By Editor Bob Terry
Southern Baptists by the thousands will descend on St. Louis, Missouri, on June 12–15 for the 159th annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). At this point, however, how many thousands will participate is an open question.
In 1987 during the throes of denominational struggle, the annual meeting in St. Louis drew 25,607 registered messengers. This year it will be surprising if the number of messengers reaches one-quarter of that number.
Each of the last three years the annual meetings in Houston, Baltimore and Columbus, Ohio, drew less than 5,500 messengers. The low participation caused SBC President Ronnie Floyd to reference sacrifices made by leaders of the Conservative Resurgence and argue, “Certainly this price was not paid for us to see our annual Southern Baptist gatherings become so small we’re unable to mobilize thousands upon thousands of pastors and laypeople to our missions.”
Dwindling participation is such a concern that this year visitors and guests as well as messengers will be asked to register. This will give a truer picture of the number of persons participating in the annual meeting, officials say.
Early indicators predict a larger participation than the 5,407 messengers in Columbus. Room reservations are up about 11 percent over 2015 at this time, officials report. Early registrations are significantly ahead of 2015. Also participants may be younger than in the past. Despite increasing the capacity of preschool child care for the annual meeting, the slots available for pre-registration were claimed earlier than in 2015.
One reason for the probable uptick in participation may be the election of a new SBC president. Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in Northwest, Arkansas, completes two years as SBC president at the conclusion of the upcoming annual meeting and is ineligible for re-election. Participation usually climbs when a new president is to be elected.
Presidential candidates
Three candidates have been announced as of this writing: J.D. Greear, pastor of The Summit Church, Durham, North Carolina; former Alabama pastor Steve Gaines, now pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Memphis, Tennessee; and David Crosby, pastor of First Baptist Church, New Orleans.
A minor flap erupted when three SBC entity leaders appeared on a rap video promoting Greear’s candidacy. International Mission Board President David Platt quickly assured Gaines and others that he did not know how his video clip would be used when Greear asked for it and that he (Platt) was not endorsing anyone. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, defended his participation saying being an SBC entity head did not prevent him “from expressing support of a candidate or several candidates.”
Russell Moore, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), refused to comment on his participation in the video though contacted by two different state Baptist papers.
Some have tried to describe the election as a doctrinal showdown. Greear participates in at least one organization that requires church polity practices long associated with Calvinism. Gaines, on the other hand, is a strong voice for “whosoever will” evangelism. Crosby is often feted for his exemplary leadership in rebuilding New Orleans following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.
Some see the increase in pre-registrations as evidence of a stealth campaign for one candidate or the other. Others say it only evidences churches becoming more familiar with pre-
registration options. If there are doctrinally related campaigns around the election of a president, the campaigns have been mostly underground for there are few indications of anything other than business as usual at this point.
Contested elections are not new in SBC life. Floyd was elected the first time with 51.62 percent of the vote in a three-way race in 2014. Bryant Wright received 36.84 percent of the votes in a four-person race in 2010 and then garnered 55.11 percent in a run-off. Johnny Hunt gained 52.94 percent of the vote in a six-person race in 2008 and Frank Page garnered 50.48 percent on the first ballot of a three-person contest in 2006.
Floyd continues to innovate in the program of the annual meeting. This year he led the Order of Business Committee to devote almost an hour of prime time to discuss racial unity in America. Jerry Young — president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, the largest predominately African-American convention, and pastor of New Hope Baptist Church, Jackson, Mississippi — will be a featured panelist. Also on the panel will be Marshall Blalock, pastor of First Baptist Church, Charleston, South Carolina.
During his presidency Floyd has worked to improve SBC relations with African-American groups, especially after recent events in Ferguson, Missouri, and shootings in Charleston, South Carolina.
Other innovations include a panel discussion about “Pastors and the Church in American Politics Today” and devoting the Tuesday evening session to a time of prayer for spiritual awakening in the United States and around the world.
Still another change will be a 50-minute time block during which messengers may ask questions of SBC entity presidents. Oversight of SBC entities is committed to elected trustees but the ability for messengers to raise questions with entity presidents from the floor of the convention is an important safeguard in Baptist democracy.
This year’s resolutions promise to be interesting. Doubtless the Resolutions Committee will ask messengers to express opinions concerning issues around transgender accommodations and the abortion mandate in the Affordable Care Act. It will be interesting to see what the committee does with the proposed resolution opposing the display of Confederate flags in government buildings in light of the emphasis on building racial unity.
ERLC’s Moore also may ignite a spark or two. Letter writers to The Alabama Baptist and other state Baptist papers have expressed sharp disagreements with him over his statements condemning Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump and other comments. Whether this disagreement will reach the convention floor is unknown.
The SBC annual meeting proper is June 14–15. The other days are filled with related meetings for pastors, Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) leaders, directors of missions and others. One important event for Alabama Baptists will be a Sunday afternoon reception for retiring WMU Executive Director Wanda Lee. Lee has given outstanding leadership to this important missions agency during a time of great change. She also is an active Alabama Baptist. The reception will be a time to express appreciation for her vision and leadership.
Every SBC annual meeting produces surprises and this one will be no exception. Please join in praying that God will be honored and the witness of Southern Baptists will be strengthened by how the messengers work together during this annual meeting as well as through what we decide to do together.
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