Pressley Urges Southern Baptists To Stay United Following Reform Debates
DALLAS — Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley spoke with reporters about unity, transparency and Gospel mission during a press conference held minutes after 167th SBC Annual Meeting.
Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., moderated his first annual meeting during the centennial celebrations of both the Cooperative Program and the original,1925 Baptist Faith and Message. “It was providential,” he said. “Those two things go together — 100 years of a robust confession of faith and 100 years of prioritizing missions.”
“It wasn’t immediately popular when it launched in 1925,” Pressley said of the Cooperative Program, “It really gained momentum after World War II, once the convention came out of debt.”
Pressley said he couldn’t speak to the motivations of the messengers but noted a “good spirit” in the room.
“It’s like a big family meeting,” Pressley said. “We may disagree, but we vote, and we leave the room as one family. That’s Gospel strength.”
Pressley said he does not think Southern Baptists’ focus on sexual abuse issues has waned despite the assertion by some.
“That might be unfair,” he said, pointing to the hiring of Jeff Dalrymple to lead the EC’s office of sexual abuse prevention and response.
“He’s just beginning to provide the leadership we’ve needed,” Pressley said of Dalrymple.
While a proposed amendment to clarify the role of pastor in the SBC Constitution failed to receive the necessary two-thirds vote for adoption, Pressley said Southern Baptists’ are clear in their stance on the issue or women in pastoral leadership.
“I do think there is a broad consensus … what ‘pastor’ means, what the function is,” Pressley said. “I don’t think necessarily not voting the Sanchez Amendment in is a reflection on whether or not the Convention as a whole is genuinely complementarian.”
Another feature of the annual meeting was calls for transparency. While he appreciated the discussion, Pressley said “we have measures in place through our trustee system.”
He believes one of the reasons messengers are presenting a high volume of motions at the meeting is because social media has helped them be “well informed … compared to 30 years ago.”
This article has been republished courtesy of Baptist Press.
Keila Diaz is a digital communications assistant with the Florida Baptist Convention.