Messengers to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly adopted resolutions of support for two time-honored tenets — the Cooperative Program and the Baptist Faith and Message.
Resolutions “On the Centennial Anniversary of the Cooperative Program” and “On Honoring the Centennial Anniversary of the Baptist Faith and Message (1925) and Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Baptist Faith and Message (2000)” were among eight resolutions approved by messengers during sessions June 10–11 in Dallas.
Messengers also adopted a resolution expressing appreciation for the host city of Dallas along with five resolutions that dealt with moral and cultural concerns: the harmful and predatory nature of sports betting; banning pornography; restoring moral clarity through God’s design for gender, marriage and the family; standing against the moral evils and medical dangers of chemical abortion pills; and advocating for international religious freedom.
Though amendments were offered for several resolutions, only one amendment was approved by messengers. Scott Myers of University Park Baptist Church in Houston offered an amendment to “On Restoring Moral Clarity through God’s Design for Gender, Marriage and the Family” that was deemed “a friendly” amendment by the Committee on Resolutions.
Thirty-four resolutions were submitted to the Committee on Resolutions, according to information published in the June 10 “Daily Bulletin.” The topics of 17 of the resolutions were incorporated in the eight resolutions presented to the messengers. The committee declined to present the other 17 resolutions.
Andrew Walker, associate dean in the school of theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and chair of the Resolutions Committee, said the committee approached their task “with theological conviction, pastoral wisdom and a deep love for our churches and our shared gospel witness. We prayed together, debated openly and worked diligently to speak clearly and biblically to the pressing issues of our day.”
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Walker assured messengers that every proposed resolution “was read carefully, discussed seriously and evaluated through a principled framework based on eight criteria:
- The consensus and convictions of the convention as expressed in its confessional documents.
- Doctrinal clarity and fidelity to Scripture.
- The convention’s competency to speak to particular issues.
- The goal of fostering unity without sacrificing truth.
- Whether the resolution offers gospel hope not just cultural commentary.
- A tone marked by Christian charity.
- The urgency of the issue at hand.
- The resolution’s relevance to convention churches and their public witness in this season.
“In short, we approached this work with great care and with a healthy fear of the Lord,” Walker said. “My prayer is that as you read and vote, you will do so not simply to register opinions but to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ and to the truth that sets men and women free.”
Synopsis of resolutions
On the Centennial Anniversary of the Cooperative Program: The resolution cites the history of the establishment of the Cooperative Program in 1925 and notes that over the past 100 years Southern Baptists have given more than $20 billion through the Cooperative Program. The resolution affirms the Cooperative Program “as a missions-funded strategy God has blessed to support and strengthen Southern Baptist efforts to share the gospel throughout the world” and expresses appreciation for Southern Baptist individuals and churches who have faithfully and sacrificially given through the Cooperative Program.
On Honoring the Centennial Anniversary of the Baptist Faith and Message (1925) and Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) : The resolution notes that Southern Baptists “have been a confessional people throughout our history, adopting statements of faith as a witness to our doctrinal convictions and as a pledge of our faithfulness to the truths revealed in Holy Scripture.” The resolution affirms the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) “as a faithful summary of biblical doctrine in the Baptist tradition and commends this confession as consistent with the broader stream of historic Christian orthodoxy as articulated in the early creeds of the church” and as a “sufficient statement of our doctrinal identity and as our grounds of our cooperation for the sake of theological clarity and biblical unity.”
On the Harmful and Predatory Nature of Sports Betting: The resolution cites the SBC’s long-standing history of opposing gambling in its various forms while recognizing its “destructive potential” and that “sports betting continues to advance and integrate itself into modern athletics at both the professional and collegiate levels.” The resolution also cites the “normalization” of sports betting while fostering “a culture of greed while specifically exploiting and preying upon young adults, the impoverished and those with addictive personality traits.” The resolution condemns sports betting in all forms and urged SBC leaders, entities and pastors “to continue to educate our churches on the deceptive sin of gambling through biblical instruction and practical resources while providing compassionate support and counseling to those struggling with gambling addiction.”
On Banning Pornography: The resolution reaffirms the convention’s “past condemnations of pornography and maintain that all production, distribution and consumption of pornographic material is sin against God, neighbor and self.” The resolution also urges the United States Congress and state legislatures “to enact comprehensive laws that ban the creation, publication, hosting and distribution of pornographic content in all media and to provide rigorous enforcement mechanisms — including age-verification and civil liability — in the ultimate effort to eradicate pornography nationwide.” The resolution commends the recent passage of the “Take It Down” act and “celebrate[s]pre it as model legislation that aims to protect individuals from the corrosive evils of pornography.” The resolution also affirms “God’s good and perfect design for human sexuality within the confines of covenant marriage between one man and one woman.”
On Restoring Moral Clarity through God’s Design for Gender, Marriage and the Family: The resolution cites God’s enduring truths about human life, marriage, sexuality and the family found in Scripture while noting that today’s culture “is increasingly rejecting and distorting these truths by redefining marriage, pursuing willful childlessness which contributes to a declining fertility rate, ignoring and suppressing the biological differences between male and female, encouraging gender confusion, undermining parental rights and denying the value and dignity of children.” The resolution calls for Southern Baptists to “affirm the goodness and truth of God’s creation order and declare that it is valid for the health of our culture, the justice of our laws, and the well-being of future generations” and affirms “the duty of lawmakers to pass laws that reflect the truth of God’s creation order and to oppose any law that denies or undermines what God has made plain through nature and Scripture.”
On Standing Against the Moral Evils and Medical Dangers of Chemical Abortion Pills: The resolution “reaffirms the immeasurable value of every human life, both born and preborn” and grieves “the continued destruction of preborn lives through chemical abortion and condemn[s] the exploitation of women by an abortion industry increasingly reliant on dangerous drugs and deceptive practices.” The resolution asks Southern Baptists to call upon the Food and Drug Administration “to immediately revoke its approval of mifepristone, restore all previously removed safety protocols and reevaluate chemical abortion drugs using real-world data” and to urge Congress and state legislatures “to pass laws banning the manufacture, sale and distribution of chemical abortion drugs.”
On Advocating for International Religious Freedom: The resolution notes that many Christians around the world “live in fear for their lives and livelihood as a result of professing Christ and practicing their faith in nations which are led by leaders who deny religious liberty and freedom of worship, and these brothers and sisters experience persecution for their religious convictions at the hands of the governments and ruling authorities of their homelands.” The resolution affirms that “God has endowed every human being with the freedom of conscience and with the resounding freedom to practice their religious convictions without undue interference from civil power.”
On Appreciation for the City of Dallas: The resolution expresses appreciation to the city of Dallas for hosting the annual meeting and commends the Dallas Baptist Association, the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and the Baptist General Convention of Texas for their “prayerful preparation, generous cooperation and faithful service.”
