TTIME: Southern Baptist Convention Elects a Charlotte Native

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The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), the largest protestant denomination in the U.S., chose a Charlotte native as their new President last week during their convention in Indianapolis. Rev. Clint Pressley, who grew up attending Hickory Grove Baptist, is currently the senior pastor there. Pressley received 56% of the vote during a runoff.

The SBC was shaken by a series, “Abuse of Faith, that was published in 2019 after a six-month investigation by journalists from the Houston Chronicle and the San Antonio Express-News. The report revealed that church leaders and volunteers had been criminally charged with sex crimes since 2000 and that SBC leaders mishandled- or ignored the victims. The SBC conducted an independent investigation and adopted some new guidelines.

In March, Jeff Iorg was named the first permanent leader of the executive committee in three years and their first leader since 2018.  William McLaurin was favored to be the next leader prior however he resigned. It was discovered that McLaurin falsified his resume.  Prior to McLaurin, Ronnie Floyd led the 13-million-member denomination.  Floyd resigned in October 2021 over the sex abuse controversy.  In 2018, Frank Page resigned due to misconduct.

Pressley, who has served at Hickory Grove Baptist for 14 years, reportedly stated in a recent interview that, “we got to quit arguing and start going back to work.”