The 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Orlando generated no shortage of commentary, but much of what is said about the SBC is difficult to understand apart from Baptist polity, parliamentary procedure, and the purpose of an annual meeting. The SBC is not a church with authority over local congregations, but a voluntary association of autonomous churches that cooperate together for the sake of gospel work.

In these reflections, I consider what took place in Orlando, why theological and doctrinal clarity remains both healthy and costly, and why the slow deliberation of the SBC should not necessarily discourage us. Though there is energetic debate among Southern Baptists, there are also encouraging signs of faithfulness, seriousness, and renewed attention to biblical ecclesiology.

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.

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.