Southern Baptist Convention messengers passed a slate of resolutions in Orlando this week, from denouncing assisted suicide to marking America’s 250th birthday and wrestling over how to mourn victims of political violence.
On Wednesday, messengers to SBC’s Annual Meeting passed several resolutions, which are defined by SBC rules as “an expression of opinion or concern.” In comparison to a motion, which calls for action, a resolution “is not used to direct an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention to specific action other than to communicate the opinion or concern expressed.”
The resolutions were passed through raised-ballot voting rather than a counted secret ballot, with some debate and amendments offered on the diverse proposals put forth.
1. Assisted suicide
A resolution “On Assisted Suicide and the Sanctity of Life” urged the SBC to “reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the sanctity of human life from conception until natural death, recognizing that every human being bears the image of God and is therefore deserving of protection, dignity, and care.”
During discussion on the resolution, Pastor Glenn LaRue of University Baptist Church of Middletown, Ohio, offered a friendly amendment noting that “a person outside of Christ immediately enters into intensified eternal misery upon death, and a person in Christ has the help of the Lord to persevere faithfully in suffering and bring glory to God.”
LaRue was quoted by Baptist Press as saying his amendment, which passed, is a “vital, direct counterargument” to the reframing of assisted suicide as compassionate “because it cannot be compassionate if we are accelerating and sealing someone’s eternal destiny in Hell if they are lost.”
2. Antisemitism
Messengers also passed a resolution titled “On Antisemitism,” which denounced the rise in antisemitic bigotry and violence since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that killed around 1,200 people and led to the ensuing Israeli military offensive.
“This rising hatred includes conspiracy theories perpetuated online and through social media, falsely accusing the Jewish people as a whole of controlling media, finance, politics, weather, and culture for sinister ends that are modern echoes of historic libels that have incited persecution for centuries,” the resolution stated.
“Such conspiracy theories and condemnations of the Jewish people are contrary to the truth and the clear teaching of Scripture regarding human dignity.”
The resolution went on to “call upon Southern Baptists to combat antisemitism in our churches and communities through biblical teaching, personal friendship with Jewish neighbors, courageous public witness, and prayer for the peace of Jerusalem and the salvation of Israel.”
3. Office of pastor/elder/overseer
Messengers passed a resolution titled “On the Office and Function of Pastor/Elder/Overseer,” which stated that “two scriptural offices are that of pastor/elder/overseer and deacon” and that “the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.”
The measure complemented an earlier vote in which messengers approved an amendment to the SBC constitution that solidifies their ban on women serving as pastors, overseers and elders. The proposed amendment needs a second vote of approval next year to be officially enacted.
4. America’s 250th anniversary
Another resolution that passed at the SBC Annual Meeting is one commemorating the 250th anniversary of United States independence. Titled, “On the 250th Anniversary of the United States and the Baptist Contribution to Religious Liberty,” the resolution highlights the nation’s founding and Baptist contributions to the principles of religious liberty.
“Baptist leaders such as Isaac Backus, John Leland, and others played a vital role in advocating for religious liberty, contributing to the development and eventual adoption of the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, which guarantees the free exercise of religion and prohibits the establishment of a state church,” the resolution states.
5. Political violence and other resolutions
Other resolutions commemorate volunteer and bivocational pastors, acknowledge evangelism opportunities for people with disabilities, denounced political violence and called for decent treatment of immigrants while also demanding proper enforcement of immigration law.
During a discussion of the political violence resolution, messenger William Wolfe proposed adding a section to specifically honor the memory of conservative Christian activist Charlie Kirk.
Kirk was assassinated last September while doing an open-forum debate event at the campus of Utah Valley University in Orem, Utah, leaving behind a wife and two small children.
However, the amendment failed, in part because many believed the resolution, which had a broad condemnation of political violence, should not name specific victims of extremism.
