force faced over the past year.

In January, he said, he was called to an “emergency meeting” with other SBC leaders, where he learned insurance concerns made the database impossible. He also said the task force has not been able to access the funds it needed to do its work.

“It was made clear to us there was no future for robust abuse reform inside the SBC,” Wester said.

In response, he said, the task force set up an independent nonprofit, known as the Abuse Reform Commission, to run the database. But the SBC’s two mission boards, which had pledged millions to support abuse reform, said they would not fund the new group.

However, Wester said Jeff Iorg, new president of the SBC’s Executive Committee, is committed to moving the reforms forward. He said the task force hopes the reforms will remain inside the SBC.

Messengers approved the task force’s recommendation that the reforms, including the database, would go forward and that responsibility for the future of reforms be given to the Executive Committee.

Though they would not fund the Abuse Reform Commission, leaders of Send Relief—the SBC’s humanitarian arm, which is funded by the International Mission Board and North American Mission Board—said they are willing to work with the Executive Committee on reforms.

Send Relief’s leaders pledged $4 million for abuse reforms two years ago.

“In the two years these funds have been available, Send Relief has not rejected any requests for funding that fall within the original intent of its commitment,” a spokesman for the North American Mission Board said in an email.

The spokesman said those funds still are available.

‘Essentials’ curriculum rolled out

Members of the task force did not come to the annual meeting empty-handed. The new “Essentials” curriculum went live online this week, at the sbcabuseprevention.com website, as part of the ministry toolkit authorized by messengers in 2022.

“To help make our churches safe from abuse, we must be proactive,” reads the website for the new curriculum, which outlines a five-step process for addressing the issue of abuse.

Messengers received a flyer when they registered for the annual meeting, telling them where they could pick up a copy of the curriculum. Copies also will be shipped to each state convention. The curriculum is available as a printed booklet or on a thumb drive.

“The task force looks forward to getting the Essentials curriculum into the hands of as many messengers as possible,” the task force told RNS in an email. The task force also will maintain the website that hosts the curriculum, even though its term has expired.

Wester said the delay in implementing reforms shows the limits of volunteer task forces to deal with issues like abuse.

“Task forces have some power,” he said. “They apparently have very limited power when it comes to doing things in the SBC.”

Southern Baptists have been calling for a database to track abusive pastors since at least 2007. In 2008, during a previous meeting in Indianapolis, SBC leaders said such a database was impossible.

Fourteen years later, messengers at the 2022 SBC meeting overwhelmingly approved the database and other reforms during their meeting in Anaheim, Calif. The delay in implementing those reforms has left abuse survivors discouraged.

“It’s such a long road to get where we need to be,” said Jules Woodson, one of a group of survivors who have advocated for reforms in recent years.

During their meeting Tuesday, messengers voted for the reforms to go forward and to task the Executive Committee with working on them.

A constitutional amendment barring churches that employ female pastors from the Southern Baptist Convention failed to receive the necessary two-thirds approval at the SBC annual meeting.

Messengers voted 5,099 to 3,185—61.45 percent to 38.38 percent—in favor of an amendment limiting “friendly cooperation” with the SBC to a church that “affirms, appoints, or employs only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”

However, amendments to the SBC constitution require two-thirds approval at two consecutive annual meetings. So, the measure failed.

Mike Law, pastor of Arlington Baptist Church in Arlington, Va., introduced the amendment at the 2023 SBC annual meeting in New Orleans, where messengers voted in favor of it.

Speaking in favor of the amendment at the 2024 annual meeting, Law called on messengers to “side with Scripture,” asserting a vote in favor of the amendment was “a vote for biblical faithfulness.”

The vote on the Law Amendment came one day after messengers overwhelmingly voted to declare First Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., outside the bounds of friendly cooperation with the SBC.

It followed one year after messengers to the SBC annual meeting in New Orleans similarly voted to consider Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., and Saddleback Church in Southern California no longer in “friendly cooperation” with the convention.

Questioning the amendment’s necessity

Speaking against the Law Amendment, Spence Shelton, lead pastor of Mercy Church in Charlotte, N.C., offered those actions as evidence the amendment was unnecessary.

“The question before us today is not whether we are complementarian. That’s clear,” Shelton said, pointing to the belief expressed in the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message that the pastoral office is limited to men.

