Thread by @RyanRHutch

1/25 🧵 #SBC2023 Article III, A Brief History, and Next Steps: I believe Scripture teaches that the role of Elder/Pastor is reserved for men who meet the qualifications as prescribed in Titus 1, 1 Timothy 3, Acts 20, and 1 Peter 5.

2/25 What follows is a brief history of Article III and its role in determining who is eligible to send messengers to the SBC Annual Meeting, by being considered an organization or church in friendly cooperation with the SBC.

3/25 Since the establishment of the SBC's Constitution, Article III has dictated who can send messengers to the SBC Annual Meeting. What we know now is not how it began, nor how the SBC operated for the first 85 years of its history.

4/25 The SBC wasn't formed by just a group of churches, as stated in the Preamble to the Constitution of the SBC, published in the 1845 SBC Annual, “We, the delegates from Missionary Societies, Churches, and other religious bodies of the Baptist Denomination...”

5/25 "...met in Convention, in the City of Augusta, Georgia…” The original wording of Article III in the SBC Constitution communicated the potential pool of messengers beyond today’s standards.

6/25 “A Triennial Convention shall consist of members who contribute funds, or are delegated by religious bodies contributing funds…” Article III continues to address the number of messengers, who were representatives from various Baptist bodies, not just local Baptist churches.

7/25 At the 1888 SBC Annual Meeting, changes were made to Article III to clarify the relationship with State Conventions. Instead of referring to "religious" bodies, Article III was changed to "Baptist" bodies.

8/25 In 1931, the Executive Committee recommended changes to the Constitution that were approved. Since then, messengers have come only from Baptist churches.

9/25 “The Convention shall consist of messengers who are members who are members of missionary Baptist churches co-operating with the Southern Baptist Convention…”

10/25 In 1948, Article III was amended to include the language that a cooperating church is one that “is in friendly co-operation with this Convention and sympathetic with its purposes on work.”

11/25 This change came about when the Kansas convention wanted to affiliate with the SBC and the committee working on that matter noted that many others wanted to do the same.

12/25 Except for some formatting changes and variations in contribution amounts, Article III remained unchanged until 1993 when it entered a new era that seems to have accelerated in recent years.

13/25 It was then that the first standard, beyond being a missionary Baptist church and financial support, was incorporated into Article III. Churches that supported homosexual behavior were no longer deemed to be cooperating churches.

14/25 Article III now included “Among churches not in cooperation with the Convention are churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior.”

15/25 In 2015, a modification to Article III continues to raise the question as to the application to defining a cooperating church. Article III referenced the Convention's Statement of Faith. The Article was amended to include:

16/25 “Has a faith and practice which closely identifies with the Convention’s adopted statement of faith. (By way of example, churches which act to affirm, approve, or endorse homosexual behavior would be deemed not to be in cooperation with the Convention.)”

17/25 Finally, in 2021, Article III was amended to further define the standards for church cooperation, with the addition of clauses addressing sexual abuse and racism.

18/25 The language added that a cooperating church “(4) Does not act in a manner inconsistent with the Convention’s beliefs regarding sexual abuse. (5) Does not act to affirm, approve, or endorse discriminatory behavior on the basis of ethnicity.”

19/25 This year, at the SBC Annual Meeting, changes to Article III are potentially up for consideration. Messengers should consider if the current state of Article III sufficiently addresses the contemporary concerns over women pastors before seeking to expand it further.

20/25 In 2015, messengers did something momentous by introducing the SBC’s adopted statement of faith, and a church's faith and practice closely identifying with it as a standard for cooperating with the SBC and for the ability to send messengers.

21/25 At the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting, the Credentials Committee was tasked with making recommendations on Saddleback Church. However, they seemed ill-equipped to address the issue.

22/25 Since then, the Credentials Committee and the Executive Committee have moved the discussion forward and officially disfellowshipped Saddleback, along with some other churches with women pastors.

23/25 Despite the Credentials Committee's rocky start, the process worked and we are heading towards a precedent being set. Southern Baptists should continue down this path rather than expanding Article III.

24/25 Let's continue working to clarify the current standards, processes, and procedures before we adjust Article III again. Even amid the heat of battle during the Conservative Resurgence, Article III wasn't amended, with the exception of the homosexuality statement.

25/25 I commend @pastorclint's recommendation on how the messengers can take the best next steps regarding Article III. Check it out here:

https://twitter.com/pastorclint/status/1667157655335456773