FARMERSVILLE, Texas (BP) – SBC president Bart Barber has named South Carolina pastor David Sons as the chairman of the Committee on Resolutions for the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting to be held in New Orleans this June.
Sons, lead pastor of Lake Murray Baptist Church in Lexington, S.C., was a member of the 2022 committee in Anaheim and serves as the vice chairman of the SBC Executive Committee.
“I’m humbled and honored to have been asked to serve our Convention of churches as chairman of this committee,” Sons said. “Resolutions play a critical role to empower messengers to the Annual Meeting with the ability to speak clearly to important issues in our culture and Convention. The resolutions process works best when the broadest swath of Southern Baptist opinion is represented in a resolution. To that end, I look forward to working alongside the rest of the committee to present resolutions that best represent the heart, conviction and cooperation of Southern Baptists.”
Kristen Ferguson, chair of educational leadership and director of online education for Gateway Seminary, will serve as vice chair of the committee.
The full committee is as follows:
- Julio Arriola – director, Send Network SBTC and member, Eagles View Church, Fort Worth, Texas
- Dani Bryson – member, First Baptist, Dickson, Tenn.
- Rob Collingsworth – member, Redemption Story Church, Fort Worth, Texas
- Jennifer Cook – member, Second Baptist, Conway, Ark.
- Anthony Dockery – pastor, St. Stephen Baptist Church, La Puente, Calif.
- Kristen Ferguson – member, 11th Street Baptist Church, Upland, Calif.
- Stacy Gaylord – pastor, LifeWay Church, Billings, Mont.
- John David Laing – minister to senior adults, Meadow Brook Baptist Church, Birmingham, Ala.
- David Sons – lead pastor, Lake Murray Baptist Church, Lexington, S.C.
- Malcolm Yarnell – research professor of theology, Southwestern Seminary and teaching pastor, Lakeside Baptist, Granbury, Texas
“Resolutions are an important part of our cooperative work as Southern Baptists,” Barber said. “I anticipate with excitement the work that this top-notch team will produce for our consideration in New Orleans.”
According to Bylaw 20, the committee must include at least two members who served the previous year, a requirement fulfilled by Sons, Ferguson and Arriola. Sons, Bryson and Dockery meet the stipulation that three Executive Committee members also be on the committee.
According to Bylaw 20, the procedure for submitting resolutions is as follows:
- Proposed resolutions may be submitted as early as April 15 but no later than 15 days prior to the SBC annual meeting, giving the Resolutions Committee a two-week period in which to consider submissions. The committee also may propose resolutions for consideration during its deliberations. Resolutions may not be submitted during the annual meeting.
- Proposed resolutions must be accompanied by a letter from a church qualified to send a messenger to the SBC annual meeting certifying that the individual submitting the resolution is a member in good standing.
- Proposed resolutions preferably should be submitted by email or mailed to the Committee on Resolutions in care of the SBC Executive Committee, 901 Commerce St., Nashville, TN 37203. The drafts must be typewritten, titled, dated and include complete contact information for the person and his or her church.
- No person will be allowed to submit more than three resolutions per year.
If a properly submitted resolution is not forwarded by the Committee on Resolutions to the SBC annual meeting, a two-thirds vote of messengers would be required to bring the proposed resolution to the convention floor.