“We showed last year that we have an effective mechanism. It allows us to act with conviction and unity when it comes to this issue,” Shelton said. “Last year, we removed two different churches—one really big, like a mega-megachurch and one normative size. This year, we removed an institutional legacy church.

“We have shown that the mechanisms we have are sufficient to deal with this question.”

Prior to the annual meeting, Jeff Iorg, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee made a similar argument.

In a published opinion article, Iorg wrote: “While some may believe the amendment is necessary to guard against the cultural slide related to gender and sexuality, keep in mind the actions of messengers in 2023—using the confessional statement to declare two churches were not in friendly cooperation because of their stance on women serving in pastoral roles. This happened based on our doctrinal convictions without the aid of the amendment.”

Concerns noted

Iorg—who made clear his agreement with the belief that pastoral leadership is limited to men—also expressed concern about whether the issue focused on the “title” pastor or whether it concerned whether a woman could “function” as pastor.

He also raised concerns about autonomy, legal concerns and “multi-cultural and multi-racial dimensions” of the issue, such as how various cultures and languages refer to women in ministerial roles.

Pastor Gregory Perkins of The View Church in Minfee, Calif., and president of the National African American Fellowship said last July any move to exclude churches with women pastors could disenfranchise Black Southern Baptist churches.

California Southern Baptist Convention Executive Director Pete Ramirez also urged the SBC needed to consider unintended consequences for Spanish-language churches if the Law Amendment passed, given the way the terms “pastor” and the feminine “pastora” are used in those congregations.

Women ‘diminished, demeaned and denigrated’

Meredith Stone, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry, expressed appreciation to SBC messengers who voted against the Law Amendment but grief that the measure still received majority approval, which she saw as a demonstration “that women in ministry are still devalued.”

“Decades ago, the SBC codified its ideological position of disregarding God’s call on women in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. Therefore, the amendment considered today was not constructed on its own merit since the basis for it was already decided,” Stone wrote.

“Instead, women in ministry were used as props for the display of extreme conservativism in order to advance the power of a faction within the SBC.”

Baptist Women in Ministry expressed its “solidarity with all women who have been faithfully following God’s call in Southern Baptist churches as pastors of all kinds and who were placed at the center of a debate for power.”

“We know that even though the amendment failed, women who pastor in Southern Baptist churches will continue to be diminished, demeaned and denigrated,” Stone stated.

“Southern Baptists will continue to silence women. Southern Baptists will continue to not listen to women and not believe women when they say they have been harassed, traumatized, abused, and also when they say God has called them to serve in pastoral ministry.”

Stone urged churches that support women in ministry to make that support known publicly.

“Women and churches need to see that there are Christ-followers who believe women, who equally value women in the work of the church, and who honor the image of God in all people,” she stated.

Local church autonomy affirmed

In his “Texas Baptists Weekly” email on June 12, Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Director Julio Guarneri underscored the BGCT’s commitment to local church autonomy.

“We have congregations that are fully complementarian, others who are fully egalitarian and mostly churches who are somewhere between these two positions,” Guarneri wrote.

“Some of our churches believe women should not be pastors at any level. Some of our churches believe that a woman can serve as a lead pastor. Many of our churches have women serving in staff pastoral roles where the lead pastor is a male.”

Differing views about the role of women in ministry are “not a test of fellowship for Texas Baptists,” Guarneri noted.

“Local church autonomy implies that the convention serves each church or group of churches according to their conviction on this matter,” he wrote.

“We do not believe the topic of women in ministry is a matter of scriptural authority. We believe it is an issue of scriptural interpretation.

“When churches arrive at their position after prayerful consideration, careful study of the Scriptures and submission to the leadership of the Holy Spirit and are willing to cooperate with other churches who might arrive at a different conviction, we show respect for local church autonomy.”

Guarneri rejected the assertion by some proponents of the Law Amendment that women serving in pastoral roles is a “sin issue” and that adherence to the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message is necessary for cooperation.

“We disagree on both counts,” Guarneri wrote. “Women serving in pastoral roles is not a ‘sin issue.’ It is instead a matter of scriptural interpretation and cultural context.

“In traditional Baptist polity and history, statements of faith have served to express the doctrines that Baptists hold in general for cooperation and witness purposes. They are not to be used as instruments of imposed uniformity. We adhere to this traditional view.”

