President of the Southern Baptist Convention explained

The president of the Southern Baptist Convention heads the convention and is elected at the annual meeting. The president's duties include presiding over the annual meeting; appointing members to SBC committees; serving as an ex officio member of the board of SBC entities including the International Mission Board, the North American Mission Board, and Lifeway Christian Resources; and representing the SBC to other Baptist denominations and to the press.

Although the SBC Bylaws do not specifically state that only a male may be elected as president, no female has ever served as such (the majority of presidents have been pastors of churches, which according to the Baptist Faith and Message, the office of pastor is limited to men only). Any person may be nominated and there is no requirement that a candidate announce their intent to run prior to the annual meeting (during the 2022 Annual Meeting, three candidates announced their intent to run, and a fourth candidate was nominated at the annual meeting). If only one candidate is nominated, the secretary of the SBC (or any designee) may cast the ballot. If three or more candidates are nominated, and no candidate receives a majority on the first ballot, subsequent ballots shall carry all candidates in the top 50 percent of the prior ballot. Proxy voting is not allowed.

Under SBC Bylaws, the term is for one year, and a candidate can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms, after which he must sit out a year before standing for re-election.[1] Prior to the current bylaws, presidents could serve more than two terms and frequently did: P.H. Mell served a total of 16 years (over two terms spanning eight years each), the most of any president. The service year overlaps with two calendar years as the annual meeting is held in June, and the term starts upon completion of the annual meeting (thus, at the annual meeting, the incumbent president serves until the annual meeting concludes, after which the elected president—whether incumbent or new—will begin his term).

Since the advent of the current bylaws, the custom has been for the president to serve two consecutive terms, but not run again after the one-year stand-down period; however, it is not uncommon for a president to serve only one term and then step down and not run again. But, two persons have served as president for more than the customary two terms since that time:

List

ImagePresidentYears in OfficeState
11845–1851South Carolina
2[3] 1851–1859Virginia and Tennessee
31859–1863South Carolina
41863–1871Georgia
51872–1879South Carolina and Kentucky
61880–1887Georgia
71888Kentucky
81889–1898Alabama
91899–1901Georgia
101902–1904Arkansas
111905–1907Missouri
121908–1910Maryland
131911–1913Georgia
141914–1916Georgia
151917–1920Texas
161921–1923Kentucky
171924–1926Virginia
181927–1929Texas
191930–1932South Carolina
201933Tennessee
211934–1935Louisiana
221936–1938Kentucky
231939–1940Texas
241941–1942Louisiana
251944–1946Texas
261947–1948Georgia
271949–1951Tennessee
281952–1953Louisiana
291954–1955Oklahoma
301956–1957North Carolina
311958–1959Arkansas
321960–1961Tennessee
331962–1963Oklahoma
341964Texas
351965–1966Tennessee
361967–1968Tennessee
371969–1970Texas
381971–1972North Carolina
391973–1974Mississippi
401975–1976Alabama
411976–1977Tennessee
421977–1978Texas
43 [4] 1979–1980Tennessee
441980–1982Oklahoma
451982–1984Texas
461984–1986Georgia
471986–1988Tennessee
481988–1990Florida
491990–1992Texas
501992–1994Texas
511994–1996Florida
521996–1998Oklahoma
531998–2000Texas
542000–2002Georgia
552002–2004Texas
562004-2006Florida
572006–2008South Carolina
582008–2010Georgia
592010–2012Georgia
60[5] 2012–2014Louisiana
61[6] 2014–2016Arkansas
62[7] 2016–2018Tennessee
63[8] 2018–2021North Carolina
64[9] 2021–2022Alabama
65[10] 2022–2024Texas
66Clint Pressley[11] 2024–presentNorth Carolina

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: SBC Constitution: Article 5: Officers. 2021-06-16. SBC.net. en-US.
  2. Web site: Schroeder. George. March 24, 2020. 2020 SBC Annual Meeting canceled. 2021-06-16. Baptist Press. en-US.
  3. Book: Cathcart, William. The Baptist Encyclopaedia. Everts. 1881. 551.
  4. Jay Mathews, Southern Baptists Elect Rogers, washingtonpost.com, USA, June 11, 1986
  5. Web site: SBC Presidents . Beachum . Andy . Rebecca . Wolford . 1 September 2014 . . 15 June 2021.
  6. Web site: Ronnie Floyd wins Southern Baptist Convention presidency. townhall.com. Baptist Press. June 10, 2014. 15 June 2021.
  7. Web site: Gaines reelected as SBC President, leads diverse slate of officers. Barbara. Denman. Baptist Press. 15 June 2017.
  8. Web site: J.D. Greear elected SBC president . Denman . Barbara . 12 June 2018 . . 15 June 2021.
  9. Web site: Southern Baptists Elect A New President, Ed Litton, Who Is Seen As A Bridge Builder . . 15 June 2021 . . 15 June 2021.
  10. Web site: Barber elected SBC President after runoff . . 14 June 2022 . . 15 June 2022.
  11. Web site: Smietana . Bob . 2024-06-12 . North Carolina pastor Clint Pressley elected SBC president . 2024-06-12 . Religion News Service . en-US.