DALLAS (BP) — “The State of the SBC” panel discussion presented by 9Marks drew a late-night crowd that filled a 1,750-seat theater at the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Dallas on June 10.

9Marks provides resources and support to “help pastors build healthy churches.” Jonathan Leeman is president, and Mark Dever is president emeritus.

The five-member panel discussed the benefits of the Cooperative Program (CP) and the Baptist Faith and Message (BF&M), the proposed use of CP funds to cover legal fees in sexual abuse litigation, transparency in convention matters and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC).

Panelists included Dever, pastor of Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., as moderator; Clint Pressley, SBC president and pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C.; Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary; and H.B. Charles, pastor of Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla.

Noting CP’s 100th anniversary, the panel discussed the program’s beginning and its distribution to SBC entities.

Akin said the cost of a theological education at a non-SBC institution is much higher than at the SBC’s six seminaries and noted that some non-SBC seminaries have been forced to close. The cost of a theological education for Southern Baptist students is offset by CP funds allocated to the SBC seminaries.

“If you’re here and you’re in one of our seminaries, you benefit enormously from the Cooperative Program,” Akin said.

With the BF&M also marking its 100th anniversary, Dever asked panel members how the confession of faith has impacted their churches.

Charles told of a time when his church was going through “a great crisis.” Though Charles was concerned with the theological matters surrounding the crisis, the theological issues were “buried under other issues the church had to face.”

Two years into the struggle, the congregation recognized that the theological issues needed to be clarified, Charles said.

“We introduced the Baptist Faith and Message, which quieted the spirit of a concerned congregation and stabilized matters of theology and doctrine during that season,” Charles said. “The Baptist Faith and Message was our doorway into the Southern Baptist Convention.” He added that new members are asked to affirm the BF&M.

Others on the panel said the BF&M is an integral part of church membership and is taught in the church or affirmed by those teaching in the church.

Pressley said the BF&M has been “very helpful” for the school associated with his church by informing parents of the church’s beliefs and letting them know the school will teach accordingly. New church members sign the BF&M, Pressley said.

Mohler said the SBC Executive Committee will propose a budget that includes a “priority allocation” to use CP funds to cover legal fees incurred as the convention addresses sexual abuse.

Noting that some churches might object to the use of CP money to pay legal bills, Mohler pointed out that a church could find itself in a similar situation and would be forced to use money budgeted for other needs to cover legal fees if sued.

Mohler said he preferred to face the issue honestly and pay the bills owed.

“I’d rather say, ‘This is what it’s going to cost us.’ We’re a grownup denomination. We’ve got grownup bills,” Mohler said.

Akin expressed confidence in Executive Committee President Jeff Iorg’s character and in his ability to craft the proper solution as presented. “He’s got my vote, and I’ve got his back,” Akin said.

Mohler said transparency is an issue that may be discussed in convention business. Transparency, though, is not a good platform and not “a good aspiration,” Mohler said. Rather, integrity is what is needed, he said.

Mohler cautioned that transparency is not always the way to ensure integrity and pointed to personnel issues as an example. Decisions are made regarding personnel that are never fully disclosed. Instead, Southern Baptists rely on the trustee system to see that matters are handled properly and with integrity.

Regarding the fate of an entity, Akin urged the audience to weigh the issue carefully.

“You might come tomorrow without thinking through it or analyzing it carefully, but to dissolve it. … You don’t want to do that on a whim,” Akin said.