By Lonnie Wilkey
Editor, Baptist and Reflector
COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the decision of the United States Supreme Court on whether all states must recognize same-sex marriage still to come, Southern Baptists have made it clear where they stand.
Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Columbus passed a resolution June 16 that declared that “no matter how the Supreme Court rules, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirms its unwavering commitment to its doctrinal and public beliefs concerning marriage.”
The following day (June 17) all 17 former living SBC presidents since 1980 issued a statement on marriage and religious liberty. The signers included Bobby Welch, associate executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Convention, who served as president in 2005-06 while serving as pastor of First Baptist Church, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Prior to reading the statement during a press conference, SBC President Ronnie Floyd stressed that the former presidents were speaking for themselves, not the convention. [Read more…]