Bart Barber was reelected June 13 for another year as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. — Photo by Sam Evans / The Baptist Paper
NEW ORLEANS — Bart Barber was reelected as president of the Southern Baptist Convention on Tuesday, winning by a wide margin against Mike Stone at the SBC’s annual meeting.
Barber, pastor of First Baptist Church in Farmersville, Texas, received 68 percent of the votes in his bid for a second term. His reelection holds true to a long-established pattern in SBC leadership, as presidents have typically served two terms during the past half-century.
Barber received 7,531 votes. Stone received 3,458 votes (31 percent).
There were 12,710 messengers registered at time of the election, and 11,014 ballots were cast, with 25 ballots being disallowed.
Barber was nominated by Jarrett Stephens, pastor of Champion Forest in Houston, Texas.
Pointing to an increase in CP giving and mission-related ministries, Stephens said Barber has the SBC “headed in the right direction” and “has represented us well” over the past year.
“(Barber) is not owed a second term,” said Stephens, “but he has more than earned it.”
Moments later, Willy Rice, senior pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Clearwater, Fla., nominated Stone, saying that Stone, a Georgia pastor, was a representation of “conviction melded with courage.”
Rice told messengers that they “won’t have to guess where (Stone) will stand” on certain issues.
“This man will not bend, will not fold,” Rice said. He then concluded his nomination with a pun: “You want to send a message? Send it now — and chisel it in Stone.”
Messengers, however, voted convincingly in favor of Barber, who was elected for his first term at last summer’s SBC annual meeting, held in Anaheim, Cali.
Stone had also sought the presidency two years ago, narrowly losing to Ed Litton, the Alabama pastor who ultimately didn’t seek a second term. Litton is the only SBC president in the past 40 years who did not serve a second term.
Additional coverage of Tuesday’s election can be found HERE. B&R
EDITOR’S NOTE — This article is part of the team coverage of Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting and Executive Committee events by staff members from The Baptist Record, Baptist & Reflector, Baptist Message, Illinois Baptist State Association, The Alabama Baptist and The Baptist Paper.
