Reflections on SBC 2025

This week, on June 10-11, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) met for its 167^th Session in Dallas, Texas. The SBC remains America’s largest Protestant denomination, so its annual meeting is of great importance—not just to pastors like me who lead SBC churches—but to anyone interested in the progress of religion in America.

Much to Celebrate

There was much to celebrate at this year’s annual meeting. Clint Pressley cruised to reelection with over 92% of the vote, the convention commissioned dozens of overseas missionaries—most of whom will travel to areas of the world that are closed to the gospel, we celebrated record-breaking numbers in church plants in America, and there were exciting reports from the convention’s six seminaries about growth and expansion. We repeatedly heard that the SBC is committed to biblical fidelity and continues to resist the liberal drift so obvious in other denominations.

The SBC is taking exciting strides to reach the world with the gospel, it remains committed to the grace of Jesus and the truthfulness of Scripture, and continues to be the largest missions-sending force in the history of Christianity. These are remarkable realities and are why I remain a Southern Baptist.

But all of those wonderful realities did not mean that there was no controversy at SBC 2025. You can’t get more than 10 thousand people in a room without debating important matters. That certainly happened this year.

The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission

A first issue had to do with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC). The ERLC is the public policy arm of the SBC and has been controversial for years now as growing numbers of Southern Baptists sense an increasing gap between what they believe and how they are represented by that entity.

For years, there has been talk about defunding or abolishing the ERLC. One effort at the SBC in 2024 received thousands of votes but fell short of the required majority. Everyone knew that a similar effort would come in 2025. In Dallas, when the motion was made and the votes were counted, 42.8% of people voted to abolish the ERLC and 56.8% voted to retain it.

When that result was announced, there was applause, but Southern Baptists must know these numbers are bad news regardless of how they voted. That reality is not about how anyone feels about the ERLC but is about the way relationships work. No pastor in the convention could continue in office if a no-confidence vote this Sunday resulted in over 42% of their congregation wanting them removed. It is impossible for a voluntary group of Christians to continue with this kind of division. Something must change.

That means this issue is not over. There will continue to be debates and division from now on until something changes at the ERLC, or something changes on the convention floor.

Female Pastors

A second issue relates to the issue of women pastors. The beginnings of the current debate traces back to the meeting of the SBC in Anaheim, California in 2022. At that convention, the SBC Credentials Committee, the committee tasked with identifying churches who are eligible to be part of the SBC, asked for more guidance about whether churches with female pastors could rightly vote at the convention.

The SBC is clear in its confessional document, The Baptist Faith and Message (BFM), that only qualified men can serve as pastors in a local church. This conviction is not now and never has been a question in the larger convention. The question raised by the Credentials Committee was whether a church in violation of that article may be a member in good standing.

The SBC has been debating the issue since 2022. The SBC does not believe that churches with female pastors should be part of the convention and have made this clear in every vote in the last three years. Large majorities have repeatedly approved amendments to the SBC constitution to make this clear. But the messengers at SBC 2024 failed to achieve the required supermajority by just a few points after several convention leaders argued it was unnecessary.

When the Credentials Committee failed to recommend removal for another church endorsing female pastors in 2025, messengers showed up in Dallas promising to fix the situation once and for all. But once again, while 60% of messengers voted in favor of convictional clarity, they failed to reach the supermajority required to change the constitution.

Lessons to Learn

A key biblical teaching at stake in all this is the one of conviction. Jude 3 says, “I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.” It is always the right time for Christians to oppose faithlessness and drift and to contend for the faith that is perfectly revealed in Scripture.

The biblical teaching on conviction leads to a few lessons as we reflect on SBC 2025.

The leadership that God always raises up will be convictional leadership that points to faithfulness. Leadership is simply not possible when those led come to believe that their leaders have less conviction than they do. Significant gaps in conviction between leaders and those they lead are not consistent with healthy organizations. Gaps in conviction either close, or the organization falls apart. It really is that simple.

Another lesson is that punting on conviction never works. The argument that an individual or an organization can hold a conviction in theory but not express it when it matters has no long-term viability.  That argument did not work in the past, and it will not work now.

Southern Baptists must have the courage to clarify our convictions and must close the gap between leadership and those who are led in order to maintain a strong convention moving forward.

Conflict and The Future

No normal person likes conflict. That is more true when the conflict doesn’t end the way you want. It is still more true when the conflict seems ongoing. That reality means any number of people could be discouraged after SBC 2025.

But 1 Corinthians 11:19 says, “There must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.” As unpleasant as it can be, God uses divisions to refine his church and increase faithfulness. The presence of our ability to openly debate important matters is a strength of the SBC, not a weakness.

The future of the SBC is in the direction of convictional clarity. Southern Baptists will learn one way or the other that this is the only reality strong enough to sustain the cooperation of our churches as we advance Christ’s Great Commission. The pursuit of that convictional clarity will always be a work in progress. But God himself has given us the job of ensuring those who come after us receive a convention defined by faithfulness. Now is neither the time to back off conviction nor to step away from the fight. Now is the time for every Bible-believing Baptist to be present in the room when important matters are discussed and decided.

I am praying we all commit to working with Southern Baptists in the years ahead to increase our conviction in order to increase our fruit for the sake of Christ.