What is the Southern Baptist Convention?

We are just a few days away from the 2026 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Orlando, FL. In preparation for that event, I want to offer some reflections on the question, “What is the Southern Baptist Convention?” This is a topic I’ve thought about a lot over the years, because I think there is more than one way to answer it. In fact, there are at least four different potential answers, depending upon one’s context.

First, the technical answer is that the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is an annual meeting of cooperating Baptist churches. According to our charter and constitution, the Southern Baptist Convention is “body” that bears that name. Specifically, the purpose of that body is as follows.

It is the purpose of the Convention to provide a general organization for Baptists in the United States and its territories for the promotion of Christian missions at home and abroad and any other objects such as Christian education, benevolent enterprises, and social services which it may deem proper and advisable for the furtherance of the Kingdom of God.

Article III of the constitution speaks to the make-up of the body: “The Convention shall consist of messengers who are members of Baptist churches in cooperation with the Convention.”

Article IV speaks to the authority of this gathered body: “While independent and sovereign in its own sphere, the Convention does not claim and will never attempt to exercise any authority over any other Baptist body, whether church, auxiliary organizations, associations, or convention.”

In a very real sense, the SBC is the annual meeting. Legally, the SBC exists in its fullness for two days each year, after which time it is embodied in the Executive Committee, which functions as the SBC ad interim (between annual meetings).

Second, the SBC is an ecclesial tradition. There is a Southern Baptist tradition, a people, that existed in many ways prior to 1845, took particular shape in 1845, and continues to this day. This tradition is marked by certain beliefs, priorities, and emphases. The tradition has a history, and that history includes major figures, themes, and controversies.

The Southern Baptist tradition also includes the various state conventions and regional associations. These aren’t technically the SBC, but are related to the wider tradition. And the tradition includes individuals who self-identify as Southern Baptist. This is probably what most people mean when they refer to the Southern Baptist Convention, the SBC, or simply “Southern Baptists.” As a church historian, I’ve written a lot about the Southern Baptist tradition over the years.

Share

Third, the SBC is a network of churches. I’m using that word “network” in an informal sense. Simply put, there are around 46,000 churches across the United States that have taken one or more steps to identify as Southern Baptist. This is the pool of autonomous Baptist churches that have the opportunity to cooperate with the SBC in the technical sense by sending messengers to the annual meeting. I find that pastors in particular often think of the SBC in this way. Many of the SBC entities also use this sort of language. And speaking of the entities,

Finally, the SBC is an ecosystem of ministries. These are the national entities the Convention has incorporated or adopted to spearhead specific ministries on behalf of the SBC. Think the two mission boards, the six seminaries, the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, LifeWay, and Guidestone. Though auxiliary, Woman’s Missionary Union could also be included herein. The SBC in this sense is overseen by the SBC in the first sense, is part of the SBC in the second sense, and serves the SBC in the third sense.

So, which of these understandings of the SBC will be highlighted in Orlando? Well, all of them. We will conduct our business as the SBC in the first sense. But almost everyone who is present—messengers, guests who are members of cooperating churches, exhibitors who work for various Baptist-related entities—will be the SBC in the second sense. We’ll talk a lot about the SBC in the third sense, and report after the fact on how “much” of the SBC was represented in the annual meeting. And we’ll hear reports from the SBC in the final sense. We’ll also visit their booths and attend their auxiliary events.

When the Southern Baptist Convention—in every sense of that phrase—is in Orlando, I will complete my run as recording secretary. Though I’ll be on the platform for almost all of the annual meeting itself, I’ll be at the ERLC event on Monday night, and will be at the North Greenville University both on Sunday and Monday afternoons. I hope to see some of you there.

Michael Kruger, The Question of Canon: Challenging the Status Quo in the New Testament Debate (IVP Academic, 2013). In recent years, I’ve found myself spending more and more time teaching about the canonization process and defending the canon of Scripture. Later this summer, I’ll be leading a seminar on this topic at Taylors First Baptist Church. Kruger’s excellent book is part of my preparation for that event.

Gary Thomas, Sacred Marriage: What If God Designed Marriage to Make Us Holy More Than to Make Us Happy? (Zondervan, 2015). I’ve wanted to read this book for years, but had never done so. From time to time, Leah and I have the opportunity to lead marriage conferences. We’re also preparing to do some pre-marital counseling with some young engaged couples in the next few months. I thought it high time I read this book. I found it to be very helpful.

Pope Leo XIV, Magnifica Humanitas (2026). The Pope recently released his first encyclical, which dealt with the doctrine of humanity in an age of artificial intelligence. He also included an extended reflection on Catholic Social Doctrine. While I disagreed with him on some points, mostly related to the differences between Protestants and Catholics, I found his overall arguments to be compelling and helpful. I might return to this in the coming days.

I contributed an essay titled “Carl F. H. Henry, Biblical Inerrancy, and the Pursuit of a Consistently Evangelical Identity” to the latest issue of the Southwestern Journal of Theology. The entire issue is dedicated to David Dockery, the president of Southwestern, who has been a dear friend and mentor to me.

I contributed a chapter on the history of higher education in America to the new book Faithful Faculty: Vocational Flourishing in Christian Higher Education (B&H Academic, 2026), which is edited by my good friends Donny Mathis and Jacob Shatzer. This book is intended to help new faculty onboard and thrive in Christian colleges and universities.

Speaking of Christian colleges and universities, my latest column for WORLD Opinions is titled “An Opportunity for Faithful Higher Education.” In an era where many conservatives are understandably concerned with the state of higher education in America, Christ-centered schools have an opportunity to fill that void.

I’m currently on the campus of Gateway Seminary in Ontario, CA, where I presented a paper today on “Andrew Fuller’s Critique of Sandemanian Restorationism.” The paper was part of a conference related to Andrew Fuller’s life and legacy, hosted by the Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary. My paper will be included as a chapter in a forthcoming book titled Print and Piety: The ‘Eminent Usefulness’ of Andrew Fuller’s Legacy, which will be edited by my friend Chris Chun and published in 2027 by Brill Academic.

Leah has a new post on her Substack. I’d encourage you to read it. Here is the bottom line: we have every indication that her chemo treatments are working—thanks be to God!—but they are also getting harder and harder for her physically. We have four more treatments to go, but every time the side effects get worse, and she rebounds more slowly. Please continue to pray for my wonderful wife, and for all of us, as we continue this cancer journey.