EDITOR’S NOTE:  The last 10 paragraphs were added late Tuesday afternoon, June 12, after Julio Guarneri sent his weekly email to Texas Baptists.

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Jeff Iorg was ready to retire from the presidency of Gateway Seminary and spend more time with family when he was approached about seeking the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.

He put the matter before his wife Ann and their three adult children. His daughter Melody’s response helped seal the deal, he said in his Executive Committee report to 2024 SBC annual meeting messengers.

“She said: ‘Dad, from the day you moved our family to the West Coast to plant a church, our family has always been about the gospel. And this is your opportunity to minimize the distractions and help Southern Baptists stay focused on what we’re really here for.’”

His example of a man following God and his mission “above all else” was more valuable to his grandchildren than his watching them play basketball, Melody offered.

Her words mirror Iorg’s words to messengers to uphold the gospel mission above all other congregational and societal concerns, based on Ephesians 3:8.

“A bivocational pastor sharing the gospel with a teenager at an associational youth camp is a better example of fulfilling God’s eternal mission than a seminary student blogger spouting pseudo-gospel insight from a coffee shop couch,” Iorg said.

Accept no substitutes

Political activism, social justice, convention reform and doctrinal conformity are common mission substitutes, Iorg said, affirming their usefulness but negating their primacy.

In a world marked by tribalism, nationalism and prejudice, Iorg said, “Christians are a global community built on one shared allegiance, an allegiance to Jesus Christ.

“When people are changed by the gospel, they become friends with former enemies and brothers and sisters in a new family. This makes no rational sense. It even astounds angels and demons, but the gospel brings this kind of change in our lives.”

Southern Baptists face great challenges focusing on God’s eternal mission while giving other issues appropriate attention, Iorg said.

“The mission matters most,” Iorg said, reciting a phrase he said has helped him stay on track. “This phrase reminds me to prioritize God’s eternal mission, while still recognizing other matters need appropriate attention. The mission matters most means other things do matter—but just not as much as some people advocate—and never ever to the detriment of God’s eternal mission.”

Iorg, who already has invested 30 years in Southern Baptist denominational work, told messengers he himself is committed to staying on mission.

“Southern Baptists, I did not forego my retirement from organizational leadership to manage Baptist bureaucracy,” he said. “I set it aside because I believe in this role I can minimize the distractions, simplify the processes, quietly and efficiently take care of our business, so that we can focus on advancing God’s eternal mission.”

Future generations are dependent upon this generation to spread the gospel now, he said.

“Many issues demand attention,” Iorg said. “But Southern Baptists, nothing else demands our ultimate attention like God’s eternal mission and every single one of us devoting ourselves to that primary task.”

INDIANAPOLIS (BP)—Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting adopted six recommendations proposed by the Great Commission Resurgence Evaluation Task Force with one amendment.

A recommendation that called for simplifying the Annual Church Profile added another point clarifying the request for a church to provide its total amount of Cooperative Program giving.

One messenger brought forward an amendment regarding two questions on the ACP profile asking churches about screening and training processes for staff and volunteers regarding sexual abuse prevention. The proposed amendment to strike those two questions ultimately was struck down by messengers and thus remained in the recommendation.

“Our task force understood our purpose was to examine all pertinent material regarding the original [Great Commission Resurgence] report and to conduct an analysis of their implementation and impact on our cooperative efforts,” Chairman Jay Adkins told messengers.

‘Good intentions,’ but failure to increase baptisms

In speaking with reporters after the report, Adkins said that “there were some really good intentions” behind the Great Commission Resurgence, and Southern Baptists’ struggles to increase baptisms and other areas is not unique. A postmodern—even post-Christian—world makes that more of a challenge.

“Culturally, there is a natural dip,” he said. “Scripture speaks to these sorts of issues as they relate to the church.”

Stating that the Great Commission Resurgence clearly did not reverse the decline in baptisms, Adkins told messengers, “There is more than enough blame to go around for this continued trend,” even as there are “some very encouraging trends as of late.”

Adkins concluded his report with comments from Woman’s Missionary Union Executive Director-Treasurer Sandy Wisdom-Martin, who called Southern Baptists’ reluctance to engage in personal evangelism “the greatest tragedy of our generation.”

