Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley and the two announced candidates seeking to succeed him recently urged pastors to pursue doctrinal clarity, rebuild trust and keep the Great Commission at the center as messengers gather in Orlando for the SBC Annual Meeting (June 9-10).
Pressley, senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carlina, recently joined Florida pastor Willy Rice and South Carolina pastor Josh Powell on the Duck and Goose Pastors Call, a pre-SBC online gathering hosted by Jason Dees, senior pastor of Christ Covenant in Atlanta. (See TBP Q&As with Rice and Powell.)
Duck and Goose is an informal network of pastors and church leaders that grew out of friendships among Southern Baptist Theological Seminary students and ministry peers. The group hosts periodic calls to encourage pastors, foster friendship and provide space for practical conversations about ministry and Southern Baptist life.
The pre-SBC call has become an annual gathering designed to help pastors think through key issues ahead of the Convention’s annual meeting.
This year’s conversation was moderated in part by Matt Alexander, senior pastor of First Baptist Church Gadsden, Alabama, and included discussion of the health of the Convention, the influence of social media, Cooperative Program giving, church decline, preaching and a proposed constitutional amendment on the office and function of pastor, elder and overseer.
‘Liberal drift’ in SBC?
Pressley said one of the most encouraging parts of serving as SBC president has been seeing the character and conviction of leaders serving Southern Baptist entities.
“The closer you get to those guys, the more you appreciate who they are, the love they have for the gospel, for the mission,” Pressley said. “They actually do love what they’re doing and love what and who we are as Southern Baptists.”
Asked whether he sees liberal drift in the Convention, Pressley said he is not willing to say there is “some sort of deliberate liberal drift,” though he acknowledged that the SBC has had to navigate difficult years involving debates over race, sexual abuse, COVID-19 and other issues.
“I think that overall, when you think about the Southern Baptist Convention, the overwhelming majority, the 80% of who we are, are rock solid on biblical orthodoxy,” he said.
A significant portion of the conversation focused on Southern Seminary’s President Albert Mohler’s expected constitutional amendment dealing with the office of pastor, elder and overseer. Mohler has announced plans to bring an amendment to Article III of the SBC Constitution that would affirm that the office and function of pastor, elder and overseer are limited to men as qualified by Scripture. (See latest story on Mohler’s updated amendment.)
Pressley said he supported the earlier Law Amendment and also supports Mohler’s proposal, which has been revised since its initial announcement. “I think that kind of says where we are. And really is, I think, a good picture of where the overwhelming majority of Southern Baptists are.”
Though Rice and Powell did not address Mohler’s amendment during the call, both announced candidates have previously voiced support for the proposal.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Henry Durand and originally published by the Christian Index.
