June 11–12 Baptists from across the nation will gather in St. Louis, Mo., for the annual business meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. New officers will be elected. Entities will report the progress of their work. Southern Baptists’ emphases will be highlighted. The gospel will be proclaimed.
Technically, Alabama could have more than 25,000 messengers from our 3,198 cooperating churches. In reality, only a small fraction of that number will be present. The usual state contingency numbers around 800. If the recent attendance pattern continue, total registration will be slightly less than 10,000. In New Orleans last year, registration was 9,584.
No matter the number, the messengers will carry out the same responsibilities — conducting the official business of the Southern Baptist Convention. However, the business will be carried out in an expedited fashion. Last year the annual meeting was reduced from a three-day meeting to a two-day meeting. Now the convention ends at 6 p.m. Wednesday rather than Thursday noon.
Attendance was sometimes a problem in the longer schedule. Evening sessions and the Thursday morning session were not always well-attended. By reducing the length of some reports and streamlining other parts of the annual meeting, leaders hope to increase the percentage of messengers who attend all the sessions.
Historically, the election of a new president has created a sense of uncertainty at the annual meeting. That has changed in the last few years. The last contested presidential election Southern Baptists had was in 1995 when Jim Henry of Florida defeated Fred Wolfe, then pastor of Cottage Hill Baptist Church in Mobile.
Henry was unopposed for a second term in 1996. Since that time, Tom Elliff, Paige Patterson and James Merritt, the current president, were elected without opposition. This year promises to continue that trend. Jack Graham, pastor of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas, is the only announced candidate for SBC president.
Likewise, Texas layman Paul Pressler is the only announced candidate for first vice president. Since gaining prominence as an acknowledged architect in the conservative resurgence, Pressler has served two terms on the SBC Executive Committee and then two terms on the International Mission Board. He now serves as an SBC representative on the Baptist World Alliance.
Inspiration will be high during the two-day meeting. Campus Crusade founder Bill Bright will speak at the annual meeting’s closing session. President Merritt will preach at the opening session. In between will come the convention sermon by Texas pastor Claude Thomas and reports of the North American Mission Board and the International Mission Board. Both reports are always inspiring and challenging.
Messengers will be introduced to a new SBC emphasis — Empowering Kingdom Growth (EKG). This approach is designed to combine the energies and interest of all Southern Baptists in cooperative causes. It was enthusiastically received by state convention executive directors in February and then by the SBC Executive Committee. Much more will be heard of it in the days ahead.
The two-year-old SBC Council of Family Life also will help messengers focus on the importance of family in these troubled days. Of course, missions and evangelism are always high on the agenda of Southern Baptists.
Pre-convention meetings include the SBC Pastors Conference and the annual meeting of Woman’s Missionary Union. Other ministry-related organizations also schedule their gatherings around the SBC annual meeting. These were previewed in the May 16 issue of The Alabama Baptist.
If you can attend this annual meeting, please do so. Accommodations are still available. For those who cannot attend, The Alabama Baptist will provide a comprehensive report in the June 20 edition.
Whether you can attend or not, please pray for this important time. Pray for safety in travel for the thousands who make their way to and from St. Louis. Pray for the will of God to be accomplished in the business items that come before the messengers. Pray for the witness of Baptists that the words of our Lord might be true of us: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another” (John 13:35).
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