Should a small church pastor be the Recording Secretary of the SBC, (or any other elected position)?
With the exception of the 2nd Vice President of the convention, there has only been one elected officer of the SBC with an average weekly attendance of 200 or less, at least from what I can find searching ACP information on SBC Workspace. According to The Baptist Press, churches with 500 or more in weekly attendance only represent 4% of Southern Baptist churches, yet the major office holders of the convention consistently come from that top 4%, occasionally creeping into the top 7% range. Why can’t we elect leaders to serve who represent the 96% of SBC churches? I think we can break it down into 3 major categories.
Normative vs Notable
According to Annual Church Profile data, 88% of SBC churches have an average attendance of 200 or fewer. Despite the fact that the vast majority of our churches fall in this “normative” category, almost every person ever elected to a position in the SBC has come from a church well above this membership level. The only recent exception would be Jay Adkins, who served as Vice President while leading a church with an average attendance of fewer than 100.
The overwhelming trend is that we elect leaders from churches representing, at best, a small minority of the SBC as a whole. This is not a critique of those men—they have served faithfully. We have a great history of godly, gracious, and gifted officers serving our convention. I don’t want this call for “normative” representation to be seen as a slight against past office holders or other candidates.
In addition to their membership numbers, these candidates often have impressive levels of giving to their churches, the Cooperative Program, and missions. It all looks impressive on a resume or in a nomination speech. I praise the Lord for the notable qualities of these men and the churches they lead, but I believe it is time for the normative to be weighed alongside the notable.
It is time for our officers and national leaders to reflect the majority of messengers who put them in office. There are likely hundreds, if not thousands, of talented, competent people in our convention who could fill these roles with excellence and serve Southern Baptists faithfully. Sadly, most of them never get the opportunity because of the seemingly insurmountable wall of candidates from larger, more notable churches.
Stewardship vs Status
Leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention has never been intended to function as a platform of prestige but as a platform for service. Yet it can be easy, even unintentional, for elections to mirror the instincts of broader culture, where visibility is often confused with qualification and prominence mistaken for calling. When someone is widely known, leads a large ministry, or carries an impressive title, it naturally draws attention. None of those things are inherently wrong, and many who possess them have served faithfully and honorably. Still, the offices of our Convention are not meant to reward prominence but to recognize trustworthiness.
The biblical model of leadership emphasizes being a servant, and a steward of what God has given us. Convention offices are not lifetime achievement awards. They are opportunities to serve for the good of the convention. Faithful stewards are not always the most visible candidates, but they are often the ones most accustomed to quiet responsibility. Across our convention are pastors and lay leaders who manage limited resources, shepherd faithfully without recognition, and carry out their duties with diligence week after week. These are precisely the kinds of people who understand the weight and responsibility of stewardship. If we want our leadership culture to reflect our churches, then stewardship must consistently be valued over status.
Conviction vs Convenience
One of the most common arguments for electing leaders from larger churches is practical: they often have staff, assistants, and church resources that can help shoulder the responsibilities of convention service. On the surface, that reasoning makes sense. Administrative help can lighten workloads. Those realities are not imaginary, nor are they unhelpful. Many who serve from such contexts do so faithfully and effectively, and their contributions should be appreciated.
But the history of faithful leadership has never ultimately depended on convenience. The deciding factor has always been conviction and calling. Servants with a settled resolve to serve when called and to labor faithfully regardless of circumstance. A leader’s usefulness is not determined by how many people assist him, but by how deeply he is committed to the task before him. Across our churches are pastors who prepare sermons, visit hospitals, counsel members, manage budgets, and care for their congregations with little or no staff support. They do this not because it is convenient, but because they are convinced they are called.
That same conviction is what sustains service beyond the local church. The willingness to accept responsibility, to give time sacrificially, and to labor carefully is not produced by resources but by resolve. Our Convention has always been strongest when those entrusted with leadership were shaped more by calling than by capacity. Resources can be helpful, but they are no substitute for conviction. If we want leaders who will serve faithfully regardless of circumstance, then conviction must matter more than convenience.
Reliance upon God Is Universal for Christian Leadership
Ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether you serve at a megachurch or a normative church. If a leader is not reliant upon the Lord to give him strength, wisdom, discernment, grace, and mercy, then he will not last long in any leadership position. If a leader is not looking to the example of Christ’s servant leadership, it will show in his life.
I love the story of Jesus calling His first disciples. He says to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.” I think you can break that calling down into three parts, but I want to focus on the middle section: “I will make you.” Whatever Christ has called us to in this life, He is making us into what we need to be to fulfill the task. He is faithful to transform us more and more into the image of Jesus Christ. I don’t know about you, but I am not who I once was. Twenty years ago, I was not a man who could pastor a church. I was not a man who could serve in a local association, and I certainly wasn’t a man who could serve nationally. But by the grace of God, He has made me into who I need to be, and He continues to shape and transform me into who I need to be for His future plans.
That equipping of the called is true whether a candidate comes from a small, normative church or a megachurch. So let’s not doubt God. Let’s not put artificial limitations on these offices in the Convention or count out people whom God may very well be equipping right now to fill these roles. Let’s trust in the Lord that no matter who we elect, God will make them into who they need to be for the task at hand.
Jonathan pastors Franklin Creek Baptist Church in Moss Point, MS. He has served in normative-sized churches for 17 years.