ORLANDO, Fla. — Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) President Clint Pressley urged messengers Tuesday to live with doctrinal clarity, gospel conviction, humility, patience and unity, saying Southern Baptists must “walk worthy” of the calling they have received if they are to remain faithful to the mission before them.

Preaching from Ephesians 4:1-3 in his final presidential address after serving two one-year terms, Pressley, senior pastor of Hickory Grove Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., said the gospel is too good and the mission too vital for Southern Baptists to treat their witness lightly.

Pressley said his time as SBC president has allowed him to see the convention “at its best,” including the work of its entities, leaders, missionaries and churches. He also acknowledged that the role has exposed him to some of the convention “at its worst.”

Still, he said, Southern Baptists remain a people gathered around the gospel and sent on mission.

“From the day I became a Southern Baptist, I never wanted to be anything but a Southern Baptist,” Pressley said. “Who are they? A gospel-loving, mission-minded, free people that exist for the Great Commission.”

Pressley framed his message around Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 4, where the apostle urges believers to walk in a manner worthy of their calling “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

“If we’re going to win the world, then we’ve got to walk worthy of the call,” Pressley said.

The first mark of that worthy walk, Pressley said, is doctrinal vigilance.

“We need to be vigilant about what we believe,” he said. “We need to be serious. We need to be clear about what we believe.”

Pressley distinguished vigilance from a combative spirit, telling messengers there is a difference between being “vigilant” and being “vigilante.” Christian living, he said, flows from Christian doctrine, and convictional clarity gives Southern Baptists confidence to move forward together.

“We won’t be missionally engaged if we are doctrinally vague,” he said.

Pressley expressed gratitude for the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 and said Southern Baptists should continue asking what Scripture teaches on matters of belief and practice. He specifically referenced complementarian convictions related to the office of pastor and the pulpit, a topic expected to be discussed during the annual meeting.

But Pressley also said churches that recognize error and make correction should be received with joy.

“We don’t move the goalposts,” he said. “We celebrate when the ball goes through.”

Pressley then called Southern Baptists to be compelled by the gospel, not merely by denominational identity or organizational work.

He said Paul’s reference to “the calling to which you have been called” is not a reference to ministry vocation, but to the life-giving call of God in salvation.

“The power is in God,” Pressley said. “The power is in the gospel.”

That gospel, he said, must remain central in Southern Baptist preaching, missions, evangelism and cooperation.

“We don’t ever assume the gospel,” Pressley said. “We need to practice sharing the gospel. We need to know it. We need to live it. We need to speak it.”

Pressley also urged messengers to fight pride, practice self-control, show patience, and love one another in a way consistent with the gospel.

He said humility begins with an honest understanding of sin and grace.

“If you understand the grace that it took for God to save you through the death of His own Son, then who are you to be so judgmental of somebody else?” Pressley said.

Pressley warned that a lack of self-control undermines Christian witness, especially in speech, attitude, and temper.

“If you are a man that calls yourself a Christian, but you don’t have self-control on your foul mouth or your bad attitude or your temper, then don’t tell people you’re a Christian,” Pressley said. “It’s embarrassing.”

Patience, he said, requires Southern Baptists to think the best of one another, pray for those with whom they differ, and give others the benefit of the doubt.

“If you hear a rumor about someone, let’s assume it’s not true,” he said.

Pressley also reminded messengers that ministry mistakes are often made publicly in the digital age, unlike earlier generations when young pastors could learn in greater obscurity. He urged Southern Baptists to extend grace while still telling the truth.

Near the close of his address, Pressley spoke personally about the death of his youngest son, Nate, from an overdose nearly three years ago. He said his church and Southern Baptists have shown his family “unconditional, remarkable affection” through grief.

“We walk with one another,” Pressley said.

That kind of love, he said, is essential for gospel unity.

Pressley closed by urging messengers to maintain a unified front, grounded in the Spirit, the gospel and the mission of reaching the nations.

“We are eager not for division,” he said. “We are eager for gospel unity so that we might be able to reach the nations.”

Pressley said Southern Baptists must remain “inwardly solid” in doctrine and “outwardly focused” on mission.

“If we’re going to win the world, we need to walk worthy,” he said.

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Henry Durand serves as managing editor for The Christian Index. This article was originally published by The Christian Index.)