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The SBC only meets two days a year, so annual meetings are often dramatic affairs. But this year’s meeting is almost certain to be historically tense.

Here are some things to know before the meeting.

What is the Southern Baptist Convention and why do they meet?

The Southern Baptist Convention is the collective of churches that make up the second largest religious group in the country, second only to the Catholic Church. The SBC has some 47,000 churches and about 15 million members who pool money to fund seminars and evangelistic efforts. SBC churches are also self-governing and self-governing, and although they cooperate with each other on some endeavors, leaders have little control over local congregations.

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This idea, called “local church autonomy”, will be heavily considered at Tuesday’s meeting, as churches discuss how they want to cooperate more with each other to prevent abuse. SBC churches only meet two days a year and defer most decisions to their main governing body, the executive committee. This body was at the heart of last month’s bombshell report, and so Tuesday’s meeting will be a good litmus test both of the SBC’s broader response to the findings, but also of the report’s impact on trust between major leaders and the drafting of the agreement. big.

Program

The annual SBC meeting is a massive exercise in Robert’s Rules of Procedure, a parliamentary process that allows virtually anyone – regardless of church size, theological background or anything else – to make recommendations on everything from policies to meeting timing.

Abusive votes

As it stands, Tuesday night’s two most important moments will come in the afternoon. First, SBC church representatives (known as “messengers”) are expected to discuss reforms in response to last month’s landmark sexual abuse report. Among the proposals is the creation of a website for “ministerial verification” of ministers accused of sexual abuse. The proposal has long been sought after by survivors and experts who say the lack of consistent ordination standards or central SBC records allows predators to move easily from church to church.

Presidential election

Southern Baptists are also expected to elect a new president on Tuesday afternoon. Although SBC chairs have little real power and can’t compel the SBC’s 47,000 churches to do much, many see this year’s contest as an indication of the path the SBC will take to fight abuse. .

Two race leaders — Texas pastor Bart Barber and Floridian pastor Tom Ascol — have drawn attention because of their differing views on tackling abuse. Current SBC president Ed Litton announced earlier this year that he was not pursuing a second term.

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Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, North Texas, has been increasingly outspoken about the need for the SBC to adopt strong abuse policies and repent of past failures to do facing the crisis. Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Cape Coral, Florida, also said the SBC should fight abuse. But he pushed back on some of the reforms survivors have been asking for decades. Ascot has instead focused much of his candidacy on critical race theory and other issues he says signal a drift toward liberalism within the SBC, one of the country’s most conservative religious groups.

Can I watch?

You can watch the meeting here. And you can read the nearly 100 stories the Chronicle has written about SBC sexual abuse here.

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