DALLAS (BP)–SBC President Jack Graham has named the members of the Resolutions Committee who will serve during the June 15-16 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Indianapolis.
Graham, pastor of the Dallas-area Prestonwood Baptist Church, appointed Calvin R. Wittman, pastor of Applewood Baptist Church in Wheat Ridge, Colo., as committee chairman. Wittman is an SBC Executive Committee member.
Graham’s other appointees, in alphabetical order, are:
— Kelly Boggs, pastor of Valley Baptist Church, McMinnville, Ore.
— John Mark Caton, pastor of Cottonwood Creek Baptist Church, Allen, Texas.
— Frank Cox, pastor of North Metro First Baptist Church, Lawrenceville, Ga.
— Penna Dexter, radio talk show host and member of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
— Mark Dougharty, associate pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church, Cordova, Tenn.
— Barbara O’Chester, member of Great Hills Baptist Church, Austin, Texas.
— Ron B. Smith Jr., pastor of Sunnycrest Baptist Church, Marion, Ind.
— Eric Thomas (vice chairman), pastor of First Baptist Church, Norfolk, Va.
— James Walker, pastor of Biltmore Baptist Church, Arden, N.C.
The naming of the Resolutions Committee in early April is in keeping with an amendment to SBC Bylaw 20 approved during the 2002 SBC annual meeting in St. Louis, which also entailed various changes to the resolution submission procedure. The changes include the following:
— Proposed resolutions may be submitted as early as April 15 but no later than 15 days prior to the SBC annual meeting, giving the Resolutions Committee a two-week period in which to consider submissions. Resolutions may no longer be submitted during the annual meeting.
— Proposed resolutions must be accompanied by a letter from a church qualified to send a messenger to the SBC annual meeting certifying that the individual submitting the resolution is a member in good standing.
— Proposed resolutions preferably should be submitted by e-mail or mailed to the Resolutions Committee in care of the SBC Executive Committee. The drafts must be typewritten, titled, dated and include complete contact information for the person and his or her church.
— No person will be allowed to submit more than three resolutions per year.
— If a properly submitted resolution is not forwarded by the Resolutions Committee to the SBC annual meeting, a two-thirds vote of messengers would be required to bring the proposed resolution to the convention floor.
— Committee composition must now include at least two members who served the previous year, with Wittman and Dexter meeting this requirement. Bylaw 20 has long required that the committee include at least three SBC Executive Committee members. This year they are Wittman, Cox and Smith.
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All resolutions adopted by the SBC can be searched and read on the Web at http://www.sbc.net/resolutions/AMResSearch.asp.