Other members joining Adkins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Westwego, La., were Robin Foster, associational missionary for Trinity Baptist Association in Trumann, Ark.; Adam Groza, president of Gateway Seminary; Luke Holmes, pastor of Immanuel Baptist Church in Duncan, Okla.; Chris Shaffer, chief of staff and associate vice president for Institutional Strategy at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary; and Jeremy Westbrook, executive director for the State Convention of Baptists in Ohio.

Texas Baptists celebrated Legacy Day June 2 at Independence Baptist Church in Brenham—the oldest continually operating Baptist church in Texas, established in 1839. Julio Guarneri, Baptist General Convention of Texas executive director, presented Texas Baptists’ Legacy Award to Lee Baggett and Charles H. Whiteside. Baggett, a Vernon native, served in the Spanish-speaking mission of First Baptist Church in Vernon from 1957 to 1959 and later as a Baptist Student Union summer missionary to Juarez, Mexico. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Wayland Baptist College in 1964 and an M.D. degree from the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara, Mexico. The Foreign Mission Board appointed him as a physician missionary to Mexico in 1974. Baggett served as the medical outreach coordinator of the Baptist Hospital in Guadalajara, Mexico, from 1974 to 2007. He continues to serve in Guadalajara as the president of “Manos Hermanas,” which seeks to provide resources to alleviate hunger, thirst, illness and poverty in Christ’s name. Whiteside was born and raised in the Grapevine-Coppell area. He earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Texas A&M University. After serving in the U.S. Army in Korea, he taught chemistry at Kilgore College and established an agricultural testing laboratory. Over the years, he contributed to the capital development of the Baptist Student Ministry at Kilgore College, was a recipient of the East Texas Baptist University W.T. Tardy Service Award for his support of the nursing education center and served on the BGCT Executive Board from 2002 to 2007. He also served the Texas Baptists Christian Life Commission with distinction as a strong supporter and promoter of the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering, and he served as an advisory member of the Texas Baptist Missions Foundation with a particular interest in hunger relief.

The Texas Division of Emergency Management honored Texans on Mission as the Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters member organization of the year. Texans on Mission, previously Texas Baptist Men, is the first organization to receive this recognition. Texans on Mission received the award during the Texas Emergency Management Conference, where about 4,000 first responders, local emergency managers, elected officials, and state and federal officials from 40 states and three countries were in attendance. Rubert Robbins, associate director of disaster relief, accepted the award on behalf of Texans on Mission. “It really is a testament to everyone involved with Texans on Mission,” he said. “We are known far and wide for being on mission with Jesus Christ in meeting the needs of people after disasters. This award shows that statewide leaders also recognize our commitment to providing services at the highest professional level.”

Samuel Still, a Doctor of Philosophy student at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom and a staff member at Dallas Baptist University, has received the T.B. Maston Foundation’s annual scholarship for the 2024-25 academic year. The Maston Foundation, chartered in 1986, perpetuates the teaching and legacy of its namesake, a renowned professor of Christian ethics and Baptist champion of racial justice in the 20th century. The foundation awards scholarships to graduate students majoring in Christian ethics, through which the Maston Foundation seeks to encourage ongoing leadership and scholarship in the field. It also attempts to challenge other Baptists to live out an authentic, Christlike ethic. Still anticipates receiving a Ph.D. degree in the summer of 2026. Still has been the assistant director of Dallas Baptist University’s Honors Program since 2022. He is an adjunct professor at DBU, where he has been a guest lecturer. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University in 2018 and a Master of Divinity degree from Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary in 2021. Still is a student member of the National Association of Baptist Professors of Religion, the Society for the Study of Theology, the Conference of Christianity and Literature, and the Karl Barth Society of North America. He is a member of Valley Ranch Baptist Church in Coppell.

Baylor University’s Give Light comprehensive philanthropic campaign raised $1.5 billion, shattering its initial $1.1 billion goal and making Give Light the most successful comprehensive fundraising campaign in Baylor’s 179-year history. The university also reported $166 million in total fundraising for fiscal year 2024, which ended May 31, making it one of the top five highest fundraising years in Baylor’s history. All five of those top fundraising years have come during the Give Light campaign. “I am grateful for the more than 100,000 members of our Baylor community who have given generously through the Give Light campaign to help ensure Baylor University continues to have a distinct position and voice in higher education,” Baylor President Linda A. Livingstone said. “The world needs a Baylor—this unifying truth is resoundingly echoed through the generosity of our Baylor Family. Together, we have answered the call of support from this institution, and together we will continue to build this bright future so the world will see Christ through the impact of Baylor University.”

