Ponderings:

thinking out loud about faith, culture, and life

Even if you are frustrated with the SBC Executive Committee stay engaged

These past few weeks have been deeply troubling for many in the Southern Baptist Convention as we witnessed some of the Executive Committee members and Executive Committee staff attempt to ignore the directive of the messengers and thwart an investigation into their handling of sexual abuse issues. It was ugly. It was frustrating. And it revealed a serious threat to the polity and stability of our Convention.

Read More
Southern Baptist Convention Ben Smith Southern Baptist Convention Ben Smith

SBC 2021 Annual Meeting Preview

This year is a little unusual in that for the first time in 75 years the annual meeting was canceled last year due to COVID-19. As such, elections were not held and some of the issues that had been developing since the 2019 meeting have remained unaddressed. So, there is much that has been waiting to be dealt with since the summer of 2019. We will be electing new leadership, approving some ministry assignment changes, and dealing with other hot-topic issues. Going into the annual meeting, no one can know all that will happen or how things will turn out. Even in the last few days passions have been stirred over leaked letters by a former entity president. There is no doubt that as Southern Baptists gather next week in Nashville we will have much to debate, talk about, and work through. Here are five things that I think will be major issues for us to consider.

Read More