NASHVILLE (BP and local reports) – Members of the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), meeting in Nashville, approved a 2023-2024 operating budget of $8,305,500 for SBC and Executive Committee operating expenses, a decrease of .35% from last year.
Trustee Adam Wyatt, convention finances and stewardship development chair and pastor of Bethel Church, Monticello, presented the proposed budget.
During the third quarter of the fiscal year, Cooperative Budget Allocation receipts decreased by 3.48% compared to the same period last year, Wyatt reported. A negative change in net assets also occurred in that time to the amount of $1,669,165.
Trustee Drew Landry, senior pastor of Spotswood Church, Fredericksburg, Va., raised a question about the possible sale of the SBC building in downtown Nashville, specifically as to whether there had been discussions or steps taken in that direction.
The area around the building, which is located just off heavily-travelled Broadway Avenue, has undergone major multi-use development in recent years, including the total sale of nearby real estate owned by Southern Baptists’ LifeWay Christian Resources.
“We are looking into every conceivable aspect to make sure that the SBC fulfills its mission, mandated by the messengers, while also honoring the [Cooperative Program],” Wyatt said.
A contract with a listing agent — not a real estate agent — has been acquired, Wyatt confirmed. Noting that the sale of the Executive Committee’s only asset is not something to be taken lightly, Wyatt said more information will be forthcoming on the subject. “You deserve a response,” he said.
Former Mississippi pastor Dan Summerlin, who retired earlier this year from the pastorate at Lone Oak Church, Paducah, Ky., was expected to be named interim president of the Executive Committee but withdrew before a vote was taken on his nomination.
Summerlin released a statement that read, “Upon further reflection, it has become evident that what is best for the Convention and for my family is to withdraw my name from consideration at this time.
“This job would require far more of my attention than I’m able to give it right now as my wife undergoes treatment for breast cancer, and I need to care well for her,” he said.
As a result, the Executive Committee voted to extend Jonathan Howe in the role of interim president and CEO.
In other business, trustees approved a recommendation to receive, as information, a review of SBC entity fundraising efforts.
They also declined a referral from a messenger to the 2023 SBC annual meeting last June to study whether any staff member of the Executive Committee should serve in the role of treasurer of the Executive Committee and the Convention, citing that such a study conflicts with Executive Committee bylaws.
Another referral from the 2023 annual meeting called for the inclusion of financial reporting by SBC entities that would be found in the Form 990 the Internal Revenue Service requires of tax-exempt organizations. Religious organizations are currently exempt from filling it out.
Wyatt told Baptist Press that the group has addressed the referral and will offer a report at their next in-person meeting in February. “I’m looking forward to discussing it over the coming months with fellow committee members and entity leaders,” he said.