Dendrochronology is a big word, but so are some of the trees the science seeks to document and date, like the huge cuts of Douglas fir and mulberry trees currently displayed in “Timelines in Timber” at The Mabee, a collection of museums on Wayland Baptist University’s Plainview campus. Spring and summer intern Zachary Davis created the exhibit in fulfillment of his Master of Museum Science degree at Texas Tech University. Davis teamed up with Matthew Allen, professor of Biological Sciences in the Kenneth L. Mattox School of Mathematics and Sciences, to create the exhibit. Admission is free for “Timelines in Timber,” which is on display through Aug. 3. During the summer months, The Mabee is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.

Howard Payne University recently named Lonn Reisman as assistant to the president for special projects. He assumed the new role at the beginning of June. He will provide leadership in the areas of athletics, fundraising and campus development. Reisman previously served at Tarleton State University more than 30 years, including his most recent tenure as vice president for intercollegiate athletics. He also served as Tarleton State’s head men’s basketball coach from 1988 to 2018. During his time at Tarleton State, he successfully led the university through two NCAA reclassifications, first out of NAIA into NCAA Division II in 1994, and most recently into NCAA Division I and FCS Division I football. Reisman is the only documented athletic director in NCAA history to successfully lead one program through two such reclassifications. He is the longest-tenured Athletics Director in Tarleton State history and third-longest tenured athletic director across all of NCAA Division I. Reisman holds a Bachelor of Science in education from Pittsburg State University and a Master of Science in education from Arkansas State University.

The Air Force ranks include more than 61,000 officers. Only 108 of those have reached the rank of brigadier general. In December, Baylor graduate Randall Cason Jr. (BS ’95) joined that esteemed group—and he chose to return to his alma mater to mark the occasion. The son of an Army test pilot, Cason took an early interest in flying. As a mathematics major at Baylor University, he was a part of Baylor’s longstanding Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program. In 1995, Cason accepted a commission to fly the F-16 Fighting Falcon and later flew missions over Iraq. Amidst challenging circumstances after the first Gulf War, he distinguished himself and later became the first pilot in the Air Force Reserve to fly the F-22 in 2006, then recognized as the most technologically advanced fighter jet created. Cason went on to train future pilots and rose to the rank of colonel. When it came time to receive his promotion to brigadier general, he chose to hold the ceremony at Baylor’s Truett Theological Seminary, where his mother, Jan Cason, served many years as financial manager and continues to serve as adjunct faculty.

The examination pass rate for nursing school graduates from Houston Christian University’s Linda Dunham School of Nursing taking the nursing licensure exam exceeded the national average for Texas nursing programs according to results recently published by the Texas Board of Nursing. In 2023, the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses exam pass rate for HCU nursing school candidates who took the exam for the first time was 97.92 percent, compared to an average of 91.15 percent for Texas nursing programs and a national average of 88.56 percent.The exam uses a computerized adaptive testing technology to measure the foundational knowledge and skills needed for safe nursing practices for entry-level nurses. Carol Lavender, dean of the Linda Dunham School of Nursing, credited nursing school faculty and their passion for student success for the high pass rate, as well as adjustments to the school’s curriculum and improvements to lab space.

Houston Theological Seminary at Houston Christian University will offer a class on the Old Testament to anyone in the community who wants to improve biblical understanding. The essentials course is designed for busy people who want to go deeper in understanding the Bible and theology for the sake of ministry. The class will begin in the fall 2024 semester and will be held on Mondays from 7 to 8:30 p.m. from September 9 through November 18 via Zoom or in-person at Heights Church in Houston. Paul Sloan, associate professor at Houston Christian University, will teach the course. Participants who complete all the essentials courses can qualify to receive three hours of graduate credit. The next planned courses in the essentials series will be New Testament, Christian doctrine and church history. Each class costs $380, which includes two meals at the kickoff and final celebration. Early bird price is $360, before Sept. 1. For more information, email Celeste Risteski at cristeski@HC.edu.

