America 250, immigration, assisted suicide among issues addressed in SBC resolutions

ORLANDO, Fla. (BP) — Southern Baptists, in a resolution, warned against a cultural rebranding of assisted suicide as a form of medical care and reaffirmed their commitment to the sanctity of life from conception until natural death at the 2026 SBC Annual Meeting in Orlando June 10.

Assisted suicide has expanded significantly in the United States and is now legal in at least 13 states and the District of Columbia with more pending, leading messengers to reiterate their stance against “euthanasia and assisted suicide in all its forms.”

Glenn LaRue of Ohio offered a friendly amendment, which passed, noting “a person outside of Christ immediately enters into intensified eternal misery upon death, and a person in Christ has the help of the Lord to persevere faithfully in suffering and bring glory to God.”

The amendment is a “vital, direct counterargument” to the reframing of assisted suicide as compassionate “because it cannot be compassionate if we are accelerating and sealing someone’s eternal destiny in hell if they are lost,” LaRue said.

Disability ministry

People with disabilities and their families were the focus of a resolution affirming that every human is made in the image of God with inherent dignity and worth, “undiminished by physical, intellectual, or developmental differences.”

Research suggesting families of those with disabilities are significantly less likely to attend church regularly because of “a lack of accessibility, programming, or sense of belonging” led Southern Baptists to urge churches to develop or expand ministry to people with disabilities.

Immigration

Messengers addressed the topic of immigration again by affirming the “worth and dignity of every person regardless of ethnicity or national origin” and by affirming “both compassionate ministry and the responsibility of governments to maintain lawful order.”

Acknowledging that “large-scale and often disorderly migration has strained communities” and that “immigration through means that violate American law has been and continues to be a problem,” Southern Baptists reaffirmed support for “lawful immigration enforcement carried out justly.” 

Pastors

Another resolution reaffirmed that the office of pastor/elder/overseer is limited to men as qualified by Scripture and encouraged churches to “maintain clarity and integrity in their ministerial titles and practices so that nomenclature is not used in ways that obscure or contradict” the Convention’s statement of faith.

Southern Baptists, in that same resolution, expressed gratitude for the “indispensable service” of women throughout Southern Baptist life and encouraged churches to “continue affirming and deploying women in biblically faithful ways.”

Antisemitism

Messengers acknowledged that “antisemitism has surged across the United States and the world,” including “conspiracy theories perpetuated online and through social media.” Messengers “unequivocally” condemned “this new surge of antisemitism in all its forms” and reaffirmed their love for the Jewish people.

Political violence

Southern Baptists spoke against political violence and speech, stating that the “use or threat of violence for political ends assaults the sanctity of human life, the rule of law, ordered liberty, freedom of conscience, and the peaceful pursuit of justice.”

Furthermore, “polarization becomes dangerous when spirited disagreements shift from biblical convictions and beliefs to spurious judgments about character, motives, or humanity of opponents” and damage the Christian witness, the resolution said.

Digital age

A resolution on the nature and importance of the physically gathered church in a digital age noted that “Scripture presents the local church as an embodied assembly of baptized believers” and that ordinances entrusted by Christ are to be practiced within the gathered body.

Though digital technologies provide new opportunities for Gospel proclamation, they also “introduce challenges that may obscure the importance of the gathered church,” the resolution said. Messengers affirmed that, unless providentially hindered, “regular, embodied assembly is vital” to the body of Christ.

Bivocational pastors

Bivocational and volunteer pastors were recognized in a resolution noting that they “balance the demands of church ministry alongside marketplace employment” while advancing the mission of Christ’s church “often through unseen acts of service.”

The resolution honored the “commitment, perseverance, humility, and gospel faithfulness demonstrated by bivocational and volunteer pastors who labor diligently both in ministry and in the workplace.”

Finishing well

A resolution on finishing well in life and ministry noted that “what often gets most public attention is pastors and ministry leaders who have fallen into sin and moral failure,” leading to the hindrance of churches and ministries by scandal.

Messengers expressed gratitude for “pastors and ministry leaders who, by [God’s] grace, labored faithfully over many years and finished well” and honored “unknown servants who are currently shepherding God’s people with integrity and holiness.”

America 250

A resolution commemorating the 250^th anniversary of the United States and the Baptist contribution to religious liberty noted that the founders understood certain unalienable rights “are given by God and secured by government” and knew “the importance of Christianity to the framing and flourishing of the new republic.”

Messengers expressed gratitude for God’s “providential hand in the founding and sustaining” of the nation for 250 years and honored the legacy of Baptist forebears “who courageously contended for religious liberty.” Southern Baptists committed to “steward these freedoms by proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

Appreciation

In a final resolution, marking 11 total this year, messengers expressed appreciation to the city of Orlando “for its gracious hospitality” and extended gratitude to “all who have worked diligently behind the scenes to make this gathering possible.”