Hunter Baker Releases 2026 Southern Baptist Convention Resolutions Slate
The southern baptist convention’s 2026 resolutions slate has been released by the committee appointed by SBC President Clint Pressley. Hunter Baker, who chairs the Resolutions Committee, said the group worked only with submitted resolutions and tried to build consensus among Southern Baptists.
Baker said, "Southern Baptists can be proud of the people and the process for working through resolutions. This year, we worked exclusively with the resolutions that were submitted without writing new ones." The slate includes proposals on the office of the pastor, disability ministry, immigration, political violence and artificial intelligence.
Hunter Baker and Clint Pressley
Pressley appointed the committee that released the slate. Baker said he listened to resolution submitters and viewed the process as a chance to reflect where Southern Baptists already are on questions the convention has been sorting through in churches and annual meetings.
"Speaking as a Baptist layman, I was highly encouraged by the moral and spiritual seriousness, the sensitivity, the skill, the intelligence and the constructive nature of the gathered members of the committee," Baker said. He serves as provost and dean of faculty at North Greenville University and holds a law degree from Houston University and a Ph.D. in politics and religion from Baylor University.
Pastor Office Resolution
The committee’s resolution on the pastor’s office addresses confusion in some Southern Baptist churches over the relationship between the title, office and function of pastor. It says the New Testament presents the pastoral office and the function of pastoral oversight as inseparably connected.
It also calls for churches to maintain clarity and integrity in ministerial titles and practices, while giving thanks for the service, discipleship, evangelism, missions work and ministry contributions of women throughout Southern Baptist life. The resolution encourages churches to continue affirming and deploying women in biblically faithful ways.
Scripture and Church Leadership
The same resolution calls pastors to teach and uphold the biblical pattern of church leadership and cites 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-9. Baker said, "For the vast majority of Southern Baptists, I think this issue is one that has always been settled by Scripture as opposed to the interpretation of various church authorities," and added, "We believe that by focusing on what the Bible says about the office of the pastor, we are able to effectively express where Baptists already are."
The resolutions are now in the hands of messengers who will bring them into the 2026 Southern Baptist Convention process. Readers tracking the debate can look to the slate itself for the specific language the committee chose after working only from submitted proposals.