Wayland Baptist University at San Antonio expects to confer 119 degrees during its 84th commencement ceremony June 14 at Trinity Baptist Church in San Antonio. D. Glenn Simmons, executive director and dean of the San Antonio campus, will present the candidates for degrees to David Bishop, vice president for external campuses, who will confer degrees. He will be assisted by Linda Flores, assistant dean for the San Antonio campus. Bexar County Precinct 4 Commissioner Tommy Calvert will deliver the commencement address. Michael Hart, pastor of Spirit Filled Family Church, will give the invocation. Candidates for graduation include three students scheduled to receive doctoral degrees, 42 students set to receive master’s degrees, 65 students to receive bachelor’s degrees, and nine to receive associate’s degrees. “Half of the students set to walk across the stage to get their diplomas are age 40 or older,” said Simmons. “They juggled work, family, church, social events, and school. They did not do this alone. Through the help of spouses, family, friends, and coworkers, they refused to yield to the demands and surged ahead. These are our academic heroes, and, at graduation, we honor their diligence, patience, and tenacity.” Livestream coverage of the commencement ceremony is available at https://livestream.com/tbcspecialevents/waylandbaptistgraduation.

The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor announced 516 students have been listed on the Spring 2024 Provost’s Honor Roll. To receive this recognition, a student must achieve a 3.85 grade point average or better on a 4.0 scale. Additionally, 505 students were named to the Dean’s Honor Roll for Spring 2024. To receive this recognition, a student must achieve a 3.5 to 3.849 grade point average on a 4.0 scale. To see a complete list of honor roll recipients, visit www.umhb.edu/news.

Ordinations

Collin Pittman and Hayden Swearingen were ordained to the ministry June 2 by Golinda Baptist Church. New pastor Scott Rhodes and outgoing interim pastor Bruce Crawford welcomed them to the ministry.

Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting overwhelmingly voted to declare a Virginia church that supports women in pastoral roles as out of “friendly cooperation” with the SBC.

At the annual meeting in Indianapolis, messengers voted 6,759 to 563—91.78 percent to 7.65 percent—to affirm a recommendation from the SBC Credentials Committee to consider First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Va., outside the bounds of friendly cooperation with the SBC.

The convention acted regarding the Virginia congregation one day before it was scheduled to consider final passage of a constitutional amendment that would bar churches with female pastors from affiliation with the SBC.

Prior to the annual meeting, First Baptist Church of Alexandria revealed it received an inquiry from the SBC Credentials Committee regarding its employment of a female pastor on staff. Kim Eskridge has served the church as pastor for children and women nearly 20 years.

At the SBC annual meeting, Senior Pastor Robert Stephens noted First Baptist Church of Alexandria has affirmed women in ministry for more than 44 years.

For decades, the church has “maintained a faithful partnership with churches” that hold a different understanding about whether the Bible limits the office of pastor/elder/overseer exclusively to men, Stephens said.

First Baptist Church of Alexandria and the Southern Baptist Convention have a “shared commitment to the gospel” and its declaration, he said.

“Let’s keep working together,” he urged.

Jonathan Sams, chair of the SBC Credentials Committee, noted Article 3 of the SBC Constitution states: “The Convention will only deem a church to be in friendly cooperation with the Convention” when it “has a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith.”

Article VI of the 2000 Baptist Faith & Message states in part, “While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”

The Credentials Committee recommended the SBC “discontinue its cooperative relationship with First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Va., on the basis that the church has a stated faith”—egalitarianism—“which does not closely identify with the convention’s adopted statement of faith as currently required by Article III of the constitution.”

According to the church’s response to the SBC Credentials Committee, Pastor Mike Law of Arlington Baptist Church in Arlington, Va., notified the congregation’s then-interim pastor by email on May 24, 2022, of his intent to report the church to the SBC Credentials Committee.

Law also introduced the amendment to the SBC Constitution to limit the role of pastor/elder/overseer to men.

First Baptist Church of Alexandria, founded in 1803, has been affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention since the convention’s formation in 1845.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The fourth paragraph from the end was added to clarify the stated grounds for the church being declared outside the bounds of friendly cooperation with the SBC.

INDIANAPOLIS (RNS)—Former Vice President Mike Pence addressed Southern Baptists at a luncheon event focused on public service where he criticized President Joe Biden, questioned the future of the Republican Party and upheld faith as the answer for the country’s problems.

