The Southern Baptists are meeting in Indianapolis. Here’s why it matters.

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnINDIANAPOLIS (RNS) — More than 11,000 Southern Baptist Church members, known as messengers, will gather in Indianapolis this week for one of the largest, and sometimes noisiest, religious meetings of the year.The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual gathering is part family reunion, part business meeting and part church service, mixing singing and sermons with business reports and elections — quotes from “Robert’s Rules of Order” are as common as Bible verses.
With organized religion on the decline and fewer Americans putting faith in churches and their institutions, a denominational meeting may seem passé — a relic from the past that no longer matters.
Still, here’s why you might want to pay attention.
Southern Baptists remain a powerful faith community  
Though it has fallen on hard times in recent years — with membership in decline and an ongoing abuse crisis — the 12.9 million-member SBC remains one of the most influential faith groups in the country.
Through its six seminaries, the denomination trains more pastors than any other faith group in the country. Even pastors who aren’t SBC go to Southern Baptist seminaries, giving the denomination the opportunity to shape the message delivered in all kinds of churches. Its publishing arm, Lifeway, produces Bible studies and kids’ curricula used in churches nationwide. Th …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]