Johnny Hunt has been elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, receiving a majority of votes on the first ballot and avoiding a run-off in a field of six candidates. Vote totals are as follows:
- Johnny Hunt: 3,100 votes (52.94%)
- Frank Cox: 1,286 votes (21.96%)
- Avery Willis: 962 votes (16.43%)
- Bill Wagner: 255 votes (4.35%)
- Les Puryear: 188 votes (3.21%)
- Wiley Drake: 45 votes (0.77%)
Is there a stat that reflects of the votes cast how many are Pastors?
Just curious if the votes are noted or could be noted?
Thanks,
Chris
Was it me or did Ted Traylor lie about Johnny’s CP giving?
Chris,
I don’t know about this year (we’re not in Indy), but typically the ballots are not marked so as to identify anyone in particular. I can’t see why they would ever try to change that: i.e., having a separate ballot for pastors, or “laymen” (man, I don’t like that word), denominational workers, professors, etc.
BTW, I’m glad you are enjoying the video stream – I can’t get it to work on my computer either!
Boy, was I surprised by the first round win by Hunt. I really don’t know what to think about it either.
I’ll just have to keep reading from the sidelines …
Grace,
Wes
Maybe this is a sign that the whole blogging world is disconnected from the SBC at large. Most of the Baptist Identity folks lined up behind Frank Cox. Other bloggers of the reform variety were supporting Les Puryear or Avery Willis. They all went down in flames.
We like to think we represent the SBC. Maybe we are as peripheral as some say.
Bill,
The answer to your question is yes. I know for a fact that Johnny’s church doesn’t give a percentage, but he simply settles on an amount (it comes out to about 2% of undesignated funds) to give to the CP. In addition to that, they give specifically to NAMB and IMB. According to last year’s ‘definition’ of CP giving, money MUST go through state conventions to Nashville in order to qualify as CP giving. Therefore, the money they give directly to missions (outside of the control of the GBC) does not count as CP giving.
I think this is a very poor definition of CP giving, but it’s what the convention voted for last year. Traylor may have intentionally been imprecise simply because he didn’t want Hunt to face the wrath that was headed his way two years ago.
I’m surprised there was no runoff election.
Johnny Hunt is a good man and will do a great job leading the SBC. My prayers are with him. I believe the best days of the SBC are ahead.
David R. Brumbelow
Thanks Wes,
I was just curious,….no doubt it would not be a good idea to start such a thing.
Brother Dave Miller,
You are absolutely right about current use of blogs. I work with guys that are experts in the field and the typcial SBCer is probably indicative of the general blogger,….and there are very few in the demographic that play.
The statistics go disportionately up for those under 30 years of age…..and the younger the more frequent.
As for how many actually follow these blogs…. “We are the Horton….Whoville has yet to arrive”.
Blessings,
Chris
I guess I’m disconnected. I don’t even know who Jonny Hunt is.
I know Wiley Drake is the guy from Buena Park that has a reputation for making various motions and having a homeless ministry.
I know that Les Puryear is a small church pastor in the Carolinas who is a frequent blogger. He was a former manager in the telecommunications industry.
I know that Bill Wagner is on the West Coast and is (or was) a seminary prof who is also a pastor of a smaller church.
I know that Frank Cox is a pastor of an Atlanta area metro church who has been pastor of that church for many years during which time the church grew and then moved to a larger facility.
I guess whatever awareness I have of SBC life — and the SBC blogs I read — are away from the “mainstream” of SBC thinking. There has been some “posturing” on blogs lately about “narrowing of parameters” and “Baptist Identity” but, to my knowledge, Johnny Hunt’s name has not be “associated” with either side in that debate.
The streaming video of the convention is working fine on my computer here in OKC.
Roger Simpson
Oklahoma City OK
SBCConsortium,
You guys need to repent of not listening to solagraTia’s first inclination! :P
We think solagraTia should be lifted up from the mire and made editor-in-chief of SBCConsortium! 8)
chadwick
Chadwick,
Was that “we” an instance of the majestic plural? :-)
Roger,
I find it hard to believe you know who the other obscure candidates are but you “don’t know” who Johnny Hunt is.
And, Bill, are you calling Ted Traylor a liar?
Doug in Memphis:
I think my problem is that as a layman I’m “detached” from the real locus of influence in the SBC. I read these blogs and look at various websites to see what is going on.
It could be that the stuff I’m aware of via these sources is mostly about peripheral posturing on second order stuff which is not in-sync with those who attend conventions and weigh-in on the governance of the SBC.
