ST. LOUIS (BP) -- Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention proposed 22 motions, the most since 2010. Ten motions were referred to convention entities for further study and for a report at the 2017 SBC meeting in Phoenix. The Committee on Order of Business automatically referred three motions to SBC entities and/or the Executive Committee:   -- A motion by Lonnie Wilkey of Tulip Grove Baptist Church, Old Hickory, Tenn., to ask trustees of all SBC entities to consider examining their media policies, and if they do not have clearly defined guidelines, to consider establishing a policy that trustee and committee meetings be open to the public. The motion was referred to the Executive Committee and all SBC entities. -- A motion by Victoria Gurgone of Peace Church, Wilson, N.C., for the Executive Committee to consider adding a "veteran" and/or "active duty" option on the online registration form, as well as adding "veteran" and/or "active duty" to SBC name badges. The motion was referred to the Executive Committee. -- A motion by Graham Weaver of Lenexa Baptist Church, Lenexa, Kan., to encourage SBC presidents past and present through LifeWay Christian Resources to write their memoirs. The motion was referred to LifeWay … [Read more...]

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- Messengers to the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention, in addition to repudiating the display of the Confederate battle flag, approved 11 other resolutions on a variety of culture and ministry concerns. Messengers voted on the proposals over both days of the annual meeting, adopting resolutions that expressed compassion for those devastated by the Orlando mass shooting, urged consistent evangelism of unbelievers and encouraged care for refugees. They also passed measures that included calling for the federal government not to discriminate against people who support only the biblical, traditional view of marriage and opposing an effort to require women to register for the military draft. For Stephen Rummage, chairman of the Resolutions Committee, the call for Southern Baptists to evangelize was central to the 10-member panel's deliberations in presenting the 12 measures to the messengers. The resolution on evangelism "might just seem like a standard resolution for an evangelical body such as Southern Baptists to pass," Rummage said at a news conference Wednesday morning (June 15), "but really that is at the heart of everything that we talked about, including what we had to say about the Confederate flag. … [Read more...]

ST. LOUIS (BP) -- At times they raised their hands. At times they gathered together in groups of two to three. And at times thousands of messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention knelt at their chairs on Tuesday night (June 14) as they pleaded with God to bring national revival and spiritual awakening to America. In one of his final acts as SBC president, Ronnie Floyd led the convention in an evening of prayer during its annual meeting in St. Louis. "From this moment on, it will not be about personalities on the stage. It will be about Jesus, all the way," said Floyd, who has focused much of his two-year presidency on urging Southern Baptists to pray for spiritual awakening. "We're about to give Him praise. And from this moment on, I'm going to ask you to give Him your all. What if this were your last night on this earth? Wouldn't you want to give it all to Jesus and be ready?" Floyd noted that Southern Baptists had thousands at First Baptist Church of Orlando who were, at that time, praying desperately for their city. "Orlando is a lot more desperate tonight than they were before this tragedy," Floyd said. "But why should it take a tragedy to make us desperate for God?" Praying for spiritual leaders Matt Chandler, … [Read more...]

ST LOUIS (BP) -- Although an announcement of a new Southern Baptist Convention president was expected on Tuesday (June 14), no clear winner was determined the day of election. A run-off between nominees North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear and Memphis-area pastor Steve Gaines failed to provide a clear majority, as required by Roberts Rules of Order. A second run-off election between the two pastors has been scheduled for the Wednesday morning session at 10:58 a.m. SBC President Ronnie Floyd reported results of the run-off election at the beginning of the Tuesday night session. Of the 7,230 messengers registered at the time of the first runoff, 4,824 ballots were cast. To be declared a winner, a nominee is required to win 50 percent plus 1 of ballots cast, or 2,413 or more votes. Gaines received 2,410 votes or 49.96 percent while Greear received 2,306 votes or 47.80 percent. However, 108 votes were considered illegal because the wrong ballot was used or an indistinguishable mark was made. In explaining the first runoff results, lead parliamentarian Barry McCarty said "there is no doubt what the vote is. It has been counted and recounted." But Roberts Rules of Order require that the 108 illegal votes be counted to determine a … [Read more...]

