The Southern Baptist Convention is yet again at an important turning point and as many as six people are willing to lead the nation's largest Protestant denomination into this unpredictable future.
Five pastors and one seminary professor are set to face off in a fast-paced, high-stakes election for SBC president at the convention’s annual meeting in Indianapolis on June 11-12. All of them answered a questionnaire from The Tennessean about the most pressing issues facing the Nashville-based denomination.
Those issues include the status of women pastors, long-term planning and funding for abuse reform, the influence of national politics on the church, and declining statistical trends among Southern Baptist churches and membership.
The first item on that list, a debate over women pastors, is expected to be the most defining issue for the six candidates, who have all sought to carve out definitive yet distinctive stances on a proposed measured to enshrine a ban on women pastors. That proposed measure — commonly called the “Law Amendment” — will come before the convention for a second and final approval in perhaps the most high-profile business item, even more than the presidential election.
The large pool of candidates all but guarantees a runoff election. The winner will succeed SBC President Bart Barber, who’s concluding his second and final one-year term. In addition to presiding over the business of the convention’s annual meeting, the SBC president is a representative of the convention to both Southern Baptists and the broader public.
Here’s what each of them had to say about the events expected to define the nation’s largest Protestant denomination this year.
Get to know the candidates
Mike Keahbone — Education: BA Management & Ethics. Employment: Pastor, FBC Lawton, Oklahoma.
David Allen — Education: I earned a BA degree from the Criswell College in 1978; an M.Div degree from Southwestern Seminary in 1981; and a Ph.D in Humanities with a major in Linguistics from the University of Texas at Arlington in 1987. Employment: Distinguished Professor of Preaching (2016-2022) and Dean of the School of Preaching, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (2016-2020).
Jared Moore — Education: B.A. in Biblical Studies, Trinity College of the Bible - Evansville, IN; M.A.R. in Biblical Studies, Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary - Lynchburg, VA; M.Div. in Christian Ministry, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) - Louisville, KY; Ph.D. in Systematic Theology, Minor in American Church History, SBTS. Employment: Senior Pastor, Homesteads Baptist Church, Crossville, TN, January 2016 – present.
Bruce Frank — Education: BBA Finance, Texas Tech University; M.Div. (with languages), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary; D.Min., Luther Rice Seminary. Employment: Biltmore Church, Asheville, NC, Senior Pastor, 2008-present
Dan Spencer — Education: M.S., Troy University; M.A., Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. Employment: Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church, Sevierville, TN (2011-present).
Clint Pressley — Education: BA, Wofford College; MDiv, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. Employment: Pastor Hickory Grove Baptist 2010- present Charlotte NC.
On banning women pastors
The Law Amendment has become a litmus test in the SBC in which opponents of the measure, often due to concerns about the potential impact on church governance, are defending against claims they don’t adhere to complementarianism — the belief that men and women have certain assigned roles, a core Southern Baptist belief. Here’s how the candidates intend to vote on the Law Amendment and their view of those who oppose the measure.
Mike Keahbone: “I will be voting against the Law Amendment.”
David Allen: “I do intend to vote for the Law Amendment at the SBC annual meeting. I do not necessarily think those who are opposed to the Law Amendment are insufficiently complementarian. One can be complementarian but have other reasons why he/she might be opposed to the Law Amendment. I do believe a few in our convention are insufficiently complementarian based on their willingness to support theological positions or churches that contradict Scripture and/or the Baptist Faith & Message doctrinal statement with specific respect to the qualification of male-only leadership for the pastoral office.”
Jared Moore: “I support, plan to vote for, and encourage every Southern Baptist to vote for the Law Amendment. Those opposed to the Law Amendment are too embarrassed of our beliefs to lead Southern Baptists. Scripture says it; we must be willing to say it that plainly. If you can make the Bible say the opposite of what it clearly says, you’re denying the primary doctrine of scripture’s authority.”
Bruce Frank: “I intend to vote against the Law Amendment. Rationale can be seen at brucefrank.org.”
Dan Spencer: “I don’t disagree with the theology of the Law Amendment, but as our confession, The Baptist Faith & Message (2000) covers the same topic with sufficient clarity, I do not think it is necessary to amend the SBC constitution. There are other ways to deal with churches who misunderstand the long-standing Southern Baptist position on female pastors. But the mission of the SBC is not to police our churches, but rather to cooperate for the propagation of the gospel of Christ.”
Clint Pressley: “I intend to vote for the Law Amendment. I do not necessarily see those against that as insufficiently complementarian.”
