Southern Baptists overwhelmingly reaffirm traditional marriage definition, calling for a reversal of Obergefell v. Hodges and legislative action to uphold biblical views on marriage, family, and sexuality. The resolution, passed at the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting, also addresses concerns regarding sports betting and promotes policies supporting childbearing
Southern Baptists urge legislators to restrict sports betting and enact pro-family policies that encourage childbearing, aligning with their beliefs on marriage and family values
Southern Baptists overwhelmingly approve a resolution banning gay marriage and urging legislative action against same-sex marriage, sports betting, and policies discouraging childbearing. This decisive vote, cast by over 10,000 church representatives at the annual meeting of the nation's largest Protestant denomination, calls for the overturn of Obergefell v. Hodges and the enactment of laws affirming marriage exclusively between one man and one woman
Southern Baptists urge legislators to uphold biblical principles in lawmaking, advocating for legislation reflecting natural law and Scripture on marriage, sexuality, human life, and family, and opposing laws contradicting God's design as revealed in nature and the Bible. This includes calls to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and affirm marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman
Southern Baptists overwhelmingly endorse a resolution calling for a nationwide ban on same-sex marriage, advocating for the overturn of Obergefell v. Hodges and the enactment of laws defining marriage exclusively as between one man and one woman. This resolution, passed at the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting, also urges legislative action against sports betting and in support of policies promoting childbearing. While overturning Obergefell is a key component, it's important to note that this action alone wouldn't constitute a complete ban
Southern Baptists reaffirm traditional marriage definition, urging lawmakers to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and enact legislation defining marriage exclusively as between one man and one woman
Southern Baptists swiftly approved a resolution banning same-sex marriage, urging legislative action to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges and promote a biblical definition of marriage. No debate preceded the vote
Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting Opens with Praise and Positive Baptism Reports. The two-day event kicked off Tuesday with worship and encouraging news of increasing baptisms, though overshadowed by the recent death of sexual abuse whistleblower Jennifer Lyell
Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting overshadowed by death of prominent sexual abuse whistleblower, Jennifer Lyell. Lyell, who publicly accused a seminary professor of abuse in 2019, passed away at 47 following catastrophic strokes. Her death casts a somber shadow on the gathering, where delegates overwhelmingly endorsed a ban on same-sex marriage
Jennifer Lyell, a prominent Southern Baptist whistleblower and former denominational publishing executive, passed away at age 47. Lyell, who publicly accused a seminary professor of sexual abuse in 2019, died Saturday after suffering catastrophic strokes, according to fellow advocate Rachael Denhollander. Her death casts a shadow over the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting
The intense backlash Jennifer Lyell faced after publicly reporting her sexual abuse within the Southern Baptist Convention took a devastating toll on her health and well-being
Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting Sees Key Sexual Abuse Survivors and Advocates Absent Amidst Lack of Reform Progress
Dallas Convention Center Protest: Mourners Honor Sexual Abuse Victims Outside SBC Meeting. Two protestors displayed photos of Lyell and Gareld Duane Rollins, deceased sexual abuse victims and accusers of SBC leader Paul Pressler, during the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting
Podcast Host Highlights the Importance of Support for Survivors of Abuse in Evangelical Ministries: A Call for Compassion and Action
Southern Baptist Convention's 2022 Apology: Failure to Protect Jennifer Lyell from Sexual Abuse
In 2022, the SBC Executive Committee issued a formal apology for failing to adequately protect Jennifer Lyell, a victim of sexual abuse by a trusted seminary minister. The apology also acknowledged the denomination's news agency inaccurately reported the incident, failing to identify it as sexual abuse by a person in a position of power
SBC officials issued statements this week lamenting Lyell’s death, but her fellow advocates have denounced what they say is a failure to implement reforms.
The SBC’s 2022 meeting voted overwhelmingly to create a way to track pastors and other church workers credibly accused of sex abuse. That came shortly after the release of a blockbuster report by an outside consultant, which said Southern Baptist leaders mishandled abuse cases and stonewalled victims for years.
But the denomination’s Executive Committee president, Jeff Iorg, said earlier this year that creating a database is not a focus and that the committee instead plans to refer churches to existing databases of sex offenders and focus on education about abuse prevention. The committee administers the denomination’s day-to-day business.
Advocates for reform don’t see those approaches as adequate.
It is the latest instance of “officials trailing out hollow words, impotent task forces and phony dog-and-pony shows of reform,” abuse survivor and longtime advocate Christa Brown wrote on Baptist News Global, which is not SBC-affiliated.
In a related action, the Executive Committee will also be seeking $3 million in convention funding for ongoing legal expenses related to abuse cases.
As of Tuesday afternoon, attendance was at 10,456 church representatives (known as messengers). That is less than a quarter of the total that thronged the SBC’s annual meeting 40 years ago this month in a Dallas showdown that marked the height of battles over control of the convention, ultimately won by the more conservative-fundamentalist side led by Pressler and his allies.
That conservative consensus remains in the convention. This year’s convention will be asked to approve resolutions lamenting “willful childlessness” and calling for bans on same-sex marriage and pornography and restrictions on sports betting.
Messengers will also debate whether to institute a constitutional ban on churches with women pastors and to abolish its public-policy arm, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission — which is staunchly conservative, but according to critics, not enough so.
Brent Leatherwood, president of the ERLC, said Tuesday he would address the “turbulence” during his scheduled remarks Wednesday but was confident in the messengers’ support.
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“I think the majority of Southern Baptists are going to say once again, like they always have, ‘We need an entity that is dedicated to taking a distinctively Baptist voice and speaking in the public square,’ ” Leatherwood said.
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