One of the most interesting stories from the 2023 meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention was the easy win by the Rev. Bart Barber, a low-key Texas Baptist who was elected to a second term as president.
Under normal conditions, SBC presidents are elected to a second term without opposition.
However, words like “normal” do not apply to Southern Baptist life in the Internet age — in which there are ordinary conservative Southern Baptists and then there are those gathered in the Conservative Baptist Network tent.
Barber faced opposition from the right, which was a newsworthy fact in and of itself. I would say that the opposition came from the “theological” right, but I haven’t seen strong evidence that this conflict is about theology.
Still, Barber’s easy win in the New Orleans convention was a blow to the rebel conservatives and a win for the establishment conservatives. I found it interesting that some in the elite press didn’t seem to realize this, or appeared predestined to ignore it.
Check out the top of the New York Times wrap-up report on the SBC meeting. The massive double-decker headline tells the readers what really matters:
“Southern Baptists’ Fight Over Female Leaders Shows Power of Insurgent Right.”
Moves this week to oust women from church leadership in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination offer an early look into the psyche of evangelical America ahead of 2024.
Whoa. “Ahead of 2024?” Is this a reference to the next SBC election or a suggestion that what happened in New Orleans is important because it was some kind of symbolic foretaste of what really matters to the religion-desk at the Times — which is the 2024 White House race?
As always, remember: Politics is what is real. Religion? Not so much.
That journalism question, once again: Is this Times sermon “analysis” or “news”? This overture is all about the labels:
Two summers ago, an insurgent group of ultraconservative Southern Baptists branded themselves as pirates, vowing to “take the ship” of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination and steer it farther to the right on issues like sexuality and race.
They were determined to halt what they saw as rising liberalism and drift from biblical truth. Many were outraged that one of their most prominent churches had ordained three women. Opponents pushed back, arguing that a spirit of welcome could help stem declining membership.
Now, the ultraconservatives are seizing power, and the ship is beginning to turn.
The dramatic fight that played out this week in New Orleans at the Southern Baptists’ annual convention, where delegates moved to purge women from church leadership, provides an early look into the psyche of much of evangelical America and the cultural direction of a key Republican voting bloc ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
The crackdown on women is, on its face, about biblical interpretation. But it also stems from growing anxieties many evangelicals have about what they see as swiftly changing norms around gender and sexuality in America.
Wait. Did the SBC vote women out of “leadership” positions, or take a stand on the theological issue of pastoral leadership in church congregations?
Yes, I grew up Southern Baptist and I understand that “preachers” play a very, very large role in SBC life. But are they the only “leaders”? Is the pulpit the only form of leadership? Try selling that stance to average SBC pastors.
OK, so how did the Times deal with Barber’s easy win in the SBC presidential race, in which he easily defeated the “pirate” candidate. the leader of the all-powerful “insurgent group of ultraconservative Southern Baptists” mentioned in the Gray Lady lede?
That’s easy: There is no mention of Barber in this final story, no mention of that victory by the SBC establishment. Looking at it from the viewpoint of the Times, that election didn’t matter — because it didn’t fit the wrap-up story narrative.
Did the Times team “get” the symbolism of the Barber win? Check out this language from the Gray Lady’s coverage of Barber’s first win, in 2022:
The choice of Mr. Barber, a pastor in rural Texas, is a victory for establishment leadership that has shown openness to making changes in the wake of a sex abuse scandal and not shied away from broader discussions of race and the role of women. It also sets up more pitched internal clashes between those who back such leadership and an energized ultraconservative wing pushing for a harder, bolder line in national culture wars.
The election, which Mr. Barber won 61 to 39 percent in a runoff election after he failed to secure more than 50 percent of the first vote, suggested that a majority of Southern Baptists were not swayed by warnings of their denomination’s leftward drift on an array of hot-button cultural and political topics.
If that was the case in 2022, what was the meaning of his even easier 2023 win?
Just asking. It appears that the Times believes the all-powerful “insurgent group of ultraconservative Southern Baptists” controlled the New Orleans meetings — but badly lost the key election.
But how about journalists on the Baptist left? The best place to go for progressive Baptist news is the website Baptist News Global.
As you would expect, scribes from the old “moderate” wing of the SBC were — like the religion desk at the Times — furious about the convention’s move against the ordination of women. There are several features on the topic, including this scathing essay: “Picking up the pieces of the SBC.”
But what about Barber’s win? Check out the top of BNG’s piece on that other important angle of the convention: “Barber easily wins re-election as SBC president.”
Faced with an unprecedented opponent in his quest for a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Texas pastor Bart Barber handily won reelection Tuesday, June 13.
The congenial pastor-farmer who was a late entry into the race last year — replacing another traditionalist candidate who withdrew — defeated a more conservative candidate who was nominated by the very person Barber replaced in the lineup last year.
Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church of Farmersville, Texas, drew 7,531 votes to the 3,458 votes cast for Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Ga. Barber got 68.38% of the vote, and Stone got 31.4%
SBC rules allow presidents to serve two consecutive terms if they choose to and are reelected. Although on occasion a president has declined to seek reelection — as happened with Ed Litton in 2022 — no incumbent has been knocked out of office in modern history.
Stone is part of an ultra-conservative movement inside the SBC that has said it wants to “change the direction” of the denomination. He had the support of two key conservative groups, the Conservative Baptist Network and Founders Ministries.
The fact that the meeting is being held in New Orleans was predicted to help Stone’s chances of winning, because Louisiana Baptists tend to be notably conservative. Stone also had been campaigning on visits to various cities and via videos. Barber did almost no public campaigning.
In other words, this win was surprisingly easy, in part because of the location and other relevant facts.
Normally, this kind of symbolic win leads to questions by curious journalists. Like this one: What did Barber’s win say about the SBC mainstream?
The Baptist News Global story noted:
Barber is no liberal, however. Although congenial in demeanor — his presiding over the convention Tuesday was notable for being unflappable and pleasant — he holds theological views those outside the SBC might consider severe. He opposes LGBTQ inclusion, opposes all forms of abortion, does not believe women should be pastors and preaches the inerrancy of Scripture.
However, he is seen as an institutional loyalist. Unlike some in the far-right of the SBC, he does not want to defund institutions and does not see liberalism lurking inside denominational leadership.
The bottom line: Why did scribes on the Baptist left think that Barber’s win was significant and interesting, even though they were understandably furious about the SBC’s women’s ordination votes?
Why did the 2023 Times wrap-up story ignore the importance of the Barber win, after covering that angle in 2022?
FIRST IMAGE: Uncredited illustration with “Finger on the Scales of Justice” feature on the Opinion from The Bigly House website,