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“Twenty billion!” Dr. Jeff Lorg emphasized. “Thank you, Southern Baptists, for every dollar you have given, the faithful giving of our forefathers, and for the immeasur- able, eternal impact of these results. We celebrate God’s past acts today, but more importantly, we build this me- morial so we can point to future generations and say, ‘This is what God can do through a people who cooper- ate together.’” In a resolution, messengers expressed thanks to God and “for Southern Baptist churches and individuals that give faithfully and sacrificially through the Cooperative Program.” Motions address ERLC, constitutional amendment Messengers narrowly defeated a proposed constitutional amendment and voted not to abolish the Ethics & Re - ligious Liberty Commission (ERLC) during the two-day session. A motion by Texas pastor Tom Buck to investi- gate claims that the SBC Executive Committee mistreat - ed and maligned a former EC chairman also failed.
A motion by Juan Sanchez, pastor of High Pointe Bap- tist in Austin, to amend the SBC Constitution to define a cooperating church as a congregation that “affirms, ap - points or employs only men as any kind of pastor” gained just over 60 percent of the vote, but failed to garner the first of two two-thirds majorities needed to adopt it. In the latest attempt to abolish or defund the ERLC, near - ly 57 percent of messengers voted to keep the entity. The motion to abolish was brought by Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Church in Clearwater, Fla. Southern Baptists hear from entities and seminaries Reports from SBC entities included updates on efforts and initiatives carried forward over the past year. Among the reports, messengers heard from the Interna- tional Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission , Guidestone Financial. Resources, Lifeway Christian Resources and all six SBC seminaries. Article courtesy of Baptist Press
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