What you should know about the 2022 SBC state convention resolutions

Within the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), resolutions have traditionally been defined as an expression of opinion or concern, as compared to a motion, which calls for action. A resolution is not used to direct an entity of the denomination to specific action other than to communicate the opinion or concern expressed. Each year, resolutions are passed during the annual meetings of the state conventions.

How is your church responding to a post-Roe world?

The Dobbs decision marks a true turning point in the pro-life movement — a moment that Christians, pro-life advocates and many others have worked toward tirelessly for 50 years. As we respond to the ruling in this case, we want to be faithful to pray.

This free Dobbs prayer guide contains a list of 48 specific prayer requests to guide you, your family, and your church in your prayers over the coming weeks and months.

This Week in Washington, D.C.

This week, the Senate passed the Respect For Marriage Act (RFMA) with a vote of 61-36. The vote came on the heels of last minute attempts from several Republican senators to provide stronger safeguards for religious liberty concerns.

Ultimately, the additional amendments were voted down and the bill remained as previously drafted. The bill now heads back to the House for a final vote before continuing onto the President's desk, where it is expected to be signed.

At a fundamental level, this issue transcends electoral politics. For the ERLC, this is about human flourishing, love for our neighbors, and faithfulness to God’s Word. Regardless of how our laws may change, the ERLC will continue to advocate on behalf of Southern Baptists to protect religious liberty at the state and federal level.

You can read our analysis of the bill and more coverage here.

Featured Podcasts

This week on the Digital Public Square podcast, Jason Thacker is joined by Dr. Christopher Kaczor to talk about the ethics of abortion and human personhood in light of his new book The Ethics of Abortion: Women’s Rights, Human Life, and the Question of Justice from Routledge.

From The Public Square

Georgia high court reinstates ban on abortions after 6 weeks
Associated Press

The Georgia Supreme Court on Wednesday reinstated the state’s ban on abortions after roughly six weeks of pregnancy, abruptly ending access to later abortions that had resumed days earlier.

Lyft drivers spread the Gospel with ride-hailing ministries
Associated Press

One is an ordained pastor in Brooklyn, the other a single mother and children’s book author in New Jersey. Both drive for Lyft. Both share the word of God as roving preachers.

The Ethics of Assisted Dying
The Dispatch

Canada’s push to expand access to euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide renews debates over the limits of the “right to die.”

Shrinking American Motherhood: 1-in-6 Women in Their 40s Have Never Given Birth
Institute for Family Studies

In 2020, 1-in-6 women reaching the end of their childbearing years had never given birth, per a new Institute for Family Studies research brief.

What You Need to Read

Jill Waggoner with A heart for the homeless

For over 10 years, Wilson County has been buzzing with new growth—economic and population—creating wonderful opportunities and experiences for its people. The county sits just over 150,000 in its 2021 population, after growing by 35,000 people in the last decade. However, such growth has created an unintended consequence.

Chelsea Sobolik with 5 misconceptions surrounding adoption

November is National Adoption Month—a time where we raise awareness for children who are waiting for forever families, and celebrate families who have welcomed children home through adoption. After the Supreme Court handed down the decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a landmark case that reversed the harmful precedents set in Roe v. Wade, more attention is rightly focused on the welfare of children, post-birth.

Jeanette Hagen Pifer and John K. Goodrich with How we answer abortion advocates matters

If abortion is distressing to the lives of individual women, it has wreaked similar havoc on our contemporary public discourse. Abortion has been and remains a hotly contested issue in American society, such that simply discussing the morality of abortion elicits passionate opinions on all sides of the social and political spectrum. This is due, on the one hand, to the very personal nature of the issue.