Put more succinctly, I think the fact that Johnny Hunt won by a HUGE landslide on the FIRST ballot is consistent with a theory that the main way that any given candidate becomes president is through networking with his peers — not being by being newsworthy and certainly not being “in play” in blogs, news articles, or websites.
Roger Simpson
OKC
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The observation that the voting shows bloggers are disconnected may or may not be true.
But an attendence of 7000 messengers also offers the possibility that the Annual Meeting is disconnected. It is a very small percentage of 16 million.
Unfortunately the typical SB doen’t even attend church, still less vote for presidents.
As a pretty disconnected person myself, I wish someone would tell me what the election of Rev. Hunt means in the SBC scheme of things.
Is he of the same or similar stripe as Frank Page?
Or is he of the same or similar strip as the “machine” presidents of the past 25 years?
Or is he something altogether different?
“Maybe this is a sign that the whole blogging world is disconnected from the SBC at large.”
It is like any campaign. His name is well known. More well known than the others besides Cox who was the establishment candidate. Whether Hunt turns out to be a good old boy is yet to be seen.
It is about name recognition with the masses and very little else.
Alex,
While I agree that the attendance is not encouraging, it would be incorrect to tie that number to the total number of reported Southern Baptists (16 million). If every Southern Baptist were to show up, only 10 from each SBC church would be eligible as a messenger.
Would not a more accurate number of missing from the Convention be to count all SBC churches (44,696), multiply by 10 (446,960 – the maximum number of messengers a church can send) and run the percentages from that number (last number I saw for registered Messengers was 7,249 on BP. This still gives puts eligible attendance at a mere 1.62%. Definitely nothing to shout about.
Of course, I do not think it fair to expect that every small and medium size churches would be able to afford to send 10 messengers every year, which is unfortunate.
Ron P.
Wanda,
It is unfortunate that you have chosen a path in your commenting much akin to what we see at most of the other SBC blogs. It is perhaps the continual vitriol and unsubstantiated comments that have rendered blogging nothing more than a pastor’s backstudy pastime in the SBC.
As for this, “It is about name recognition with the masses and very little else,“I urge you to review “non-good ol’ boy’s” opinion of a fine pastor-now-president of the SBC.
Indeed, I think we shall constantly remind ourselves that SBC blogging has made itself irrelevant by the unChristian attitudes that prevail. And the money quote by the leading proponent of the take-no-prisoners style of blogging that led at least one group last year to shout victory among the same number of representatives at the SB Convention in SA,
We do it because they do it. Interesting strategy, yet as a corporate body of blogging pastors, maybe corporate repentance needs to start here concurrently with our churches.
Wanda,
Trust me Cox was not the establishment candidate, Johnny Hunt is. The convention went backwards with this election.
Doug,
In this case i am. Traylor is too smart to not know what he was doing.
“I urge you to review “non-good ol’ boy’s” opinion of a fine pastor-now-president of the SBC.”
I am still trying to figure out his resume and his ‘Doctorate’. But, we all know it is a sin and hateful to question the leaders about anything.
Wanda,
I am sorry if I didn’t make my comment clear. There was some additional comments not directed at you. Also, in the quote of mine you made, I apologize for the typo. It should read, “I urge you to review one “non-good ol’ boy’s” opinion of…”
I disagree that it is sin to question leaders. I think it is healthy to keep everyone on their toes. What I specifically was disagreeing with was your intentional use of the term “good ol’ boy” as a slur directed at past convention presidents and leaders. Also, you indicated that Rev. Hunt’s qualifications existed of “nothing else” but name recognition. This, also, was a slur. I pointed you to Dr. Finn’s site for the purpose of reviewing at least some of Rev. Hunt’s qualifications. Not only was I urging you to resist such caustic language, but for everyone else to as well. I perhaps thought it would get confronted or removed from this site, but I suppose not. I say question all you want, but using a Christ-like tone is appropriate as a believer, and especially as a believer commenting on an openly Christian site.
rather, “were some additional comments…”
I think it’s a shame that the SBC will probably never elect a former missionary to be president.
We needed someone with a heart like Avery Willis to be elected at this time, not some mega-church pastor.
Ted Traylor’s quote, word for word, concerning FBC Woodstock’s giving to the CP:
“Last year First Baptist Church, Woodstock, GA…they invested 3.3 million dollars [to] Southern Baptist Convention mission related causes through the Cooperative Program at the direct request of the International Mission Board and in partnership with our own North American Mission Board and their state convention there in Georgia.”
