A Call to Prayer
The elders of FBC St. Francisville prepared a response to the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) that provides information about our position related to current issues in the SBC and a call to prayer as we join together to seek God's wisdom and direction as an SBC church. Please download, read, share, and join us in prayer!
Download the Response to the 2024 Southern Baptist Convention
Study the Issues
The resources below provide links to some important documentation related to the history and the current stance of some SBC leaders on the issues of the abolition and criminalization of abortion and biblical fidelity in complementarianism in church leadership. There's a lot of information to digest, and we've provided some brief notes on each issue to help you place the material in context. If you don't want to read all of these resources linked below, we would recommend that you at least start with the following video, which accurately documents the SBC leadership's digression into an unbiblical stance on the abolition and criminalization of abortion.
Recommended video resources (must watch)
https://www.youtube.com/@AbolitionistFAA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKS3UIDfek&t=51s
Additional resources on the Abolition of Abortion Issue
2021 SBC Resolution on the Abolition of Abortion
Note the convention’s statement against an incremental approach to addressing abortion as well as its statement on the criminal nature of abortion. This resolution is important because it lays the foundation for seeing the shift in the public stance of the convention between 2022 and 2021.
https://www.sbc.net/resource-library/resolutions/on-abolishing-abortion/
2022 Louisiana House Bill on the Abolition of Abortion
Spearheaded by a Louisiana pastor, this legislation was the first of its kind to get a hearing and make it through a committee in a state legislature. Note how it aligns with the abolition of abortion resolution in rejecting incrementalism and attempting to truly lay the legal groundwork for the abolition of abortion.
https://legis.la.gov/legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1276262
2022 Open Letter that the SBC Signed in Opposition to HB813
This letter speaks for itself. It rejects criminalization of abortion that is consistent with God's Word in relationship to human life from conception and equal protection of that life under the law. By identifying women who have abortions as victims only, the letter rejects the clear teaching of God's Word. on these critical issues.
https://www.nrlc.org/uploads/communications/051222coalitionlettertostates.pdf
2022 Pro-Abolition Response to SBC Opposition to the Criminalization of Abortion
This video is listed above under "must watch." It accurately documents the history of the issue that continues to be unresolved in the SBC.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBKS3UIDfek&t=51s
2022-2023 SBC Alignment and Reinforcement on Opposition to Abolition and Criminalization (See Bart Barber’s article on page 18.)
This publication came out after the 2022 SBC, and while completely ignoring the position of many in the SBC who support the abolition and full criminalization of abortion, it focused entirely on making the case against abolitionism and -- in reality -- for incrementalism. Note the lack of biblical basis in the arguments that are made against the full criminalization of abortion.
https://erlc.com/issue/pursuing-a-culture-of-life/
2024 Resolution on IVF
The first statement in this resolution reinforces a biblical view of life and equal protection at conception, yet - at the same time – SBC leadership continued to oppose abolition and full criminalization efforts.
2024 Foundation to Abolish Abortion Documentary
This newly released documentary is an absolute must watch that's packed full with information about the realities of abortion in American post the overturning of Roe vs. Wade. It accurately sheds light on the difference and tension between the pro-life and abolition movements.
https://www.youtube.com/@AbolitionistFAA
Foundation to Abolish Abortion - Biblical Principles on Equal Protection
Great resource for studying God's Word on the issue of equal protection of life for preborn children.
https://faa.life/biblical-principles-on-equal-protection
Resources on the Issue of Complementarianism
2023 Law Amendment
The proposed amendment to the SBC Constitution that would have made complementarianism a requirement for friendly cooperation in the SBC. It required approval in 2023 and in 2024 for adoption. This website provides the verbiage of the amendment as well as justification for its adoption.
https://sbcamendment.org/home-2/frequently-asked-questions/
2023 Baptist Faith & Message Amendment
As noted in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 footnote, this amendment only required approval in 2023 and took immediate effect thereafter.
https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/#vi
2024 Leader Opposition to the Law Amendment
Below are links to three significant voices in SBC leadership. Others joined with these leaders to use their influence and platforms to sway a minority of SBC delegates to vote to defeat the Law Amendment. Note the lack of biblical basis for their positions and how their arguments rely on pragmatism and fear over the potential of unintended consequences. Also note how proof-texting is used to attempt to build the case for how they are avoiding concise action in obedience to God's clear Word. For example, J.D. Greear uses Acts 15 as his final justification. While there are general aspects of the approach that the church should continue to model, the context is completely different. Acts 15 was dealing with an issue that had not been clarified yet. They were identifying God's will for how to resolve this issue of doctrine in the early church. We don't have that problem today. We're dealing with an issue that God's Word has already spoken on and spoken clearly about; however, the disconnect is that Greear and others see this as a secondary or tertiary issue rather than the primary issue that it is in God's design for his church.
https://jdgreear.com/a-time-to-come-together-the-unintended-effects-of-the-law-amendment/
https://www.baptiststandard.com/news/baptists/barber-discusses-sexual-abuse-law-amendment/
2024 Pastor Tom Hicks Response to the Failure of the Law Amendment
Here's a great response that continues to address the necessity of resolving this issue in the SBC and the call for further engagement to do so.
https://centerforbaptistleadership.org/a-time-for-choosing-in-the-sbc/
