ANAHEIM, Calif. (BP) – Resolutions affirming the mission field in rural America, denouncing the preaching of the prosperity gospel, calling for an end to the war in Ukraine, and addressing sexual abuse were among those adopted by messengers to the 2022 SBC Annual Meeting in Anaheim, Calif., June 14-15.
Messengers approved language noting that Jesus “regularly identified Himself with rural and small places like Nazareth,” more than 75 percent of all towns and cities in the United States are small nonurban communities of fewer than 25,000 people, and nearly 20 percent of the U.S. population resides in rural areas.
The SBC expressed “commitment to and recognition of the mission field in rural places,” pledged to continue supporting the work of the Cooperative Program to reach rural places, encouraged churches to seek opportunities to “establish, help and revitalize churches in rural communities,” and stated support for the work rural churches do to spread the Gospel.
In another resolution, messengers defined the prosperity gospel as “the belief that Jesus’ sacrificial and atoning death grants believers health, wealth and the removal of suffering, sickness and poverty.”
“The prosperity gospel distorts biblical generosity, preys on the most vulnerable, solely blames people for their own sickness due to lack of faith and corrupts a biblical understanding of suffering,” messengers said, adding that “Scripture warns us to guard against false teaching.”
Regarding the war in Ukraine, messengers approved a resolution citing biblical references to God as “the God of peace” and Jesus as “the prince of peace” and referring to Jesus’ declaration that “blessed are the peacemakers.” Messengers, in the language of the resolution, implored the U.S. government to “prioritize the admission of Ukrainian refugees into our country and provide resources for their support and resettlement.” They also stated their support for “Ukrainian brothers and sisters in Christ as well as the people of Ukraine who have endured these atrocities” and vowed to pray for fellow Christians in the Russian Federation and for an end to the war.
A resolution addressing religious liberty and forced conversions among Native Americans cited a Bureau of Indian Affairs Investigative Report released in May which found that the United States “maliciously targeted” Native American, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiian children “as part of a diabolical plan to dispossess these people groups from their native lands by forced assimilation through the establishment of mandatory boarding schools.”
Messengers encouraged fellow Southern Baptists to “decry the methods of forced assimilation and conversion as well as the dehumanization of fellow image bearers” and expressed support for Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians as they process the findings of the report.
“We stand against forced conversions and distorted missiological practices as contrary to our distinctive beliefs as Baptists in religious liberty and soul freedom,” messengers said.
During the second report of the Resolutions Committee on June 15, messengers agreed sexual abuse is an abomination before God which grieves Christ, abandons the demands of Scripture, violates the image of God and “causes harm to those who are entrusted to the church’s care and protection.” Messengers, through the resolution, denounced “in the strongest possible terms every instance of sexual abuse, those who perpetrate abuse” and those who seek to defend or protect perpetrators.
The SBC apologized and asked forgiveness from survivors of sexual abuse for their failure to care well for survivors, failure to hold perpetrators accountable and failure to prioritize protection and justice for survivors over the “reputation of our institutions.”
“We prayerfully endeavor to eliminate all instances of sexual abuse among our churches,” messengers said.
In another resolution, messengers encouraged lawmakers in every state to pass laws providing consistent definitions and classifications of sexual abuse by pastors.
“Laws and codes of professional ethics in many states prohibit sexual relationships between professionals such as physicians, psychiatrists, attorneys and their patients/clients, even with consent, because the position of authority held by the professional creates an unhealthy opportunity for abuse,” messengers said, adding that pastors should be held to a standard at least as high as secular professionals.
Messengers, furthermore, asked lawmakers to pass laws shielding churches from civil liability when they share information about alleged abuse with other organizations or institutions.
Though local church autonomy is a Baptist distinctive, messengers said it is “important and biblical” to develop a culture of transparency and mutual responsibility between churches “so that it is clear that our churches are not places for predators to hide.”
“We support actions that protect the innocent within the churches of the Southern Baptist Convention from wolves in shepherd’s clothing and embrace actions that empower churches to be able to report instances of abuse to appropriate authorities without fear of civil liability,” the resolution said.
Messengers also anticipated a historic moment in the pro-life movement surrounding the looming U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization by encouraging all Southern Baptists to pray for the overturning of the precedent established by Roe v. Wade. The SBC implored fellow Southern Baptists “to continue and increase their efforts to serve and support local pregnancy resources centers, pro-life organizations, churches, foster care and adoptive families.”
Messengers committed to stand with and pray for abortion-vulnerable women and urged state legislatures to enact “pro-life policies that uphold the dignity and value of every human life, including both vulnerable women and children.”
Another resolution addressed the Imago Dei and “helpful content submitted in several resolutions” to affirm the value and dignity of every human being as created in the image of God.
“Rejecting God’s good design for the Christian life and seeking to craft an ethic based on our individualistic will and desires is not only an affront to God but also a grave sin of selfishness, rebellion and pride,” messengers said.
The resolution decried the daily exposure to “countless narratives often at odds with God’s design for sexuality through mass media and various forms of entertainment, like social media, that promote ideologies that run contrary to the scientific and biological realities of the created order rooted in the dignity of every human being.”
Messengers said they will redouble ongoing efforts to “cultivate a heart of wisdom and discernment in the next generation especially in regards to various forms of entertainment and social media.”
In a final resolution, marking nine total this year, messengers expressed appreciation to the citizens of the greater Los Angeles area and the city of Anaheim for extending hospitality and to the California Southern Baptist Convention and volunteers who “worked so diligently to make our stay a pleasant one.”