On abuse reform
News in February of a proposed nonprofit to take up the work of abuse reform has been a source of widespread debate among Southern Baptists. Opponents have cited major questions about funding following an underwhelming response by most SBC-affiliated agencies, called entities, to a call for seed money. Uncertainty about support from SBC entities might set up a battle over more direct support from the denomination. A top priority for advocates of ongoing abuse reform initiatives is a database of ministers credibly accused of abuse, called Ministry Check. Here’s how the candidates view the proposed nonprofit and if they oppose it, whether they prefer an alternative idea to enact abuse reform.
Mike Keahbone: “I absolutely support it. I am a member of the ARITF (Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force).”
David Allen: “In principle, any sincere effort to help combat sexual abuse from our midst should be applauded. I have no reason to question the motives of those who are establishing this new ARC. Individual Baptists are free to form whatever associations and groups they desire, and autonomous Baptist churches are free to support such groups financially as they desire. However, I would also express my deep concerns with this proposal until more information is made available. I am especially concerned that there is no accountability to the SBC. Whatever decisions Southern Baptists make regarding this issue, I believe all abuse is dealt with and defeated ultimately at the local church level. The local church is where accountability begins. The SBC should do all that is reasonably possible to provide information and training to church leaders regarding all aspects of abuse prevention and survivor care.”
Jared Moore: “I do not support an ARC that would try to solve abuse inside the SBC from outside the SBC. Our cooperative work has to be managed cooperatively; we can’t create independent church offices without violating Baptist polity. No task force, committee, nonprofit, or entity can stop or prevent abuse in the SBC. Only local churches can. There are thousands of Southern Baptist Churches that have never had a case or an accusation of abuse. These churches may be doing an excellent job of preventing abuse already. Second, the best thing that has come out of the pursuits for abuse reform in the SBC are the Caring Well Curriculum and the Ministry Toolkit found at sbcabuseprevention.com. Since local churches are the only Southern Baptists who can prevent abuse in their churches, the SBC needs to come alongside churches to encourage them to implement the best practices to help recognize and prevent abuse. If a local church does its due diligence, many forms of abuse can be prevented. After several years of promises, the SBC still does not have a database. I am in favor of a database including the names of those who have been convicted of crimes, confessed to a crime, or had a civil judgment rendered against them. But this is often already available in the marketplace. Additionally, I would like to pursue changing laws, so that churches have access to databases normally only accessed by law enforcement. I understand some states keep government-only databases of credible accusations. And Southern Baptists should pursue being granted access to these databases.”
Bruce Frank: “I will support whatever mechanism can facilitate a ministry check database resource for churches.”
Dan Spencer: “I will support whatever our Messengers elect to do. And I can get behind anything that will make our churches safer, especially for children.”
Clint Pressley: “At this point I do not support an outside entity. I think the work done thus far has been admirable and helpful to the Convention as a whole. I think reform comes through raised awareness and thorough equipping which can be done through the existing website and implementing MinistrySafe.”
On politics in the church
U.S. politics have been a major source of fissure among Southern Baptists, a key GOP voting constituency. A faction in the SBC of opposition conservatives, who have sought to pull the convention further to the right, generally supports former President Donald Trump and have retaliated against Southern Baptist leaders who have criticized Trump. These divisions are expected to intensify this upcoming election season, so here’s what the candidates said about the role of the SBC president in bridging those divides.
Mike Keahbone: “The role of the SBC president is to rightly represent the churches of our convention based on our convictional adherence to the Scriptures. Politics should not interfere with or influence our Biblical world view.”
David Allen: “I've been a Southern Baptist a long time, and national politics has always affected SBC discourse to one level or another. There are some aspects of politics that are mere matters of personal preference. These should not affect SBC discourse. Other political aspects are also more fundamentally moral questions, such as abortion. I see the role of the SBC president as helping the convention to recognize the distinction between personal preference issues and those that must be determined by what Scripture teaches. The president should seek the proper balance between these two and encourage Southern Baptists to think, act, and vote biblically, and not merely according to party line.”
Jared Moore: “I don't think the issue is “politics in the SBC,” but anthropology masquerading as theology. Some Southern Baptist leaders have been concerned with what the world thinks about us. They take polls, see what unbelievers like and want, and then shape their theology, sermons, tone, and rhetoric accordingly. The President’s role is to bring Southern Baptists together, around Scripture as confessed in the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. I hope to persuade and encourage Southern Baptists to be faithful to Scripture, to not care what the world thinks, to preach God's word, love God's people, live Christ's ethic, and love their neighbors through preaching the gospel and seeking their well-being. The world hates the SBC because they are lost. They are unbelievers. When they get saved, they'll love us. Until then, we preach the Word and love according to God's definition of love, not the world's definition. Compromising on the Word of God is hate, not love.”
