(RNS) — The last time Southern Baptists gathered in Indianapolis for their annual meeting, six preachers were vying for the chance to lead the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.During that 2008 meeting, three megachurch pastors squared off against a pair of former missionaries and a small church preacher from North Carolina before Johnny Hunt, a popular Georgia preacher, prevailed.
Sixteen years later, Southern Baptists are headed to Indy again this June. And just like in 2008, they’ll have six different choices for president.
This time, those candidates are competing to lead a smaller and more divided denomination, with nearly 3 million fewer members, debates over female pastors, calls for more financial transparency, frustration with the denomination’s response to sexual abuse and a growing lack of trust in the SBC’s leadership.
The six candidates are vying for one of the most influential volunteer jobs in American religion. Though unpaid, the SBC president has a high-profile bully pulpit to highlight the denomination’s work and often travels the country speaking to Baptist churches and other gatherings. While they have no administrative power, the SBC president also appoints the members of influential denominational committees and oversees the SBC’s annual meeting.
The current candidates reflect some of the ongoing debates. Two are big-church pastors of the more traditional Southern Baptist variety, who want to get the SBC focused back on mission an …
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Sixteen years later, Southern Baptists are headed to Indy again this June. And just like in 2008, they’ll have six different choices for president.
This time, those candidates are competing to lead a smaller and more divided denomination, with nearly 3 million fewer members, debates over female pastors, calls for more financial transparency, frustration with the denomination’s response to sexual abuse and a growing lack of trust in the SBC’s leadership.
The six candidates are vying for one of the most influential volunteer jobs in American religion. Though unpaid, the SBC president has a high-profile bully pulpit to highlight the denomination’s work and often travels the country speaking to Baptist churches and other gatherings. While they have no administrative power, the SBC president also appoints the members of influential denominational committees and oversees the SBC’s annual meeting.
The current candidates reflect some of the ongoing debates. Two are big-church pastors of the more traditional Southern Baptist variety, who want to get the SBC focused back on mission an …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]