Southern Baptists approved nine resolutions during their Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California, June 14–15, which included lament and repentance for past sexual abuses within the convention and to express support for consistent laws regarding pastoral sexual abuse.
The Resolutions Committee considered 29 resolutions this year and submitted nine to messengers, which were all approved. Other resolutions approved in the meeting by Southern Baptists included expressing commitment to the missions field in rural areas, denouncing the prosperity gospel and strongly condemning the actions of Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
This year’s resolutions included the following:
On the Missions field in Rural America
Messengers voted to express commitment to and recognition of the missions field “in rural places,” and Southern Baptists pledged to continue to support the work of the Cooperative Program to help spread the gospel in these rural areas.
On the Prosperity Gospel
Messengers denounced the teaching of the prosperity gospel. The resolution noted, “that God and God alone is our highest good and our supreme treasure, not health, wealth, or the removal of sickness (Phil. 4:10–13; Rev. 21:1–4).”
On the War in Ukraine
Responding to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, messengers voted to “strongly condemn” Russia’s acts of war against a sovereign nation. Messengers also called upon Russia’s President Vladimir Putin “to cease hostilities immediately, withdraw the Russian military and end this war of aggression against Ukraine and her people.”
On Religious Liberty, Forced Conversion and the Federal Indian Boarding School Initiative Investigative Report
Messengers voted to denounce the methods of “forced assimilation and conversion” of Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian children from 1819 to 1969. Messengers adopted this resolution in response to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ investigative report released in May 2022 that documented and recorded that the United States “maliciously targeted” Native Americans in order to “dispossess these people groups from their native lands by forced assimilation through the establishment of mandatory boarding schools.”
On Support for Consistent Laws Regarding Pastoral Sexual Abuse
Messengers voted to encourage lawmakers in every state to “pass laws that would provide consistent definitions and classification of sexual abuse by pastors, as sexual abuse committed by pastors constitutes a clear abuse of authority and trust.” This would be similar to laws in many states, the resolution noted, related to professions such as physicians, psychiatrists and attorneys and their patients/clients. Southern Baptists agreed to “encourage lawmakers in every state to pass laws that would empower churches by shielding them from civil liability when they share information about alleged abuse with our organizations or institutions.”
On Lament and Repentance for Sexual Abuse
Messengers voted to publicly lament the harm to survivors of sexual abuse caused by the Convention’s actions and inactions documented in the report released in May by the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force. Southern Baptists affirmed “the Bible’s teaching to seek justice for those who have been harmed, protect the vulnerable, and honor the dignity and worth of survivors of sexual abuse.”
On the Anticipation of a Historic Moment in the Pro-life Movement
Messengers voted to encourage all Southern Baptists “to pray for the overturning of the disastrous precedent set in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.” The resolution also affirmed the work of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission on this issue and urged Southern Baptists to continue “faithful pro-life advocacy by partnering with local, state and federal governments to enact pro-life and pro-family policies that serve and support vulnerable women, children and families.”
On the Imago Dei and The Helpful Content Submitted in Several resolutions
Messengers voted to encourage Southern Baptists to “affirm the dignity and value of every person as created in God’s image and to proclaim the fullness of the Christian ethic throughout our churches and in the public square as we seek the flourishing of all people in accordance with God’s good design for humanity.”
On Appreciation for The City of Anaheim
Messengers expressed appreciation to the city of Anaheim, California, for “the hospitality extended to the messengers of the Convention” during this year’s SBC Annual Meeting.
For more stories from the 2022 Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting, visit thebaptistpaper.org/sbc2022.
