Southern Baptist Convention Liquid Assets Drop by 50% in One Year

Below you will find a set of four consecutive Twitter videos at a recent Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee meeting.

It was revealed that the Convention blew through $6 million dollars of its liquid assets– or 50% of its total amount– within a period of one year. This was attributed to the Convention’s response to the sexual abuse allegations that had been widely discussed over the last few years; a DOJ investigation; and “deteriorating liability”. This rapid degradation of the Convention’s financial position was described as “not sustainable”.

It was further stated that difficult decisions have to be made which might include liquidation of certain real assets the Convention possesses; changing certain financial arrangements; other types of financing; or “looking to the Convention” for additional support. That last option would entail asking for more money from churches that are a part of the Convention.

I think this situation demonstrates how foolhardy it was for the moderate/liberal leadership of the denomination to assume the responsibility at the national level for investigating and dealing with sexual abuse allegations at local churches. The Southern Baptist Convention has a “congregational” structure. This means the national Convention historically has had no real authority over the activities of the local church. The liberal/moderate crowd thought nationalizing this issue would stigmatize and undermine the more conservative forces within the Convention. Now we are seeing part of the outcome.

Here are the videos:

For those who haven’t seen the complete EC exchange where it’s said that they’re current model is “unsustainable.”

Monte’s reaction to hearing how much has been spent should be everyone’s reaction pic.twitter.com/gmnR46Cta7

— Klayton Carson (@jarsofKlay) February 22, 2023