He spoke during a June 11 luncheon held at a hotel across the street from the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention with Brent Leatherwood, president of the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission.

After trumpeting his role in the Trump administration’s appointment of justices who “sent Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history,” Pence made it clear that he has found nothing to appreciate about the current presidency.

“I’ve never voted for Joe Biden,” he said. “I can’t think of a thing he’s done that I agree with. And I’ve known Joe Biden a long time.

“And, I mean, there’s a big debate over the president’s condition, ability to do the job. Let me just assure you, Joe Biden has always been that wrong. I mean, that’s not new.”

Some of the audience, about 400 people dining on boxed lunches of turkey sandwiches, pasta salad and chocolate chip cookies, laughed, and even more applauded the overturning of the constitutional right to legal abortion in the United States two years ago.

Pence, who was drawn to the Republican Party during the Ronald Reagan era, said he’s focused on “traditional conservative values” and advocating for them through his Advancing American Freedom, a foundation he created in 2021. But he sees division in his political party.

“The influential men and women in this room need to know there’s also a very healthy debate within my party about whether we’re going to stay on the course of a strong national defense of American leadership in the world, of limited government and balanced budgets, traditional moral values, the right to life and an affirmation of religious liberty and marriage,” he said, “or whether we’re going to start to move in another direction.”

Not the end of debate over life

One of those divides, he said, is future legislation about abortion at every level of U.S. political life.

“I honestly think we haven’t come to the end of the debate over life: We’ve come to the end of the beginning,” Pence said. “I think the destiny of this nation is inextricably linked to whether we restore the sanctity of life to the center of American law.”

Leatherwood asked Pence how he deals with personal attacks, including about decisions that have made headlines, such as to not dine alone with a woman not his wife.

Pence drew laughter again when he described then-President Donald Trump’s reaction to a news story about that personal policy when they were with his team in the Oval Office: “He goes, ‘Can you all believe it? After everything they said about me, they’re attacking Mike Pence for being faithful to his wife.’”

But Pence included a clarification for those in Tuesday’s audience who did not know the history of that choice of personal behavior.

“It wasn’t Mike Pence’s rule. It’s the Billy Graham rule,” he said, referring to the famed evangelist. “When we got busy in public life, Karen and I sat down and just made some decisions about putting our marriage and our families first and that was one of them.”

Pence said he and Trump may never agree on the decision Pence made to support the outcome of the 2020 election—even as election deniers attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, some threatening his life. But Pence said he focuses on the faith on which he relied then and now.

“I know it’s God’s grace that saw us through that day,” he said.

‘Pray for America’

Leatherwood asked Pence if he had any advice for approaching the upcoming election, as research has shown that most Americans do not want a presidential rematch between Biden and Trump.

“If there was a time to go back to that pulpit and tell your folks pray for America, it’d be now,” the former vice president said, adding that repentance is also necessary.

He recommended “calling our neighbors and friends, not just the people out there that disagree with us openly, that don’t embrace our faith in Jesus Christ, but I’m talking about including people who do and say let’s all examine our hearts and see how it is that we can, in our own lives, have a change of heart that will inspire the nation.”

Pence expressed his gratitude for those in the audience who are leading and preaching to congregations across the country.

“I want you all to know how grateful I am for the role that you play in the lives of families and communities that you serve,” he said. “I will always believe that the pulpits that you speak behind are infinitely more valuable to the life of this nation than any podium that I’ve ever had the privilege to stand on.”

Trump speaks via video prior to SBC

The day before Pence spoke to the ERLC luncheon, former President Donald Trump delivered a prerecorded video message to Southern Baptists attending a luncheon in Indianapolis sponsored by the Danbury Institute prior to the SBC annual meeting.

Trump—the presumptive Republican nominee for president—thanked those assembled for their “tremendous devotion to God and country” and their “tremendous support of me.”

He described the United States as a “declining nation” under the Biden administration, and he offered his partisan remedy.

“We can’t afford for anyone to sit on the sidelines,” Trump said. “Now is the time for us to all pull together and to stand up for our values and for our freedoms, and you just can’t vote Democrat. They’re against religion. They’re against your religion in particular. You cannot vote for Democrats, and you to have to get out and vote.”

With additional reporting by Managing Editor Ken Camp.