Bruce Frank: “We live in a divided culture, and that has definitely impacted the discourse in the SBC. The SBC president can help keep the convention focused on the Great Commission and speaking on clear, biblical issues.”
Dan Spencer: “Especially in a U.S. presidential election year like 2024, there may be some political influence on our Convention. However, I have not seen the SBC stoop to the ungodly kind of rhetoric that characterizes politics today, and I pray we never do. The role of an SBC president is primarily to embody the message and mission of the SBC, both in the way he conducts himself and in the way he leads his church. Besides that, an SBC president has to be a builder of consensus. While we all share a common confession of faith, different groups have different priorities and approaches to the work. This has been true since the earliest days of the church. Someone, and it should be the SBC president, has to be willing to understand all these perspectives and then to rally us around what a great Southern Baptist statesman (and my relative), M.E. Dodd, called “a unity of purpose.” And that purpose which unifies us is dictated by Christ alone: to take His gospel to everyone, everywhere. That purpose has to take priority over every other passion and project.”
Clint Pressley: “National politics affects us all but our task is to focus on the Gospel and living out the Great Commission. The more we focus on our purpose the less we will fight one another.”
On decline
The latest SBC annual census reported another year of declining church membership and total churches. The following week, a white paper study found a 14-year-old initiative that sought to reverse declining baptisms yielded little-to-no success. Here’s how the candidates are responding to the latest statistical declines and revelations about the failure of past attempts to combat those trends.
Mike Keahbone: “While reports of membership have declined, evangelism numbers have increased! There is no program or strategy that can replace men and women of God walking intimately with their Savior and sharing the Gospel with those the Lord puts in their path. My goal as president would be to rally our churches to make disciples who make disciples.”
David Allen: “The SBC president has the platform to encourage Southern Baptists in several ways. First, through his preaching and speaking engagements the president can keep the main mission of the convention before the ears of the people. Second, through all forms of media, especially social media, the president has the opportunity to foster a mindset and atmosphere that keeps evangelism on the front burner. Third, in meetings with key convention leaders the president can encourage and support them in any way possible toward focusing on evangelism in all that we do. Fourth, in the annual convention meeting, the president can encourage Southern Baptists to mobilize for evangelism during his convention sermon.”
Jared Moore: “Under God's authority, only local Southern Baptist churches can reverse the declining numbers in the SBC. And churches largely go the direction that their pastor(s) lead them. My goal is not to care about the numbers in the SBC, a number I cannot change, but to encourage the pastors of local churches to remain faithful in a world that hates them. SBC pastors must preach the Word, love their people, and love their communities through sharing the gospel and seeking their well-being. They must do these things because they love God by the Holy Spirit through the Son to the Father. If I can encourage local church pastors and the Southern Baptists under their care to be faithful to love God, love His Word, love their churches, and love their communities, I will view my presidency as a success.”
Bruce Frank: “The latest numbers were mixed. Three important upward trends were attendance, baptisms, and small group participation. The SBC president can work with state and local association leaders to keep these three trends going up.”
Dan Spencer: “The missional focus that will be required to reverse these trends and get us back to what has historically made the SBC so effective must be undistracted. Our churches must rise above all rival priorities if we are to regain that focus. The SBC president can foster that by emphasizing three motivations: (1) the command of Christ that we call the Great Commission; (2) the plight of those who are lost in sin and who will perish if they don’t repent and believe the gospel; and (3) the necessity of cooperation among like-minded churches in order to complete our mission. That is why I would like the chance to lead Southern Baptists next Summer in Dallas to celebrate 100 years of united ministry through the Cooperative Program, to cultivate a culture of trust within the SBC, an to lead a new commitment to our ‘unity of purpose’.”
Clint Pressley: “I think the SBC president should encourage the churches to strive for healthy membership, a genuine and deepening love for missions and church planting and renewed efforts at personal evangelism. Obstacles have always been there, and the Gospel has always worked. We need to live like Hell is real, Jesus saves and Hope springs eternal.”
Liam Adams covers religion for The Tennessean. Reach him at ladams@tennessean.com or on social media @liamsadams.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Southern Baptist Convention presidential candidates on key issues