Is this an honest and accurate statement from Traylor?
Dewayne,
It was not an accurate statement. I don’t think it would of changed the results of the election but is still troubling because they knew that was one of the negatives about Johnny.
A better nomination speech by Junior Hill would have done more to change the election i think. Dr. Cox deserved a much better nomination speech.
Johnny Hunt is a good man who will lead us well. Let’s pray for him, and for the SBC. I’m very excited and enthused after this years convention. It was tremendous, and God used it in my life, and I’m sure in the life of many others.
David
No one (so far) is questioning whether Hunt is a ‘good man’, only that his nominator glossed over, or misrepresented, the issue of Woodstock and the CP. Will he be a good president? That remains to be seen. Maybe yes, maybe no. But how can one get around, or deny, that part of the nominating speech was untruthful?
I also was not questioning whether or not Dr. Hunt is a good man. And I understand that Junior Hill’s less than enthusiastic speech affected the outcome more than this one statement. I just quoted the exact words of Ted Traylor and asked a simple question. I am amazed that people, other than Bill Kraft and James Thomasson, are ignoring this issue. I guess I just believed that at the Southern Baptist Convention of all places integrity and honesty should be of utmost importance. If we will be dishonest or “politically deceptive” at best just to gain an edge (apparently an unneeded edge at that) to reach a political position, then what else will we be dishonest or “politically deceptive” about? That bothers me.
With that, I do realize that it was Ted Traylor who gave the speech not Johnny Hunt, but I haven’t heard of any instance where Dr. Hunt corrected the statement either.
That’s exactly the point….Johnny Hunt did not make the nominating speech. And, yes, I agree with you, the numbers were not presented very accurately. Of course, we dont know why he said what he did. Maybe he was trying to gloss over the small CP percentage, or maybe he was just caught up in the moment of making a nomination speech in front of 7,000 people and it just didnt come out right. Or, maybe he thought that the Church is doing Southern Baptist missions, but just involved in different ways and didnt want to take the time to spell it all out….you only have a certain amount of minutes to make a nomination speech.
The point is….we dont know. But, we do know that Johnny Hunt is a godly man who loves the Lord and loves people, and he will do a great job leading our SBC. We need to pray for him.
I also wish that everyone could have attended the SBC this year. It was tremendous. It was inspiring. It was challenging. It was a spiritual uplift. And, of course, it was tiring…very tiring.
David
Traylor knew exactly what he was doing, like i said before these guys are to sharp and smart to accidentally mix up their words on such a hot button issue. Also, I am sure Johnny approved the speech before Traylor gave it, he would be an idiot not to.
Since we are on the subject i am going to throw out everything that i feel is wrong about this subject. I am from the state of GA and know a lot of people in the so called “Know” that back this up. Before Dr. Cox decided to run he talked with Johnny and asked for his support and made sure that he was not planning on running himself because Dr. Cox would not run if a fellow conservative and friend from the same state was running. Johnny gave Dr. Cox his full support and told him that he had no plans to run. Of course a few months later the Super Mega Church Establishment reared their head and begged Dr. Hunt to run because Dr. Cox was not their “boy”. Instead of sticking by his word Johnny decided to run.
Some people might not feel that this is a big deal but coupled with the Traylor speech, Junior Hill’s strange draw back during his nomination speech and other things i know, I find myself feeling troubled.
I have thought about recommending the pastor at my home church follow our new President’s lead and drop our CP giving to 2.2%. But if every church did this it would kill the convention so maybe we shouldn’t. Anyway i just find myself troubled right know, maybe my attitude will changed over time.
Bill Kraft said:
“I am from the state of GA and know a lot of people in the so called “Know” that back this up. Before Dr. Cox decided to run he talked with Johnny and asked for his support and made sure that he was not planning on running himself because Dr. Cox would not run if a fellow conservative and friend from the same state was running. Johnny gave Dr. Cox his full support and told him that he had no plans to run. Of course a few months later the Super Mega Church Establishment reared their head and begged Dr. Hunt to run because Dr. Cox was not their “boy”. Instead of sticking by his word Johnny decided to run.”
Mr. Kraft, you are calling into question Dr. Hunt’s integrity, honesty and character by what you say you know. I, for one, call on you to tell us who told you this and how to contact them. This needs to be verified. If you will not do that, then this statement should be retracted.