Motions made to defund the ERLC, reintroduce ‘Law Amendment,’ highlight first day of SBC Annual Meeting in Dallas
The 2025 Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) Annual Meeting in Dallas got underway June 10 with motions introduced seeking to abolish the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) and support of the “Law Amendment,” a proposed change to the Constitution of the Convention limiting the role of pastors to “only men as any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by Scripture.”
Juan Sanchez of High Pointe Baptist Church in Austin, Texas, moved that “the Constitution of the Southern Baptist Convention be amended to include an enumerated sixth item under Article 3, paragraph 1, concerning composition. The enumerated sixth item would read, number 6, “affirms, appoints, or employs only men is any kind of pastor or elder as qualified by scripture.”
Sanchez encouraged the program committee schedule debate on the motion quickly, explaining that the SBC Executive Committee and the past two conventions have already considered the amendment.
Willy Rice, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater, Fla., introduced a motion calling on messengers from member churches to “vote to abolish the ERLC.” The motion received the necessary second. Rice's proposal receiving scattered applause.
For the SBC to eliminate one of its entities, bylaws require a majority vote at two consecutive annual meetings. If the motion passes it must be approved by a majority vote at the 2026 annual meeting as well. Motions to defund or abolish the ERLC have been raised at the last three annual meetings – all unsuccessful. In 2023, the motion was initially supported by 80% of the messengers, but fell short of the 66% needed for ratification in 2024.
Presidential Address
SBC President Clint Pressley, pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., began his presidential address on Hebrews 10:23-24 – the theme of the meeting – with, “ Let me begin today by saying: It is really good to be a Southern Baptist.”
“ I have never wanted to be anything other than a Southern Baptist,” Pressley said, recounting how he became a Southern Baptist at the age of 16 at Hickory Grove, the church that he now pastors.
Pressley was re-elected to a second term as Convention president in the afternoon session, which included a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program, the denomination’s cooperative giving plan funded by member churches.
Southern Baptists have faced numerous challenges in recent years, including the drop in membership, a sexual abuse crisis, and a dramatic drop in membership – losing nearly 260,000 total members in 2024 – and 3.6 million in the last two decades. The denomination, which has lost members for 18 consecutive years, peaked at 16.3 million members in 2006.
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