By Benjamin Clapper, Louisiana Right to Life CHICAGO – At its annual meeting June 13, the American Medical Association (AMA) rejected a Louisiana State Medical Society proposal to reaffirm the AMA's long-standing policy against physician assisted suicide. Instead it approved a study-resolution to explore AMA adoption of a neutral position on physician assisted suicide, which was often referred to as "aid-in-dying" in the debate. The study will be led by the AMA Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs, which will study a possible change to the AMA policy and report back with recommendations to the AMA Annual Meeting next year. Dr. Jeff White, a member of the Louisiana State Medical Society and physician ally of Louisiana Right to Life, said the following after the AMA vote: "The AMA's decision to study a possible change in position on doctor-prescribed suicide is very concerning for the future of the integrity of the medical profession. For millennia, the medical profession has been in unison that physicians prescribing death for their patients is antithetical to the mission of healing integral to the role of a physician. “If the AMA changes it long-standing policy of opposition to doctor-prescribed suicide,” he said. “It will … [Read more...]

by Tammi Reed Ledbetter/TEXAN ST LOUIS (Christian Examiner) — Following an unanticipated two-hour, closed-door session labeled as a "workshop," trustees of the North American Mission Board meeting in St. Louis June 13 unanimously approved a recommendation by officers indicating their satisfaction with a "thorough examination and review" of the Southern Baptist entity's relationship with the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network (MABN). "Representatives of this board have conducted a thorough examination and review of the dealings between NAMB leadership and the Mid-Atlantic Baptist Network and have fully reported those findings to the full Board of Trustees, who discussed the findings at length and considered them when making this recommendation," the board was told as a part of background information before the vote. "In addition, the trustees were kept informed about challenges regarding the relationship between NAMB and MABN as the challenges developed, and NAMB's executive leadership sought input from the chairman and other officers of this board regarding such challenges." The motion approved by trustees without discussion during their June 13 meeting a day before the annual Southern Baptist Convention convenes indicated by the … [Read more...]

By David Roach & Art Toalston, Baptist Press ST LOUIS (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee's June 13 decision not to recommend amending SBC Bylaw 26 has forced the cancelation of a panel discussion scheduled for June 15 with SBC entity heads fielding questions from messengers to the convention's annual meeting in St. Louis. Instead, each entity president will answer messenger questions for four minutes at the end of his report. The EC also referred back to its Bylaws Workgroup for further discussion of a proposal to grant EC representation to Baptists in five pioneer regions of the United States. In other action at the EC's meeting in St. Louis prior to the June 14-15 SBC annual meeting there, committee members elected new officers, honored retiring Woman's Missionary Union executive director Wanda Lee and heard a report from outgoing SBC President Ronnie Floyd. Entity questions at SBC annual meetings The EC's Administrative Committee considered a recommendation to amend Bylaw 26 that would have permitted two or more entities to be grouped together by the Committee on Order of Business for a messenger Q&A session. The recommendation stipulated that each Q&A session would allot "no less than … [Read more...]

By Tobin Perry, NAMB communications ST. LOUIS (BP) - Southern Baptist volunteers reported more than 350 professions of faith in Jesus Christ during Crossover events throughout metro St. Louis this year. One man who made a decision for Christ had been considering suicide just a few days earlier, said Eloy Rodriquez. Rodriquez, a longtime Crossover volunteer, serves as Hispanic pastor of Idlewild Baptist Church in Lutz, Fla. Rodriquez said his team knocked on the door of the man's house and asked if they could pray with him. The man told the team about a friend who was struggling with cancer. As they were preparing to pray, the man then opened up about his own struggles. "Last Sunday, he closed his eyes while driving," said Rodriquez, who has been bringing teams of volunteers to share Christ during Crossover since 1999. "He was willing to have whatever happen to him, happen -- suicide basically. Then he opened his eyes, he was in the other lane, but there was no one else there. He pulled over and just cried -- not because he was about to kill himself but because he realized he could have killed someone else." Rodriquez then prayed with the man to receive Christ. That was one of more than 50 Gospel conversations that took place … [Read more...]