Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board, gives the NAMB report at the 2024 SBC annual meeting. — Photo by Van Payne / The Baptist Paper

INDIANAPOLIS — Baptisms were up more than 26 percent across the Southern Baptist Convention’s churches in 2023, said Kevin Ezell, president of the North American Mission Board.

“We’re seeing big numbers, but each individual decision is eternally important, and God honors each and every one,” Ezell said during his report to the SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis on June 12.

Flanked by a group of Baptist state convention executive directors, Ezell shared that 35 out of 41 of our state conventions saw baptism gains in 2023, some of which were historic records. [Read more…]

HOUSTON — Paul Pressler, the Texas judge whose grassroots strategy redirected the Southern Baptist Convention, died June 7, 2024, in Houston, Texas, three days after his 94th birthday and less than six months after the settlement of a lawsuit alleging decades-long sexual assault by Pressler against multiple victims.

For decades in the SBC, Pressler was venerated as an almost mythical hero of Southern Baptists for his coordination and leadership of what is known as the Conservative Resurgence.

However, when Pressler was 87, his legacy was forever stained when a lawsuit was filed alleging that he had sexually molested the plaintiff, Gareld Duane Rollins, from the late 1970s when Rollins was 14, and enrolled in a Pressler-led Bible study, through 2004. [Read more…]

INDIANAPOLIS — SBC messengers at the 2024 annual meeting approved the reports of three groups that were formed at last year’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

Here’s a closer look at what transpired: [Read more…]

Dean Inserra, pastor of City Church, Tallahassee, Florida, delivers the convention sermon June 12, the final day of the SBC Annual Meeting in Indianapolis — Photo by Van Payne / The Baptist Paper

INDIANAPOLIS — Dean Inserra said “football nerds” like him watch with great interest every February as football players showcase what they can do at the NFL Combine, which takes place in Indianapolis just down the street from where Southern Baptists held this year’s annual meeting.

“One of the events during the Combine that fans pay attention to is the 40-yard dash,” said Inserra, pastor of City Church Tallahassee in Florida, as he preached the convention sermon June 12. “The athlete competing for his NFL future runs as fast as he can for 40 yards alone, not racing anyone or anything but the timer clock, trying to run the fastest 40-yard dash of his life in front of watching pro scouts from all 32 NFL teams.”

But it doesn’t matter how hard they try — it’s almost guaranteed they will never run their best possible 40-yard dash, Inserra said. [Read more…]