Resolutions adopted during a Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting are meant to express an opinion or concern (not direct an action) and are presented in their final form to messengers by the Resolutions Committee.
To request an action to be taken by one of the SBC entities, messengers must present those in the form of a motion, not a resolution.
Resolutions have the “whereas” and “therefore be it resolved” statements, leading up to the main point in the final paragraph.
Resolutions have no actual authority. They are merely a way for messengers meeting during a specific annual meeting to go on record expressing their opinion about a certain topic.
And even when adopted by messengers, that does not necessarily mean everyone in attendance agrees or voted in favor of the resolution.
Neither does it mean those not in attendance support it.
That’s why resolutions are not considered official rules or guidance for churches.
Not able to rescind
Thus, past resolutions cannot be rescinded by future sets of messengers and future messengers cannot rescind the 2021 resolutions, according to SBC parliamentarian Barry McCarty.
Resolutions are decided upon by the discretion of the resolutions committee and can be submitted by individuals from qualified churches 45 days prior to the annual meeting, but no later than 15 days prior.
The 2021 Resolutions Committee, chaired by Georgia pastor and former SBC president James Merritt, received 40 resolutions before submitting its final 10 resolutions for messenger consideration.
