Chitwood responded by explaining why SBC missionaries receive vaccines in the first place and noted that if missionaries had not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine as required by certain countries, missionaries would have lost access to more than 2 billion people in need of hearing the gospel. “We made a very difficult decision to require our team members to be vaccinated, not just our missionaries overseas, but those of us who have traveled overseas to visit with them,” he said. “It was the only way to protect gospel access.”
Chitwood also noted that IMB no longer requires the COVID-19 vaccine.
You Can Find Beauty in the Southern Baptist Convention—If You Want To—Says SBC President Bart Barber
Hours before SBC president Bart Barber faced off against Mike Stone in the SBC presidential election, Barber used his presidential address to challenge messengers to desire to find beauty in the SBC more than they want to find corruption.
Anyone hoping to find examples of doctrinal or moral compromise in the denomination will find it if they look “long enough,” said Barber, given that there are 47,000 churches in the SBC. But people can also find “champions of the faith,” “defenders of the abused,” “courageous missionary-martyrs,” and “conscientious whistleblowers.”
The question is, “Do you want to see it?” asked Barber. “Do you have a taste for seeing it? Or do you find it unattractive?”
Rick Warren Pleads for Messengers To ‘Act Like Southern Baptists’; Al Mohler Rebuts Saddleback Appeal
Standing at a microphone in front of over 12,000 messengers Tuesday afternoon, Rick Warren defended his view that Saddleback Church should not be disfellowshipped from the Southern Baptist Convention. Saddleback was the third church Tuesday to appeal being disfellowshipped and the second to appeal being disfellowshipped for having a female pastor.
The other church that had a female pastor was Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, whose pastor, Linda Barnes Popham, gave an impassioned defense. The final church making an appeal was Freedom Church in Vero Beach, Florida, which was disfellowshipped for how it had handled sexual abuse allegations.
Warren’s primary argument for Saddleback remaining in the SBC was that Southern Baptists do not have to agree on every matter of doctrine so long as they agree on the essentials of faith, such as authority of Scripture. Warren was permitted three minutes to give his defense before his microphone was cut off, after which The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Dr. Al Mohler gave a three-minute rebuttal.
The question of women in leadership is a “matter of biblical commitment” and an “issue of biblical authority,” said Mohler, stating that the Bible “unequivocally, we believe, limits the office of pastor to men.”
Messengers then cast their ballots regarding whether or not the EC’s decision to disfellowship Saddleback should be upheld.
‘Unity, Buy-in, and Consensus’—Newly Re-Elected SBC President Bart Barber Emphasizes Shared Beliefs on Abuse Reform, Male-Only Pastorate
The outcome of the presidential race was announced at the end of the day Tuesday. Bart Barber was elected to a second term with 68% of the vote (7,531 votes), while Mike Stone received 31% (3,458 votes).
RELATED: Southern Baptists End First Day of Annual Meeting With Key Questions Hanging
, which took place in New Orleans on June 13-14, has come to a close—but the decisions made during the meeting will have an ongoing impact. Among the most significant events from the week were those pertaining to women in church leadership. ){kind=link}