Three significant motions failed to garner sufficient support during the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Dallas last week. All three would have resulted in significant structural changes to how the denomination operates, but none gained the necessary two-thirds support from the more than 10,000 Messengers in attendance.
A motion to abolish the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) brought by Pastor Willy Rice of Florida would have eliminated ERLC. Rice argued the commission had “broken trust” by accepting funding from outside groups. He called for abolition not to erase the agency, but to “restore it … unencumbered by outside interests.”
Out of 6,581 valid ballots, 56.9% (3,744) voted to retain the ERLC, while 42.8% (2,819) favored abolition. Eighteen ballots were disallowed…