Despite its overuse, I cannot help but once again trod out Charles Dicken’s line to describe my time at the 2025 Annual Meeting (SBC Convention). “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

The Best of Times

With respect to renewed friendships and the general tenor of the platform, the 2025 Convention was the best of times. The convention facilitated reunions with faithful brothers who played basketball with me during my MDiv days at Southern Seminary and who pushed through mounds of books with me as we worked on our PhD’s at Midwestern Seminary. I rejoiced to see my brothers and sisters steadfastly advancing the gospel through their homes, local churches, and seminaries.

Moreover, the 9Marks at Nine forums, and the Midwestern Seminary lunches refreshed and encouraged my heart. In addition to offering insights into how messengers should think about the SBC’s financial struggles, men such as Dr. Mohler, Dr. Allen, Dr. Leeman, Dr. Akin, and Dr. Dever steadfastly stood for the gospel as they called for the SBC to adopt more Scriptural mission’s strategies, to recognize the need for doctrinal fidelity, and to pass the Law/Sanchez amendment which affirms that the office of pastor is restricted to qualified men. Similarly, Dr. Mark Dever should be commended for leading the attendees at the 9Marks at Nine events to loudly praise the Lord through the singing of hymns. I enjoyed circling about the 9Marks and the Seminary booths.  

Good things also occurred on the platform.  Dr. Andrew Walker of Southern Seminary graciously and yet resolutely led the convention to adopt a “a very conservative slate of resolutions,” These resolutions affirmed the moral evils and dangers of chemical abortion pills; the need to affirm God’s design for gender, marriage, and the family; the need to ban pornography; and, the harmful and predatory nature of sports betting. Throughout the debates leading up to the passage of these resolutions by almost universal assent, Dr. Walker listened intently to the various amendments put forward by the messengers. He responded graciously to all their concerns, rejecting those amendments that would have weakened the resolutions and accepting the one that strengthened the resolution on sexuality. The interactions between Dr. Walker and the messengers (as well as those between President Clint Pressley – who was elected to a second term as SBC President – and the messengers) displayed the very best of SBC polity: leaders determined to lead the convention yet open to conversation with and biblical correction from the floor. It was the best of times!

But while the platform accomplished much good, it also brought about harm…the worst of times.

The Worst of Times

With the Law/Sanchez Amendment speeding towards a vote, Dr. Jeff Iorg (President of the Executive Committee) walked to the convention microphone at its most electric moment. But instead of calling the messengers to submit their consciences and their votes to the clear teaching of Scripture, Dr. Iorg told them to fear lawsuits. He encouraged them to shy away from the implications of their Scripture-infused doctrinal statement . He claimed that such fidelity to truth would lead to lawsuits that could further drain the Executive Committee’s depleted budget. Dr. Iorg’s statement proved as monumental as it was erroneous.  

To begin with, his argument misconstrued the SBC’s legal standing. The SBC can no more be sued for limiting the office of pastor to qualified men than it can be sued for affirming the practice of believers’ baptism. Constitutional lawyer and ERLC Fellow Mathew Martens’ bluntly said of Dr. Iorg’s argument, “It’s hard to overstate how moronic such a claim is.”

Secondly and more importantly, Dr. Iorg’s claim proves theologically erroneous and destructive. Denominations and churches that base their doctrine upon the approval of their secular culture will increasingly find themselves at odds with the totality of Scripture. The culture surrounding the SBC that has turned some SBC churches against the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 will not retreat once the SBC welcomes women into their pulpits. The culture will in short order pressure SBC churches to abandon their commitment to the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, the doctrine of the exclusivity of Christ, the doctrine that marriage is limited to men and women, and any other doctrine the culture deems problematic. Once a denomination begins down the slippery slope of cultural appeasement, it will be almost impossible to break its fall.

Instead of listening to the messengers whose impulse for biblical fidelity led them to bring the Law/Sanchez Amendment to the floor for a vote, Dr. Iorg opposed them and opposed them in such a way that he placed himself not only at odds with messengers but with the Scriptures. 

In the end, the Law/Sanchez Amendment fell short of the super majority (66%) needed to pass. Only 60% of the messengers voted for it. Though the influence of Dr. Iorg’s two-and-a-half-minute speech upon the outcome of the vote was ultimately unmeasurable, I still believe it influenced the vote. Dr. Iorg won the day, and the majority of messengers lost. It was the worst of times.

And The Next Time?

Though I and many other biblically minded Southern Baptist mourn the outcome of the Law/Sanchez Amendment vote, I do not believe the 2025 Convention marks the end of the SBC or even the beginning of its end. In short, I am still bullish on the SBC’s future.

As long as the conservatives keep their 60% majority, they can control the SBC presidency and the appointments to the various SBC boards, including the Executive Committee. Though the cleansing of the SBC’s roles (so to speak) will take time, the conservatives can still stop and eventually repeal the advances of this next generation of moderates and liberals who champion numbers and cultural ideologies instead of the more common errors of traditional theological liberalism.

Now is not the time for conservatives and reform mined Baptist to retreat.  Now is the time to for us to rally around men such as Dr. Lambert, Dr. Leeman, Dr. Burke, Dr. Mohler and Dr. Allen as they fight to keep the SBC moored to the Scriptures. In other words, now is the time to book our flights to 2026 convention in Orlando.